Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1885-01-03

In communities that see beyond theil
noses andremember than from one
day to another and the wise journal
ist gill be true both to his sense of jus
and his own best interest in giving
even the arch political devil--of which
every community has one-his due
alike of blame and of praise.
But the consideration of personal
questions questions personal TO public
officials, to prominent private persons
and to the community generally is
only part OF a newspapers province,
Its editor has no right to neglect the
worlds general progress in eulogizing
local advancement or in lamenting
local retrogression He has norigh,,
either, to ignore the great questions
which seem to peril the worlds advance.
ment. On this topic wrote at such
length last week that | need not return
to II now.
On the treatment" of newspaper
matter, newspaper style"-ifI may be
permitted SO to characterize that which
cannot, from its very nature, be "a style
in the purely literary sense--I hold
views that are not generally shared by
my fellow writers in Honolulu. dis
like, almost with a passionate hatred,
what my friend Jerome Hart terms
"the dead level Of the common place" |
say this without grain Of cgotism, My
own commonplace is often as disagree.
able to me as is that of any writer in
Honolulu. Yet, because do aim at
good writing, and because ! think my
brethern of the quill are quite too gen
orally careless Of it, and apparently,
underestimate their readers apprecia.
ton of it, think am justified in
stating my sincere belief and in trust
ing that the fairness Of my critics will ac-
quit me Of even the semblance Of vanity.
Fully half the usual local items lend
themselves to picturesque or humorous
or poetic treatment. Why then the
usual treatment The "languor of the
tropics" does not account for it. Over
work does, in part carelessness or
lack Of capacity, also in part l have,
of course, no right to blame men who
have to do their work ''on the fly" for
lack of "finish' We of the weeklies -
overbusied though we often are-have
time to reyise our work and there is
far less excuse for the mistakes we
make. But | still contend that more
careful writing in the dailies would be
appreciated in far greater degree than
at present is believed. The circulation
of the dailies, at present, is dependent
chiefly upon their news. l do not
think there is gentleman connected
with any Honolulan daily who will
claim that his paper is what its managing
editor might make it, under slightly diff
ferent circumstances.
And my last statement brings me
face to face with my original PROPOSE
tion--on which I have based my three
previous articles could not fully
state it before without giving offense.
| trust my long preface has shown that
in stating it now I state merely an hon
est conviction, thoughtfully Gi not ex-
haustively or logically arrived at.
shall, be grateful for correction of any
mis- statement / have made and will
cheerfully acknowledge any fallacy in
my argument-if clearly shown.
My proposition is /:
/. There is no COED ne.ospaber IN
Honolulu.
?. There oHght to be t6Mr-fuo daib
and f1o0 neekt.
have used the word '.good" unqual-
ifedly because am confident my read.
ers will make their own qualifications.
There is so much that is good" in
Honolulan newspaperdom that if Iwere
not sure that it is fully'and freely ack-
nowledged and appreciated ! should
like to "gush" at length over it. But l
realize that its excellencies, its faults
and its foibles are all understood and
so have stated the naked fact -as see
it.
think, also,that I recognize the rea-
son. Four dailies--or, to disarm hy-
percriticism, three dailies and half
are doing imperfectly the work that
might be well done by two. -Four
weeklies are dividing the patronage
that would be little enough for two,
Merchants are taxed for advertisements
that do in the aggregate no more good
than might be done by half as many pa
pers for half as much money--though
advertising rates are far too low here;
and tisshort-sightcd undue competition
which makes the low rates that many
papers accept The general public is
taxed to subscribe to more local papers
than fairly may be read, without neglect
OF other necessary reading
And the dindtd patronage sitss sS6l
inadequate SUPPORT that no paper her
either does hare or ean a5srd to hare a
sufficient staff