The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1874-05-02
The Trials of Journalism. 8
9 From the Constituencies.

|
copy ola Rhode Island paper, and babe
us observe the kind Of journals there
was published in New England town no no
larger than Augusta We glanced at
the paper with a feeling akin to morti
fcation, intensified by the apparent
slight involved in the comparison. But
matters were not so bad with us after all
when a just comparison was instituted.
The Rhode Island paper WAS a weekly
Our paper is a daily, aud its Sunday
and weekly editions, so,tar as the liter
AIRY contents are concerned can afford f.,
stand the test Of successful contrast
But the Rhode Island paper certainly
had the advantage in advertisements
1t never seemed to occur to our friend
that there is ii marvellous f.iiTercnc. in
the publication OF Il daily paper an,l il
weekly. lie did not tax /: INTO nc .ount
th.t the Rho lc Isllni town and IT,.
Georgia town arc very differently con>ti
tutcd. In Northern cite, there are very
few readers who do not ply ror their
| paper The reverse is true Of the S,uth
If merchants and subscribers ia this sec
ton supported their papers with half til
promptness and punctuality that the
same classes at the North support their
local journals, the newspapers of the
South would equal those of the region =
beyond US. But what is the exacttruth
of the whole matter? Let Mai Calhoun.
the proprietor of the Columbus Enquier,
,,A}he has been sharply brought into
antagonism with 'his problem answer
for us. lie says: 'The newspapers Of
the North are fourishing with their
customary vigor. Despite the panic
and hard times the people read and ad
vertise, and pay for both, while the
Southern papers arc daily waning This
cannot be attributed O Il lack of ability
or enterprise i'll the mnna cement #
Southern Journals, .nr they are fully up
with the times. and viii compare favor
ably with the most successful papers in
. the country. 1t cannot be denied tIa;
either from want of Indifference, tie
Southern whites, in the .pr"pottion to
Their number, do MT read rs extensively
as they do in the North anl West, an
= glance at the p .pers OF The respective
sections will show that Southern ,ner
chants, with few exceptions, do not ap
prcciate the vilueaand Importance of al
vertising But there is stillanothcr
a trouble with Which the majority of
3 Southern journals have to contend, and
. that isl theIo credit system. "a dis
tinguished journalist of this Stat.
assured us lately that he lost yearly
G thirty three per cent. Of his suhscrin
}. sions, because people neglected to pay
Z after being trusted. Now no busino IS
can stand this loss, and particularly IL
newspaper, the greater. part Of whose
value lies in its .SoJd will. While the
credit system is practical, Southern
q journals will continue to be impecuyous
j and down at the heels. So fur as ", are
concernod, we have decided on the pro
per course and shall follow It out,
though we did not do so till our loss
n from indifferent subscribers amounted
to many thousand dollars Our course
meets with opposition, and, strange to
say, some merchants in this city, whose
interests it would bet encourage cash
z payments, alrishly refuse 10 take our