St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-07-18
LIE OF THE COUNTRY EDITOR.

than any one now known to fame
He can get up earlier in the morning
and stay up later at night; he can
give more free show advertising for
the privilege of being called dead
head when he goes to see how hard
he has lied, and he can pay out more
money for running expenses and get
less returns in available cash than
ANYBODY not a magician.
The editor of a country paper can
keep the press waiting longer to get
i'll four-line advertisement for some
man who intends enbarking i'll the
business of hedge-trimming, and yet
start the press in better time to catch
the train running to supply four sub
scribers in Stump Town, than any
other man on earth, unless it be the
editor of some other country paper.
He can wear a hat longer and a coat
shorter than most people, and he has
to do this in order to keep an adver-
t1Ser who wants to pay IN goods.
He can go all summer without shin
ing his shoes, and he is expected to
do so, or be called ''stuck up" by the
people who edit his torch of progress
for him. He can bear with meekness
the assaults of the collector of bills,
the raids of the peddler of books, the
charge of the patent medicine man
from the city and the visits from the
cashier who holds his acceptance.
He can stand it to be cursed for
his unclassifed idiocy by every mag
nate in the town, and then, when his
slanderers die, can write elegies like
Jewels, five words long, that on the
stretched forefinger of all time spar
kle forever" He can do all this and
raise big family, each year seeing
the second boy encaSed in trousers
the first has outgrown; each year
seeing the girls go to meeting in a
last summers hat, because it is
cheaper than when the fashion was
young. And when the editor has
tried for the last time to make 81
keep the promise made for three, he
can die as easily and be buried as
cheaply and forgotten as quickly as
any vagrant that ever craved a
drink.
When the country editor washes
the roller on Saturday night, and
locks the office door by setting box
of plates against it, he is the most
thankful of mortals; he is glad to be
alive; glad he got through a week
when he hardly expected to; glad
things have been no worse than they
were, and glad to look forward to a
whole day of idleness. Yet he must
go to church, for the sewing circle
will not consider it proper for a man
to conduct that lever of en1ighten-
ment-the press-unless he has the
appearance of piety. But if he goes
to hear the Methodist minister, the
Baptists say he is partial. He is ex-
pected to contribute good hard cash
to every scheme projected by the
brethren and sisters, clerical or lay,
in or out of the church, and then he
can boom the bare-faced fraud as a
matter of news" Sunday night,
when he lays away his boiled shirt
for next Lords day he feels the APP
proach of Monday with a sort of
dread
He goes to sleep with an intuition
that some man will be in to cuss him
about some item in last week S paper
has no idea which One-and dreams
that he tried to run away, and could
not possibly do it. When he goes to
the office Monday morning he finds
the roller has fallen down in the I've
ar and is ruined, and he will have to
buy a new one; the boys have climb
ed in through window and mashed
the only font of script trying to print
visiting cards for their girls, and
some clumsy meddler has pied the
only case of type he had distributed.
things Strengthened up a cash sub
scriber comes in and discOntinues his
paper because no notice was made of
his wooden wedding. Then a boy
comes i'll and orders Josh Hill'spaper
stopped on general principles, and
the fact that some three years sub
scription stands unliquidated on the
book does not seem to disturb Josh
in the least. Various other maledic-
tons from unexpected sources, both
because of what he didn't do and be-
cause of what he did, are hurled at
the editor during the forenoon, and
then he is ready for work, still CRATE
full that his miserable life is spared.
He is business manager, solicitor,
editor and proofreader, and
besides he does whatever general
work the rest of the force leaves I'M
done. He takes pride in telling the
patrons of his sheet that he can run
off the edition quicker than any
man he ever hired, and when it comes
to setting type he doesn take back
seat for any of EN-"
But long hours, heavy work, mad
equate compensation and abundant
cussing are not alone the lot of the
rural journalist. He is not without
honor even in his own country.
However selfish men are, however
prompt to condemn, they are still
quick to give the editor easy prece-
dence to public consideration He is
secretary of meetings at which the
one big fish-the national banker
presides. He is given the first fruits
of the garden and orchard, the choice
product of farm and fireside labor,
and simple acknowledgment in the |
paper is pay enough. He is a recog
nized authority on matters of hiStO-
~ and public policy. He introduces
great speakers when they come to
the people, and sits on the
platform on all occasions.
There are even better things than
these for the man who runs" the |
paper. He loves the work
and could not be weaned from it. He |
knows every man whose name he |
writes from the mailing list each
week, and their varied characters
pass in review before him as the pen
I'll glides forward. He knows every
hill and creek in the county, and |
would esteem it lighter disgrace to
libel preacher than to urge drain