Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1885-02-05

How THEY D1FrER.--It is interesting to
note the different styles opted by different
persons who may wish to have their news
paper discontinued. Fnst is the agreeable
business style which comes straight to the
point, without any pslaver, and simply s"ys
please discontinue my paper AT the expir'-
ton of the year Then comes the one "ho
feels or seems to feel that some excuse or
apology should be made the publisher tor
declining to renew his subscriptions; this Ii
not only dsagrccable but certainly uncalled
for, rs there lie no more reason why man
should apologize to al editor for not taking
his paper than that he should apologize to
his merchant for not purchasing goods not
wanted, or needed by him; ter tins comes
the man who feels it ms bounuen duty to
sever his patronage by some sudden and
contemptuous act; it is his single aim TO
thoroughly Undue the publisher with the
idea that, although it may result dlsastrously
to the paper, yet II i, his fixed purpose to
cast it OF this man usually enters Tue ctli c
with the idea that when he leaves, there will
be little or nothing left OF the patronage OF
the newspaper, but when he does leave it
usually is in great wondcrment rs to how it
came to appear 80 different from what he
had anticipated and intended it should
Then again thetc are those who stop pa
per" pretty much in the same manne:
and style tuat they would adopt with Il run
away team; they will make u great noise and
get excited, tell the publisher just what he
must do, or what they will do, when really
there is nothing for any one TO do except the
satiat, subscriber and that is little, simply
to be civil and state plainly his desire in the
matter.
Some really seem to look upon news.
paper as Il sort IF epidemic, kind literary
mcasc, which has law unto itself that opens
\ way and holds it; they appear to dread the
approach of the end Of the year pretty much
as ague patients dread the twenty first day"
with this difference that they know they
are at perfect liberty to shake" the news
paper, while the ague has the bulge on
them in this one interesting particular.
If disgruntled readers had any conception
of the pleasure it affords the editor to con-
tnue the paper with apprciative readers,
and how more than ready he is to discontin-
ne it with carping and unappreciatvc read
ers, they would decline to lay themselves
open to he read rs book for we assure you
reader, there are few, if any, callings where
of we know, in which are afforded equal OPP
portunities for clear insight into the strong
points and weaknesses of men, than the pub
lication Of a country newspaper, and in THE
one particular instance, the order to dscon
tinuc the paper, We are able TO note the de-
cided lines that mark the different characters
of men, more readily than in any other; the
straight forward business notice, sufficient
for all persons or purposes in Itself the
apologize. usually lnsincere; the dict'torial
and uncompromsing, invariably for cause
! the egotlstlc, based upon all generalization
of one mans patronage; the nervous, which
has Tor It's N wing impulse the fear TINT the
pIblishcr wants the amount Of his next
years subscription so badly, that he will in
some inscrutable way, succeed in imposing
his paper on him yet another year; the sub
scriber that has really been disappointed in
the paper; the subscrb,r that takes too
many papers," another that would willingly
pay SO for just such paper as he wants,bu
who could not get such one were he to
offer $40 per copy the one that will take
the paper again after while" the one that
will take it if the publisher give it TO him for
less than his regular rates and the one that
is frank enough to say he doesn't want it,
simply because he 'never reads 1t anyhow"
and has no interest in it A newspaper, un-
like most other things is worth no more, no
less, than the estimate put upon il by the
subscriber and the publisher that cares to
uphold his paper should be careful never TO
foist il upon an unapprcciativc reader,