The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-04-05

1HE WheellnB 'ohn,' Democratic
weekly paper published by John W. Gen.
try, late Public Printer, and edited by
Capt. W. G. Waller, issued its last num-
Der yesterday, and will henceiorth be NUN.
bered among the things that were in our
local chronology. The editor claims in
his valcdictory that the paper never re-
ceived the support which it had right
to expect and has therefore proved an un.
profitable venture. We presume that it
was started in the expectation that Mr..
Gentry would be reelected to his posi-.
tion OF Public Printer, and that the party
patronage in that and other ways would
at least be divided between it and the
Register. neutrality-suspicious. has been dis.
appointed. The.printing fell into the hands
OF his rival and the party still continues
to patroni2e the rival as before. A news
paper is curious species of'property.
1t is difficult to establish and almost
as difficult to injure by rivalry. An old
newspaper is like an old bank or long
established business house. The com.
munity patronize it from the force OF
habit, and can not be induced, save under
exceptional circumstances, to forego
their patronage. Sometimes they geS.
down on it, and once in long while it
passes through spell OF unpopularity
on account Of its position on some local
or political question, but its old patrons
continue to read it, and to advertise in it,
and to send in their jobs, and the paper
goes on its way through the storm out
into the sunshine again.
The venerable editor, Thurlow Weed,
after retiring from the control OF the
Albany ErcHing journal, over which he
had presided for generation, said that
he would almost as soon undertake to
found State rs to try to found new
newspaper, having experienced what
it was to labor for many years to build up
a journal, and how hard it-was to make
headway againHt old competition in the
field. The experience of the st. Louis Re.
publican at the time it burned out and sus
pended publication is an illustration Of the
indCstructibility of newspaper property.
As soon as il started again, although the
field was occupied by other Democratic
rivals, and although its own facilities
were cut down and crippled, yet it
emerged again from its ashes into the
full tide of its accustomed prosperity.
The same experience was the case with
the Chicago Times, which was defunct for
weeks after the great fire in that city, and
yet regained at once its old place as soon
us it finally reappeurcd.
In regard to the suspension OF our
neighboE, the Sun, in can be said by way
Of addendum to the reasons given by
itself, that there is not field in this city
for weekly party newspaper. The de-
mand is now for daily political news
papers in the cities and large towns OF
the country, and weekly cannot posi-
bly, maintain itself against the demand
for earlier and more frequent publica.
tion OF the news. With our experience
in the business the last thing we should
think Of doing would be to start in a
provincial city like Wheeling, where there
are dailies, n weekly political paper.
There are weeklies in the great cities that
live and flourish, and that will continue
to do so, and there are also excellent
and prosperous weekly newspapers
published at thousand county
seats, but they are not cases in
point. The weeklies published in
large cities are representatives OF some
particular issue, specially, theory or
class interest, and are not party papers.
There are weekly financial papers, week.
ly denominational papers, weekly trades
union papers, weekly mechanical papers,
and all sorts OF weeklies Of special char.
acters, but scarce one devoted to party
politics. Such papers have had their
day aud been superseded by the dailies.