Connecticut western news., 1883-06-20
WHEN WE announced our intention O.

returning to the subscription rates which the late J l. Pease always charg- ed for the "CoNNEcT1CUT WESTERN NEWS, I've were not aware that the New Milford Gazette's rates had been raised from $1. 50 to $2.OO. We did not exam inc our exchanges to see what they were charging, but our decision was based on the last years experience of the NEWS. The $1. 50 rate had been faithfully tried and proved disastrous. Our announe- ment has drawn out the following edi- torial statement from the New Milford Gazette, land that journals experience and statement can be corroborated by 8 host of other journals).:
 "The CONNECTICUT WESTERN NEWS, published at Canaan, has announced that after July first it's subscription price, now S1.5O per year, will be rais- ed to $2.OO. After full and discour- aging trial of the "dollar and half :" scheme, the NEWS has discovered the fact, on which the older and more ex- perienced country editors of New Eng land have always insisted, that it is usually impossible to make successful newspaper which shall be reasonably complete in all departments and deal thoroughly with all the interests which village journal should represent-with asubscription price of less than g a year. Brother Beckley states the alternative clearly. Instead of making "clean, bright, newsy paper," the publisher who has improperly reduced his sub scription price must fill his columns with quack nostrum advertisements and give to his readers " what really amounts to weekly patent medicine almanac"
 For our part we prefer to publish a reasonably clean newspaper and to charge fair price for it. We hold that of. all demoralizing influences which have crept into New England homes during the last twenty-five years, the cheap country newspaper, loaded with vile quack medicine advertisements, is the very worst. Our readers will bear us witness that since we purchased the Housatonic Ray last November we have reduced our patent medicine advertis- ing by more than three fourths, and we expect to reduce it still further, making exceptions only of those articles and an- nouncements that by very strict stand ard are unobjectionable. By taking this course we have deliberately sacrifc- ed cash income from the source named of between three and four hundred dol lars year. In return for this effort to make paper which is fit to be read by a mans wife and children, we do not ask too much of our subscribers when we charge them living price.
 Our predecessor, MT Erwin, had the best success with dollar and half pa- per that has ever come under our mo- tice but the very exceptionalness of his case proves the rule that we have laid down, and we think we are violat- ing no confidence when we say that MT Erwin has personally assured us that he made mistake when he reduced his price from $2.OO to $1. 50 and always af- terwards regretted it. When we pur- chased his list we naturally expected that some objection would be made to our extra charge of 50 cents 8 year. But on making careful examination of our books, few days ago, we were not only gratifed, we were very much sur prised, to find that Jess Ma,a one hag of one per ce,at of the Gazette's old subscri- bers has made any objection to the pres ent price. We consider this facta sufi- cient proof that country newspaper sub- scribers are not unwilling to pay the old standard price of two dollars a year, provided the paper itself is kept up to a good level of character and excellence.
 The editor of the NEWS states the case of that paper as follows, and if the Gazette still has any readers who think two dollars a year too much, we ask them to read and be converted"
 (The Gazette then quotes our an nouncement and reasons for advancing the subscription rates.)
 Like the Gazette, we propose to drop many patent medicine advertisements when their contracts with the The NEWS expire. We requested all our subscri- bers who were unwilling to second our efforts to improve The NEWS, to notify us by postal card. Only two subscribers have requested us to discontinue the the improvement in The NEWS, but his pocket book demands that he must take less number of newspapers. On the 5 other hand we,have received number of letters congratulatiug us on the i'm provement in The NEWS and stating that they are perfectly willing to pay the ad- vance as long as The NEWS continues in its 'present well managed condition. J
 A TERRIBLE panic occurred Saturday evening at Victoria hall in the town of Sunderland, Durham county, England. Several thousand children had assem- bled in the hall and witnessed Conjur- CTS entertainment The accident oc- cured at the close of the performance. The body of the hall had been cleared of its occupants when some 1900 of the little ones came rushing down stairs from the gallery. At the top of the first flight of stairs was a door which op- ened only twenty inches and only one