Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-03-21
NO.25--SO4.

wish to call the attention Of the public.
The law recognizes their existence and
makes provision TO use them in a man
ner necessary for its own highest efiic-
iency. A paper is an important medi-
um through which the existence of
communities is made known to the
world at large Their attractions, re-
sources, growth and decline are set
forth. They are made the organs of
churches and societies. They advocate
local rights. and expose local abuses,
and point out remedies for social
wrongs. If they make some mistakes
the same may be said of the greatest
papers in the world. If some are open
to the charge of weakness we can only
say that there are not Horace Greeleys
enough 70 supply every local newspa-
per office in the country, and, besides,
we do not believe the editorial is much
below the average talent of the commu-
mites in which it is found, and if it
ranged much higher there would be a
class of lonesome men in the country.
A local newspaper is treated some like
railroad. There are plenty 10 com
plain of it and its way of doing busi-
ness. but take it away and howls would
fill the air. To publish a newspaper
requires money. If it is not published
for the sake of money it cannot be pub
lished without it. II depends upon the
public for support, and to secure sup
port it must, to some extent, cater to
the public. If its object be to raise the
tone of public sentiment, it must con
trive some method to bring itself before
the public. Experience has demon
strated the fact that four line account
of Sarah James visit to her aunt will
secure more subscribers for local pa
per than an entire column descriptive
of war in China, for the simple rea-
son that accidents and incidents and
movements close at hand have more IN
terest to people generally than events
at distance. Hence the four line item
goes in and the column is left out. One
or two things should be remembered.
There is no local item so small that
somebody does not take an interest in
it. The average citizen takes pleasure
in reading his name in print if it is not
in connection with any affair that is
damaging to his reputation or charac-
ter. He wishes to have the fact known
that he exists, and after he has ceased
to exist his friends are anxious that the
SAVIOR of an upright life shall linger a
round his name. This explains the APP
pearance of much that is small. 1t has
been said that a good rule to observe
is to give the name of every man with
in newspapers circuit a place in the
paper at least once year, in connec-
tion with some event in his own life or
in the lives of members of his family.
The lives of most are not very event
| full, and the effort to observe the above
rule makes 1t necessary to work fine in
order to attract. There are some men
in every community whose tastes and
culture and professions and habits of
thought remove them far away from
the gossip of a newspaper, as it does
from local gossip. They have their
ideals of what a local paper should be,
but taking communities as we find them
papers started upon the basis of such
ideals would not survive long enough
to gain hearing, except as objects of
charity. ''Cannot some of this trifiing
matter be left out?" we are sometimes
asked. 1t can be, and perhaps ought
to be, but the same reason exists for
leaving out all that is triAing as for leav-
ing out part land that would break up
the whole business. And who shall
say what is trifing and what is not9
The process of elimination once COM
menced would end where it does with
the bible, nothing left but the owners
name. We must have our local papers
and the general policy should be in
them, to meet the wants of
the community, steer clear through all
quarrels and preserve