The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1874-11-20
THE COUNT'R L PRE ESS,


the greatest OF all motive pewers to move
| tho people i'll any given direction. Tie
great city journals may advocate thing,
sad work up the people in the centres of
populations, but the millions in the rural
districts are apt TO follow the lead of their
| home journals. consequently in effectius
any great national reform it is of tie first
Importance to secure the cooperation of
the country press.
This may be easily done, by showing
them that the proposed reform is correct
in principle and worthy of public approba-
tiOn. 1t may be set down as a general
prpssition that the county press is meved
less by mercenary and material interests
than the city press. And when the coun-
try press is united in the advocacy of any
| given proposition, it is generally more Of
fective in its advocacy than tSat OF city
! journals. The reason for this is obvious.
The editor of the weekly journal may be
said to speak TO his acquaintances, while
the eoitor Of the city daily speaks largely
! to strangers. The formers circle Of read
| ers is cenfined mostly to his ewn neigh bor-
| hood, and is con- passed. of those WHOM he
| moets in the evsry day walks Of life.
| He knows all their recrliarities, the
! weak and strong points in their character
( ans knows just how to appeal to them to
( carry conviction. This is necessarily not
| the case with the writer upon a metropoli-
tdi Nilu hS runs the
| risk of offending bis auditors by his mode
| of reasoning, thereby destroying the force
! Of an otherwise logical argument.
Holding the position that they Gs, the
! conductors of country press are placed un-
der responsibility that should be proper
! y appreciated and valued. They are the
! educators of their readers and the moulders
of public opinion. They make the moral
! sentiment of their immediate community
| either coarse or refined as they choose. 1t
! is easy to judge of the character of the
| ioca! press BY studying the general charac-
| ter OF a given com unity while it is EQUAL
! ly easy to determine the character of the
community by a careful study Of the local
| press. If one is hsh-tousd refined ensr-
| getic and progressive, the other is sure to
! be tha same and rice UersQ.
The local journal owes very grave duty
| to the community in which it is published
and circulated, and = duty that ne man
should lightly assume, but should enter
upon Understandings. But we have fire.
| quently noticed that TOO many country Jour
nalists imagine that their readers are only
entitled to dull, heavy and tnrbid reading
| matter, ransacked from the remote corners
of the most somnolsnt city publications.
| This is grave mistake. Give your readers
! something light and airy and entertaining.
| without being frivolous and deleterious
| What they read should be crisp and fresh.
not stale and musty. They have a right to
expect it. and the editor has no right to
dIsappoint them. Every subject that is
worth discussing, is worth discussing in a
pleasant and entertaining styl,, at once at
tractlye and instructive. 1t is great mis-
| take to Imagine that the peoIis. especially
! III the rural districts, delight in heavy ard
! solemn dIsquisition. Such things are op-
posed to all of their Surroundings.
Nature Is very gay and varied and happy,
teaching her lessons in songs and synphon-
/ les; in the silent beauty of the flowers. in tho
! golden glory OF the sunlight: the diamond
! glitter of the stars; the deep foliage of the
trees; the gentle sigh Of the zephyrs and the
grand and awe-inspiring battle cry of The
storms that shake the hills to their founda-
tions. But there is no dullness in nature. /.
there is placid beauty, merry whispers of
| peace and quietude, but life-always life.
We have said that the local press owe.
! nueh TO the community, but the Indebted
! ness is mutual. Community owes much to
| the local press. No rnap is truly a good
| citizen, unless he supports his home news
| paper. lie owes 1t to himself, to his family
! and the general welfare. without healthy
and hearty support, the local press can do
nothing, and as reforming gency becomes
failure NO man goes to = stranger to
| contribute 10 the building up Of the int terests
| OF his o~n household. He goes to work and
strengthens and WHITES his own domestic
! agencies. The man who refuses to support
| his home paper, but p3trOnizes only a for
| cign institution, is simply robbng himself
| 1t is his home paper alone that ceaselesslv
I looks after his home isterests and labors to
build up the community in which he lives
L ho distaht city Journal cannot be expected
| to do this, for there are too many separate
communitics- where it eirculates Your
hrst, duty is to help what helps you and un
| lessryou DO 1t you cannot permanently pros
| per.
The highest type Of patriotism is an nm
de3iatlhS support OF home Institutions and
since 1t is conceded by common consent thar
the press is tae great national educator. no
man can claim to be patriotic and refuse TO
support his home paper, if he can possibly
| spare the small amount necessary to nav his
yearly subscription. We have reason to
believe that nearly all our distant subscri-
ssls TO iHE WEEKLY POsT, also patronjze
the home journal of their choice. We in
Varlaoly recommend them to pursue thi.
course, and where it is absolutely impossi-
bic Tor them to take two papers. we recon-
mend thsm to take their home journal in
preference.
Whlle we furnish vastly more reading
matter, for nomlnally tho same subscriptjon
price, than our rural cOntemporaries tbe
comparative value of the two publications
should not be overlooked. Their values ar.
elfferent, but none the less essential and
indispensable. In our WEEKLY Posr xo
furnish complete and compendious resume
ofgenerai intelligence, and carefully select
ed and edited literary and miscellaneous
reading mattor. This constitutes it's value
| and makes it q pleasant, entertaining and
welcome visitor to the rural lfreside. But
| thelr home paper possesses a value that it
Is impossible to give to ours. We refer TO
.ts locai news, and its advocacy Of local in
terests. This alone brings its subscribers
repeated returns on their investments ia the
course Of year
FIRST taks your home paper and then
subscribe for THE WEKKLY PosT.-Pstts-
bHrgh, POSI-
A MoNsTRoSITY.-The Lancaster Fr
press relates the following: Yesterday thor.