The Press., 1883-04-05
1sBs-1sss.
A QUARTER CENTURY OF rIrR.

| Of the many thousands of newspapers in the country, it is the exception rather than the rule that one attains the age of twenty-five years. Many newspapers are born, some live to green old age, and, unlike the animal creation, gain added wig or with years, but the list of deceased pa- pers grows longer, and we'll keeps up it's corresponding to that of papers born. Few fortunes are won in the business, for the multiplicity of journals forbids great prof. it's in the business. The country is full of aspiring would-be editors, who deem that they have gifts suited to their particular field and that they are called upon to show the world how it is done. It needs but a year or two to retire most of these, wiser and poorer for their experience.
 Again newspapers multiply as the pets or organs of men of means who can afford an expensive plaything, and amuse them selves as with toy till it palls upon the taste. So each year newspapers are born and die, and the world moves on and for gets they ever had being.
 l Newspaper patronage is of slow growth.
 It often takes years to arrive at the stage of paying expenses Many country news papers are dependent upon connected job office or some other business for sup port others, as above stated, are run as the organs or toys of men who can afford to spend money in that way.
 The Press by reason of its age may we'll regard itself now as an established journal
 It's present publisher was "devil" in the of- fee of the Palmer Journal in 1858, and linked the forms for the first issue of the Stafford News Letter (the title under which the sheet was first issued). In Nov. 1866 the paper was first printed in an office fit ted up for it in Stafford, and at that time there was no other paper printed in Tol- land County, though several had been es- abolished and died. < We call its readers to witness that the Press is not given to speaking of itself, either in the way of ef-laudation or in giving promises. We are too sadly con- scious of its defects for the former. It is far from the model paper that we would make it, but we shall lay much the blame for this to the small field which it occu- pies. We cannot help feeling little pride that in so limited field it has attained SO wide circulation. And we may also boast that if it has done little for its publisher, it has done much for the locality of its issue
 That Stafford Springs growth as a com mercial center has been more rapid than in population and business, that it has devel- oped into wide awake pleasant village, with all that pertains thereto, and is better and wider known as such, and has there fore attracted to itself many better ele- ments of growth-wel, much of this the Press deserves little or no credit for, but the question is, has it had the little need of credit for all this that belongs to-it.a aa--- We'll, no matter the Press is no winner, (though once in twenty five years it ought to be so privilegeO. It feels proud of the town which is its home, and will go on en- deavoring to promote its interests. It will battle on for what it deems right, and 1 whack away at the foul excrescences which will crop out in any community, but which best flourish where there is no paper to war against them. It will make mistakes, of course it has made them newspapers, like men, are fallible, but Oike men) if the aim and intention is right, the influence, on the whole, tends aright.
 And the Press will go on serving the community, we hope continuing to enjoy the general kindly feeling of which we ev- cry day get such pleasant evidences, we presume, also, to be regarded by the few as public servant for the free use of the public. For some people seem net to re- 1 alize that newspaper is & private enter prise, in the conduct of which the publish CT seeks bread and butter, and that it's ad- ! vertising columns are his main reliance for support many business men are content | to have the newspaper attract business to the town entirely without expense to them selves. Happily there are those who find by experiment that trade can be, by ad- vertising, attracted to particular points. But we didn't set out to say anything of this kind at all. It has just dropped of from the pen of itself, and we have read it over, and-guess we won't cross. it out. But, on the whole, we get ittles time to look for the shadows. Taking backward glance before again looking forward, we 1 find that the future gets rosy hnge from the review of the past. We are in the midst of warm hearted friends, and have had abundant proofs of appreciation. True, we haven't always pleased every body ; in fact, we have pleased no one all l the time {; for it is impossible that any two minds can be fully in accord at all times. We have differed from others at times be- cause we were right and they were wrong i; and sometimes, in the nature of things, it must have been the other way. But one thing is certain the Press has never been 8 mirror of our personal feelings. It has meant to treat all men fairly, without re- gard to personal motives. Its errors have been those of charity oftener than of per- sona malice. It starts fairly with this is- sue, asking forgiveness of any good man it may have antagonized, and as freely for- giving any and all such who have seemed to have earned its ill will.
 And so we start on the second quarter