The Orangeburg news. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1867-1875, 1874-05-02
The Trials of Journalism. e
- - 80 -.
From The Constitutionalist. I

a few days ago n friend sent asa
copy ola Rhode Island paper, and balc
us obserre the kind Of Journals there
was published in New England town no
larger than Augusta We glanced at
the paper with n feeling akin to morti
tication, intensified by the apparent
slight involved in the comparison. But
matters were not so bad with ls after all
when jrst comparison was instituted
The Rhode Island paper was a weekly
Our paper is daily, and its Sunday
and weekly editions, solar as the iter
AIRY contents are concerned, can afford t,
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 Il marvellous t,llfercnc. in
the publication of Il daily paper ana :;
weekly. lie did not tax into ac :lunt
th.t the Rho lc Island town anl ill.,.
Georgia town are very differently con>ti
tutcd. In Northern cites there are very
few readers who do not p,y FOR their
| paper The reverse is true Of the S,ut h
If merchants and subscribers iu this sec
ton supported their papers with halt 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 exact.truth
Of the whole matter? Let Mai. Calhoun.
the proprietor Of the Columbus Enquier,
>M|he has been sharply brought into
antagonism with this problem answer
Tor us. lie says: 'The newspapers oi
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 TO u lack Of ability
or enterprise i'll the management If
Southern journals, :"r they are fully up
with the times: and Will compare f,vor
ably with the most successful papers IN
. the country. 1t cannot be denied tha;
either from want OF Indifference. tie
Southern whites, III the proportion to
Their number, do mt read IL extensively
as they do in the North an West. an |
= glance at the p ,pcrS Of the respective
sect ions will show that Southern mer
chants, with few exceptions, do not ~
preciate the value and Importance Of il
vertising. But there is stllnnothcr
trouble with which the majority OF
Southern journals have to contend, and
4 that is the credit system. "a dis
tinguished Journalist Of this Stat,
assured us lately that he lost yearly
thirty three per- cent. Of his subscrin
tons, because people neglected to pay
after being trusted. Now no busno IS
can stand This loss, and particularly Il
newspaper the greater. part of VIII lsc
value lies ,s in its so,d will. While the
credit system is. practicel, Southern
journals will continue to be mpccuyous
and down at the heels. So far as We are
concerned, we have decided on the pro
per course and shall follow it out,
though we did not do so till our loss
a| from indifferent subscribers amounted
to many thousand dollars Our course
meets with opposition, and strange to
say, some merchants in this city, whose
5 interests it twould bet encourage cash
! payments, airishly refuse to take our
paper if we do not trust them, on the
plea that 'they arc go d for their ,!rbts'
Of curse We huihor those men by beg
sing item to 'akc our paper on their
own terms. Th,re seems hto be an i'm
, preston in the 'IninIs Of some unniorm
cd people that Tic cheapestnnd cas- lest
business IS thrto publishing p,per :
indeed, that they rather conpi,nen n
publisher By rcadln. his paper, with the
most indefinite idcni ofsever paying tor
it. Said ii wondariullyaintclltsan wo
man to astriend Of our i yes er,lay /;
'Wcil, declare. The idea ytithat lei
low (rctcrrllis4 toius) tn,nkin' aliartin
right inii our n'iistby glvin, ols advise
| can t stan it quite! ysano ! sihi st
Il his n'dlndy 'snotoqsis uptl general !;
butt ti"rcbsis ;sus class OF lowspsHer
spong ers that reconcile their 90 ncie. @ %
TO theiro'ptcpmr' cund ddcte ip nut paying
US by arguing tfntsw.el; ARE getting rich
by udvising people who know clnpre thln