St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1880-06-12
Value of Home PaDers.
IN. o. UenGcrat.l |

A very sensible article is going the
rounds OF the country press Just now
relative to the comparative value Of the
city and country newspapers. ltrccites
a conversation between a citizen and
the publisher Of his country journal.
The citizen notifies the publisher that
he has concluded to stop his subscription
to the country paper as he can get "a
larger and cheaper paper from New
York. This is readily admitted by the
rural editor, but after examining the
New York sheets he asks: Did yon ever
see anything in it concerning our
county 2, The citizen is compelled to
answer that he never has, or in regard
to the state either, but doSgedly insists
that lit contains more reading matter
for less money! In answer he is re-
minded that although the foreign sheet
may publish double the amount of read
ing matter it has nothing relative to
| local atfalrs-tle schools, churches, vii
lage and county improvements, and, in
short, the daily occurrences that happen
in the nelgllborhood. 1t is as foreign to
the reader as the city wherein it is pub
lishcd. AS Il last effort the dissatisfied
subscriber reminds the publisher that
wages are much cheaper in the village
than III the city, and therefore he cannot
understand why paper should not be
published as C heap or cheaper in the
former as in the latter place. To this
the following reply is made:
i4r ,ie reason that country paper has a
Sin;tlIti cirrNiatinn compared with city pa1lcr
aud the labor expended upon 1900 l:pc)%, i
about the SAME us upon $1,000, especially when
it Is taken into consideration that tie city
weekly, which is furnished at 81 a wear IS made.
mp Of type set for t!ir daily.
Ihls Is all very true, and has led in
recent years to the extensive adoption of
what IS known as the "patent outsidc,n
or Auxiliary sheet systctls--e system
which we are pleased to observe is
being abandoned in many parts of the
country. These patent sheets are in
tended to meet the requirements of such
subscribers as the one above referred to.
VINO want "a large amount Of reading
matter" without regard to its quality.
Such persons are unable to understand
why Mr.. Bennett can publish the New
I ork Herald, with from eight to sixteen
pages for tour cents copy, when his
costs as much for each issue. And vet If
his country paper is properly edited,
one copy of it will contain dozen items
OF real interest to him where the nam
moth New York journal contains one.
lhc great mistake on the part of the
conductors. ct country newspapers is
that in their endeayors to satisfy this
unreasonable demand they neglect those
important and indispensable features of
the rural .journal-chronicles Of home
events and practical suggestions and
experiences for every day life. When
the citizen gets up in the morning. if is
natural that he shonld seek to inform
himself Of the condition OF affairs in his
owl, household before inquiling What
mas been gong Oh III the houses of his
nnelglhbors SO he should by subscribing
for his country paper, first acouainf
himself with home politics and cvcnts
before undertaking the solution of
foreign problems of statesmanship and
policy. 1t this course was adopted if
would encourage country publishers to
give tier patrons more valuable home
news, and not render it necessary, as is
too often the case at present, to fill up
their col umns with non n-paying adver
tlsements or miscellaneous reading
matter IN order to save composition.