Mexico weekly ledger., 1886-05-13

your breath. aud feel to soc If ene of
your arms has not dropped OF. the
agent for "Bigliars' Combination has
laid on your desk, four complimentary"
les, and $50 lines of highly Mandatory
repriat notices of the great show.
Without giving you u chance to expos
tulate, he shakes your hand. begs that
you will come and see the beautiful
Miss Cordoza." the ravenous blood
hounds. the two funny Marks, and
mules. and away he goes. You sit
down. aud am afraid You swear. II
there even was u time that swearing is
justiiiable, that time has come. You
will not insert those locals. But all the
same the paper comes out, and we
read of the ''rare treat in store for the
citizens of Podunkville," and editorial
assurance is given that ait is seldom
indeed, that such u large organization
leaves the larger cities. 10 visit small
towns like P-dunkville." In conciu-
sion the editor begs that the city will
turn out en- masse, and so and see the
beautiful Miss CORDOBA, whose ward
robe cost over one thousand dollars"
"Sich is life"
Now for the sequel. You are not
thro' with Uncle Toms galaxy of stars.
You go to see them twinkle, and when
the curtain falls, and you turn to go
out. Indignant faces stare at you, and
some fellow bursts out, SIS this what
your old Democrat calls a gilt-edge en-
~tertainment?" Sadly you wend your
way home, and make S97 resolves about
what you will do next time. But you
are a reporter-and your paper suffers
for it.
THE CIRCUS.
Oflate years the advance agent of
the circus companies are ex-journalists,
and the policy of getting big putfs for
little tickets has been abandoned, and
a more liberal policy inaugurated. The
press agent of the circus is now the
editors friend, save where he finds an
editor who does o know enough to
set a good price on his work, and stick
to it. l have found many whole-souled
men in advance of the circus, willing to
pay well for what they get, aad te
them | bow in admiration.
To follow out my subject thoroughly
would carry me through the ranks o.
, not only advertisers, but subscribers az
I well. The amount Of free putting don,
by the country press is one cause o
fHarn hai n ~ CO rpnnr nnnr nEf0rS-on
| mean poor in purse and poor il
brains. l ought, perhaps, to devot'
my closing remarks to pointing on
1 the remedy for the evil. But l know
L. that it is useless to do SO. Every ont
of my brother editors know how t.
=, remedy the evil just as we'll as I do
The panace is to be found in on,
word, Independence" The nerve t.
say mo" There are too many de
pendent editors. Fear of losing patron
age makes editors unbusiness like
r makes them towards, and | wonde
that some do not lose their own res
pect. If they only knew the pleasur
| the independent editor finds in the con
0 duct of his paper, they would hastel
e to adopt his plan of action. And one
l you adopt, and follow ont this plaI
the big puffs get smaller and smaller
e and lesSNnequent, while the ticket
d GET larger and larger, and are presente
o oftener at the editorial counter. If til
editor expects any outsider to reforI
his style OF doing business he will fin
himself badly mistaken. Men wi
{ take all they can get, and never pay
u cent. Reformation must begin in tn
t editorial room and extend to the bus
{ ness department. Space in the pape
) must be looked at as the publisher
stock in trade, and hen a bolt {
y putfs go out the money for the sam
e should go into the till. l refer of cours
c to that character ofpuffIng which pro-
u erly comes under the head of advertii
" ing.
..e / have been equally guilty with a
10 of you, brethren, in this matter of ruI
y ming a newspaper, like it was a fire.
ie omnibus, and of shivering with fes
IL lest some sin of commission or comml
~ sion would lose me the patronage c
Jones, Brown, or Smith, who had sill
Il ped into my ear an advertisement
which they expected to appear as
d free puff. 1 plead guilty, but not
late. | am thankful that l have g
- out into the light and am now runnir
ie a newspaper On strictly business pril
e. cipIes, writing and publishing what
vi please, and charging for legitimate a
vertising just what / think it is wort
oi "No more policy or big puffs for lit
tickets" ls my motto, and | shall sti'
III to it as long as l live, and continue
the field of journalism. Just now l a
o. having a little circus up my way, b
cause l am upholding the right
Ut every mar to exercise mental libert
d This principle runs all through Il
y newspaper business, and we can new
have a free, anti-pufing press until Il
y editors of country papers will act no
ly est with themselves. If you expe
others to respect you you must say
DIT in the conduct Of your office and yo
paper.
If you prefer to shovel out free puff
and get growlings and curses in retul
you can shovel them out for all I ca
but I beg to be excused. l have tri
=: both styles of doing business within t
-. past twenty years, and 1 assure you Il
the independent, anti-free puff style
~ my business to-daysis bringing in me
-. money than 1 ever handled before as e'
nc tor and publisher, and my work is a da
,w source of pleasure, such as 1 never C
IN perienced in the past. At night, VIII
to sleep curtains the windows of my SO
nd no nightmares gallop around my pillo
no no band of indignant subscribers she
ror denunciation in my ears, no "Marks, I
IT, lawyer" grins triumphantly in my ia
i'll no bloodhounds pursue me for publis
of ing lies about them, no little Eva loo
ill pityingly down upon me from her re
ry light heaven, surrounded by ham,
ia actors, no sheriff pursues me with a
IL unpaid paper bill, but sweet visions gr
.ce my dreaming eyes, and 1 hear voices Sc
ne ing God makes men, but the independ'
mt anti-free-pufing editor makes hims
'er and is an honor to the professionalism