Mexico weekly ledger., 1878-01-10
WHO ARE THE DEAD HEADS:

II editors were not among the most
patient aud best-natured people that
inhabit the earth, they would long
ago have exposed the charge of dead
headism so fiippantly and constantly
made against the press. No end OF
carping persons think it a fine thing
to sheer at the editors and reporters
who, without paying, go to theatres,
concerts, operas, miscellaneous,
shows, banquets, and the best seats
in conventions and Legislative assem-
blies, forgetting entirely that Journal
lists 60 to all Of these places i'll dis
charge of their duties thai one and
all of them would rather remain
ut home than 90 for labor where their
more fortunate fellows repair for re-
creation. 1t is quite true that the
places of journalists are too frequent
~ usurped by set Of chronic, brazen
sponges, who think it praiscworthy
TO thrust them selves in seats reserved
for the members Of the press, in Or
der to enjoy themselves free Of cost.
This class it is that, by their unseem-
ly behavior, bring disgrace upon the
journalistic profession. Men 50 lost
to all feelings of delicacy as to pass
themselves Off for what they are not,
for the sake of saving a few dollars,
cannot be expected to demean them
selves like gentlemen. Ii these same
persons were to try to palm them
selves off as doctors or lawyers, they
would be promptly exposed and pun
ished. The good-natured editors
suffer these real dead heads to usurp
their own places and disgrace them
besides.
MOI is the great paying and cour-
teous public free from the charge OF
dead headism where newspapers are
concerned. Every other man that
subscribes for a newspapers possess
ed with the idea that he becomes purt
owner OF the journal that is rs neces-
sary to him a ; his daily bread, and
which he obtains at q ludicrouSiy low
price. He insists that the editor,
whose paper he buys, must support
his ideas on all public questions is
in duty bound to fight his individual
battles must give free notices Of all
enterprises in which he is interested.
That the editors have their capital il
vested in their newspapers that the!
are compelled to work hard to secure
q living from them, never occurs to
the grand army Of non-j0urnalist!c
dead heads, who regard Journals and
Journalists as public institutions that
are not renumeratcd by the State, it
is true, yet are public property, be-
cause they sell their literary wares at
low pr.ces, obtain free tickets TO 60
to light places, which to them are
glarIng workshops, and are obIigi1g
and good natured.
The community Of dead heads, not
satisfied with their efforts to force the
editos of the papers they read to serve
them in all ways at no expense to
themselves, unite in o chorus Of pr,-
tests against the high price Of news
papers. These grunblers cheeriu!ly
pay ten cents for a cigar, or fifteen
cents for q drau9ht of whisky; but
profess to regard five cents for q
newspaper as IN outrage ca hum, II
rights. One cent is enough for II
newspaper, they say. In their esti-
nation. then, one cigar is equal in
value to ten newspapers. They may
never look at the question in this
light, but they should do SO, AMI also
calmly think over the state and I'M
Just cry of journalistic dead head
ism.