Litchfield enquirer., 1878-03-14
Advice to Editors.

Among other enterprises recently started il the neighboring town of Washington has beer . local paper-not printed, but which nt doubt deserves to be. Among other interest matter it contains an article giving advice tt the ''editress," which seems a little severe or some of our printed local papers. We make the following extracts.-ED. ENQ.
 would not run it like the common city anC country newspapers. would make it strict ly home paper, call it the Preside Compan- ion if you wish would strive to make it in. teresting to every man, woman and child, in town. would advertise for correspondent from every neighborhood,- and if needs be from every family. would not have each cor respondent report for his ooon family, but for his next neighbor's. In this way you would get very disinterested, unpreiudiced re- ports of the business, social and private trans actions of every family in town, which must make your paper not merely publication of to-day, to be read, thrown aside, and forgot ten like the great popular dailies, but an inter- esting and valuable keepsake, and record of family affairs to be preserved and handed down to all generations to come. have thought and studied this plan thoroughly-or as Mir. Anyway, the great Washington match manufacturer, would say, for hours, days, and years, and know it must succeed, for it is the only right way. You may say that making it strictly a home paper, devoted to town and family interests, will limit your subscription list to about the population of this town but think not Every issue of your paper will contain reports of neighborhood, family and private matters that will almost exactly fit instance subscriber in the town of Stock bridge, Mass, will be quick to discover that your minute report of little family misunder- standing in John Jones family in Washington exactly hits the case of his neighbor Charles Adams. A little tact and the substitution of other names by any subscriber will make your paper applicable to almost any locality. In fact all or nearly all of our county papers are beginning to see the necessity of some such manner of keeping up the interest of the pub- hc in their papers, They enter more and more minutcly into matters that used to be thought of too delicate and private nature to be spo- ken of in public. Ofcourse am as much op- posed to what used to be called gossip and tattling by wagging the tongue as the most orthodox, but where can be the harm in good, honest, straight forward newspaper like, yours making record of all-no we won't say all-but nearly all of the good, bad, and in different incidents that happen in town, having of course the one end in view of helping your self and fellow men along in the right path It should be firmly impressed upon the minds of your readers that whatever you publish when person has done wrong is published as a warning to others and whatever good, as an example for them to follow The indifferent stories can be easily turned to one side or the other at the editors discretion. It is not the Gct, but the object in 0teso, that creates sin. For instance A grand drawing in Kentucky Lottery is sin and a crime, but drawing at a church fair for the increase of the minis ter's salary is an excellent thing flor the min- ter.
 Sunday School books all include in the plot a good and a bad boy, the one for an ex- ample and the other for warning. Your items should always have a moral, and any that would have a tendency to evil should be properly noticed editorially and the current of thought turned in the right direction. You have no idea what an influence an editor has with some men. Some have no opinion of their own upon certain subjects, but take the side of the editorial they happen to read, which is the reason presume why some never dare subscribe for two newspapers. They fear they will get both sides of the question and it will result in making vacuum in their heads.
 Great care shouldbe exercised in your choice of correspondents Some will persist in look ing at both sides of question and you see if your correspondents should do this, it would give their items two sided look. With all due respect we would suggest female cores pondents when practicable. I should endeav- or to steer clear of political and financial af- fairs. It makes no difference aohO or aohGt the President of the United States is, or what his measures are, so long as he belongs to your party, and if you keep quiet, you will be pretty apt to be on the victorious side, and it makes no material difference to you, if the government debt is paid off at ninety-tw cents on the dollar. You can keep your finan- clal eye open, and before government has time to call in the bonds, you can exchange for Shepaug railroad bonds, and we are absolutely certain they will not go back on us and pay ninety-two cents on the dollar. If in the course of your Editorship it should be- come necessary that you take sides politically don't forget to cry Civil Service Reform !" but if through your exertions officers are elect ed that really meGn reform, and really put it in practice, then be Uery guarded and careful. They will be apt to be looked at with jealousy by both parties. Of course neither party means reform when they cry it, and the of hcers elected ought to be. men of sagacity enough, to understand this, but if they should not see through the joke, and really undertake to carry out reform measures, then look out 1! The sooner you can turn double summer sault and come down on the other side, the bet ter. s
 Church matters, would leave in the hands of the choir and the minister q mentioned the choir first because because well for DO par ticular reason, at all events don't attempt to run the choir
 The medical fraternity doubtless have their faults and errors of omission and commission that ought to be mentioned great many times in your paper, but as general thing in this section medical men grow too large to handle easily.
 An occasional error in type setting will do no particular harm in the long run. It will only spoil the sense of one communication. and