Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1889-04-26
A SHORT SERMON.

some west N1TSuhd pdpeTsr TIE
Post regrets TO note, have been COM
PEELED TO cut down their dimensions;
Others continue to print large sheets
but fill them up with old sewing ma
chine cuts, knitting machine pictures,
patent medicine portraits of men who
have long since died, and other "slush"
that pays nothing and is a positive
nuisance even to ''fill up" with. The
cause of all this is plain enough. A
weekly county paper can't live in
West Virginia at less than 81 year,
and those who publish journal for
less money, on the credit system, are
bound TO retreDch or bust in due
time. Better make q good paper and
charge living price, brethren. Nor
gdRtOWR Post.
There is just lots of good sense in
the above paragraph. Two dollars is
not too much for good county pa
per in West Virginia, though there
are some persons-not in the business
who think differently. Only this
week one of the REGISTERS subscrib
ers stopped taking the paper because
we WOuiu lOl IuIHiSA IL W hiih lOi Ihc
same price he gets city weekly for.
He could not see how it is that we
cannot compete with the city papers.
The way city weeklies are gotten up
is this: The matter used in the dailles
is saved for the weekly, put into pa
ges. and printed off at the very mini
mum Of cost; it has goodpaying adj
vertisements TO swell its income; ii
has thousands of subscribers where
the county papers have hundreds;
and finally, it is simply sort of APP
pendage TO the daily, and if it only
helps TO pay expenses it is all right.
In the country the advertising must
be done at low prices; subscribers are
necessarily limited in number; job
work is scarce Country editors, like
country preachers, earn all they get,
but they never get all they earn.
We believe the REGISTERS sub
scribers are as good as any country
papers, but there are all sorts OF peo-
pie among them. There are few, as
before stated, who don't like it be-
cause it costs more than city week
": there are others who want it for
little less than their neighbor pays,
simply because they like to drive
sharp bargain; one fellow wants the
editor TO vigorously express his opin-
ion of men and things, and another
will stop it if he does say what he
thinks; one man not long since came
in 10 subscribe on has terms, and when
we naturally objected and wanted TO
have the regular price he said he
wouldn't subscribe but would borrow
his neighbors; that man will make
nuisance Of himself to his neighbor in
order TO save fifty cents year.
couple of wears ago another subscrib-
or got mad because he differed with
us on politics and stopped his paper;
we don't think, though, that he has
missed reading a copy since, for helm
variably borrows a paper for himself;
he makes his family do without 1t,
but he always reads it. We haven't
time or space TO describe the fellow
who wants three dollars worth of adj
vertising free every year because he
is a Subscriber; the chap who reads
every issue and loudly criticises, but
who never bought II copy in his life;
the man who won't subscribe for the
measly sheet himself, but who almost
breaks his neck trying to get hold of
some one else's copy-there are not
many of these, but they are loud!
But, thank Heaven, there's another
sort of subscriber. One Of them came
in on the Sth of April apologizing be-
cause his subscription expired on the
9th and he was two days behindtime
in paying in advance. He is first
cousin to the fellow who comes i'll and
blanks down his four dollars to pay
his own subscription and to send the
paper to some friends at a distance.
And the man who pays his money
and says he gets his moneys worth;
who says he will pay you on certain
date and sticks to ii; who tells you
your paper is good one and he en-
joys it-oh, you love to see these
whole-souled, jolly fellows, who may
have hayseed in their hair but who
are honest from hide to bone and
then back again. We know lots of
them, and they are the people who
not only keep the newspapers going
but keep the community prosperous
one.
We know newspapers are not per
feet by any means, but just give them
a fair show and they'll do their best
for the communities in which they
are located And of course they must
look out little for No. l.