Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1882-12-02

pie forget that VI are regular hurricanes
as blowers. What would be the ropula-
ton of Dakota to-day had it not been
for printers ink? A few grumblers
may swear at us for writing the stirring
descriptive articles that brought them
here but the bulk Of our population
have bettered their condition by coming
to Dakota, and they ought to come
around with substantial acknowledge.
ment. We are always praising some.
thing and somebody is benefited by ii
We praise home surroundings, tell crot
stories, note business changes, give q
years subscription for a big watermelon
take the farmers story about the heighth
of corn and publish it to the world, lie
about onions-I mean write items about
onions, beets and cabbages-praise
babies and horses, give a two dollar puff
for a ten cent bouquet, write eulogies on
sermons and sacraments, say the most
%extravagant things about marriages and
make the bride SO saucy that her poor,
old mother sits in the kitchen during
company, and write angelic obituaries
with a few verses Of poetry and then
furnish friends of the deceased with q
quire Of papers free. We are expected
to do all this for nothing as far as the
people most directly interested are con
cerned. ! say this with all kindness to
the public, for | know ifthey understood
a printer to be a human being with APP
petite and desires, they would come
down and make the poor fellow happy.
1t Is our extreme modesty that keeps Us
from asking Il fair remuneration, and as
Il result We make about the poorest fin
ancial show, taken as a body, OF any
class Of business men i'm the world. !
often think W. are too free with our
pulls We use them SO indiScrimina-
tely that people exspect them az Il mat
Ter OF course. If we say TO the pubic
that the space in our paper is our stock
IN trade, occupying the same position to
us that the tiilable acres do to the farmer
or the goods on the shelves to the mer
chant, we would get more out of our
business and increase the respect the
world owes us. Business men like to
see business in those with whom they
deal. There is no friendship in trade.
But We fear in our peculiar relations 10
the nlbli1 IN tho Eat ,.I,...
preierriug to OAK ourselves into Il busi
ness. Why are we such towards? We
place ourselves in a position as simply
catchers of what drops, rather than men
circumstanced to force the use of our
wares a decent prices.
AVE known men when approached
on the subject of advertising ia say that
they knew it did them no good. but they
supposed they would have to advertise
to keep the editor alive. Such ob.erya.
tons make Il fellow feel as though he
bad eaten decayed oysters. But the
men who make such remarks are the
narr"~-'nage sleepy. o~ne-thought kind.
They are about rs much use TO the bust
ness world as an OK in a dairy. Bui in
every community there are men who
only advertise out of charity to the
editor, and break him all up by telling
him SO. They preach this internal
doctrine to make The publisher feel
more ike a beggar than Il laborer worthy
Of his hire. We always feel rs small IS
a quart Of Strawberries at the opening OF
the berry season when we approach
those charity fellows, when in fact orr
mission is 10 aid them in their business
by giving them equal chances in our
columns with those keen enough to see
the good we can do them. But lei one
of those grumbIers lose Il friend by death
or steal Il horse, the first thing he will
look for is the kind notice the editor
will make Of the dead, or The ~unfayora-
BILE scathing he may get for his trans
erosion. ifa>ked, however. to let ink
aid him in trade, he can't see its efficacy.
The fact is the publisher gets very few
presents. lie always gives a ulan full
measure, no matter at what price the
advertiser uses his columns. A rood zen
line pun, worth two dollars 10 the editor
and twenty-five dollars to the partv
pniied, is supposed to occur halfa dozen
times Il year for n two dollar subscrir-
zion. The men who love tn see their
names in print the most are, as a rule
those who DO the least toward the SUP
port of a paper. On one or two occa-
slons in my" newspaper experience |
have pulled such egotistical pe~opleaand
then have them call around and beg q
dozen papers To send off to friends. Ii
was a losing game and reduced me TO q
clay pipe and cigar stubs.
Politicians use us the same as they
would Use a machine in season. We
fight their battles and make scores of
enemies, loss advertisers, and get moth
ing lii return but their promises. which
amounts to about rs much as President
Arthur's influence in the New York
campaign.
Then gentlemen. what is our identity?
| can only say that we occupy a peculiar
niche in the world, carved out BY our
Creator for pnr nSnapt,l NO.. ,,l -