The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1874-03-06
Country Newspapers.
SENSIBLE REMARKS BY A SENSIBLE KEN.
TUCKY EDITOR.

That portion devoted to country
Journalism is very good so far as it
goes, but then it stops short of the sore
that works more harm to and cripples
and ultimately kills more country pa
pers than all other causes combined.
| Our experience has been long and
varied, and what we have to say about
country newspaper publishing is based
upon knowledge dearly bought by years
of hard and thankless toll and no little
worry of body and mind and vexation
of spirit. a
The greatest enemies to success III
conducting country paper are the
credit system and gratuitous advertis-
ing or putting"
The dues of the country publisher
are necessarily small. IF he credits a
couple of dollars here to A, and couple
| of dollars there to B, and so on through
the alphabet of subscription, these
credits will amount to handsome sum
| in the aggregate, of which fearfully
| large per cent. invariably proves to be a
total loss.
The publisher who will credit sub
| scriptiOns, transient advertising and
job work, knowing that he is compelled
| to pay cash fer his material, has no
right to complain that his business does
| not pay, and of all men has less cause
to be astOnished at the necessity that
| cOmpels the suspension Of his paper.
Another thing to avoid: Gratliitous
work for party or candidates. They
have no right to expect it. Office is in
separately connected with salary. And
the salary is what nine out of ten can
didates are after. The candidate has as
much right to expect his tailor to keep
him in clothing without charge as to
expect his publisher to devote his paper
to his glorification before the people
without any pay therefor. Make the
politicians pay the same as other adver-
tisers; and never allow line of "puff''
to appear in your paper without pay.
Your merchant or grocer does not ex
pect to supply your family from their
stores without pay, and they have no
right to expect you to advertise for
them without remuneration. Selling
goods or groceries is their mode Of
making q living. They cannot give
their goods away without loss, and you
cannot give away space in your paper
without loss. That which will beggar
them will beggar you. That's the whole
truth of it. ..... .
In the days when we used to devote
column after column to the business of
elevating Tom, Dick and Harry to office
simply because they belonged to our
party, and never dreamed of asking a
cent Of pay for our services; so long as
we filled our papers with puffs on This,
That and the Other, because they were
good, clever fellows, and did it for
nothing, we found it the hardest matter
in. the world to get along. But, since
we turned over a new leaf, and made
real business of publishing a paper,
just as Tom, Dick and Harry make a
business of running for office for the
emoluments, and This, That and The
Other make a business of selling goods
for the profit, we have prospered. To
be sure we have not as yet accumulated
a mammoth fortune, but then we have
built us up a good paying business,
secured us a home we are not ashamed
of, and are able to pay our way as we
go. Under the old system we scarcely
made enough to pay our board bill and
provide us a change of linen. AS it is,
we get fair wages for our labor, live
decently, and have no cause to cem-
plain of the world And so it will be
with all our brethren of the country
press ii they will do as we are doing
eschew all gratuitous work and cut the
credit system absolutely. .. ...