Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-01-04
/" Stop MY Paper!''

mat mouel literary paper Vi Tie
Coast, the .Argonaut, discourses so
creditably on this subject, that we
cannot refrain from giving its article
! q post of honor in our present issue.
How to make a newspaper that will
please everybody, it afirms, is one
of those conundrums impossible of
solution. The world is composed OF
oil sorts of people, of all sorts of
tastes, of all standards of opinion, all
shades of intellectual thought, all
kinds of religious belief, all sorts of
national prejudice, all degrees of su
persti,ion. What is one mans meat
is another mans poison. A journal
is never of uniform excellence-good
last week, bad this, better next. The
story in prose or the poem that will
please young girl or a romantic boy
will not suit the dignifed old Pater
familias, who delights in solid facts
and The memorable logic of figures
that never lie. If there is in it too
much of fun, it does not suit the Sc
date and grave. fit is too solid and
severe, it does not please the gay
and thoughtless. If too political, the
non-poli;ical grumble. If it does
not explain all the complicated dip
lomatic questions and elucidate oil
the subtle points of international
complication, it is incomplete. II
it does not grapple with every abuse
and boldly endeavor to reform the
world, there are philanthropists who
will criticise. II it does not contain
all the news and all the sensations of
the world, it is imperfect. Now, a
journal is like an individual. It has
its peculiarities. We have acquan-
tances who are not altogether clever
fellows, not always companionable,
and yet because of their idiosyncra-
sizes we would not altogether dispense
with them. They are in variable
moods, pleasant to-day, disagreeable
tomorrow, Not unfrequently they
wound with their wit or sting in NAL
ce, and yet OH the general average
are worth holding on to. We have
some friends who are specialists and
bore us with their one idea. Some
are stupid, but genial. 1t takes all
sorts of traits to form a character, all
sorts of people to form world, all
sorts of actors to play piece. Ones
best friend is grouty in the morning
and good after dinner. He
is in an amiable mood at one time,
and in q devilish humor at another;
he is flush and generous; he is in a
corner and shabbily lneau; he is dys-
peptic and ill-tempered; he is at ease
with himself and all mankind and is
a SPLENDID good fellow. So with
newspapers; each one has its char
acter; each its peculiarities. They
are to be estimated as one estimates
an acquaintance. They are to be
endured, put up with, avoided al
times. Sometimes we " shake" q
friend; we have the right to " shake
a newspaper Sometimes we. cut q
friend dead and ignore his existence
just in this way the newspaper ought
to be treated. AS one is not justi-
fed in dropping an acquaintance I'M
less he becomes utterly unbearable,
go we ought to hang on to our news
paper until it commits same unpar-
donable offense, and then it ought to
be kicked. Our friend may differ
with us in opinion, but he must do il
courteously; so must newspaper
Our friend may bore us at times; SC
maya newspaper. Our friend may
be dull and uninteresting; so may a
newspaper. We have written all
this just for the opportunity to say
that person who stops his paper
because it contains opinions with
which lac is not in accord is an ass.
CAPT. Ballard of the steamer Zephyy