Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-02-04
TIE LOCAL PRESS

IL IS not an uncommon thing to hear citizens of small towns helittle their local newspaper. and we have no doubt the people of Tucson occasionally in
 6ulge in this innocent kind ot prattle.
 Did # ever occur fo such people that a
 local paper is just about what the
 citizens Of town mako it? A news
 paper in niuty-nine cases out Of one hundredis is fair reHexot the intelligence
 and thrift of a town. There is no
 class Of people who understand the public pulse SO well as editors, Tor they | hear both sides OF all sides oI almost every question that arises n a com muuity. and ire thereby enabled to sift
 the chaiT from the wheat. When you belittle your local paper, you belittle
 yourself and .our town, for you are in a
 measure responsible for what your local
 paper uay be We shoald bea- in mInd
 that small towns usually have small
 papers, small lawyers, small doctors,
 small preachers and small men Of every
 description. It is true that small towns
 sometimes produce great men, but they
 do not usually tarry long. They go
 where thei- talents are better ap-
 preciated and command higher price Scores Of men of ability from every
 profession haze sprung up throughout the country, but it was only through
 the assistance they derived from larger
 fields and better pay from larger towns
 and cities, that they have been able to prove to the world their superior ability.
 Greeley, Scripps, Storyaud Bowies were
 poor country boys, who wlu.d never
 have been heard of had they remained
 in their natI~5 country towns. IL was
 the larger fields of operation that
 brought them couspiciously before the public, and thus enabled them to show up to the best
 Supposing We should say, in dIs- cussing the abilities of tbe various professional men of Tuoso2, ''Oh, be is only a country doctor" or "he Is only a country lawyer. what can one expect of him, etc" and yet these doctors and lawyers. etc, speak Of the country paper iu even more disuara2iug terms. They will tell you there is nothing in the paper, that they only take it because it is printed in their town, and to encourage the printers. However hu- initiating 1t may seem to some Of these wiseacres, We pretend to say that the Star and CITIZEN are a fair reflex of the intelligence and spirit Of our people. We will go even further and say that they are just a little n the lead. We challenge a comparison or either with newspapers published iE towns of the same size either in California OF the Eastern States. Not long since We had occasion Co look over the files of the CITIZEN of 1879. What g. dimiuutive sheet and now little did i- contain That Was Tucson four years ago as truly as the CITIZEN Of today is Tucson Of 1888. We are not finding fault with the ways os our people mere than we are finding fault with the ways of people in other towns. for they are the same the world over. But t is a serious fault that exists. and should be corrected. ! The support you give you- local paper is not a charitable one. but pays 8, we'll or better than any other inyes. meIt you can make. The CITIZEN believes also that the professional and business men of Tucson compare most fa7orably with towns ot similar size in any country, and we shall not neglect to say SO on every ! fitting occasion. We are Inclined to follow the precepts of the old adage | which says, .'i- you lave nothing good . to say ot your ueiehbor, yog had better say nothing about him."