Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1889-05-17

HE Of,gonfd", which has the past
few months derived , large revenue
from the paid write-ups Of the smaller
cities and towns in Oregon and Wash
ingtoH, las this to sly Of the COM
ments made thereon 10y the Country
press" as the big-brained paper de
lights to call all newspapers except
itself.
The country press resent the advertising of
cerfa points in metropolitan journals and
claim that thepatronage should be given to home
papers. This sounds well and has some force,
blt not much Every local paper has q duty to
perform to advocate the interests of it's own To-
cality, and cannot expect TO be Paid for doing it.
ms Is lis b0unden duty, and its readers and pat
rons have right ts expect that much of 1t.
But what good will IL do to advertise the merits
Of town or section in journal that has no cir
cuatlon beyond that locality: The metropolitan
journal goes far and near, and throughout the
whole state and section is q powerful agent and
thousands of its readers are in other states. To
advertise Ill such newspaper means something
and brings results that no country newspaper
| can secure.
The objections made to the use OF
the powerful agent" we maintain are
we'll taken. An examination and COM
pa!ison Ct the matter which has APP
peared in the various boom editions of
the OregOnian, shows that it is all CT a
piece; that it is prepared just as some
cynic has said bolognas are made-no
matter what is put in ut the hopper, it
all comes out sausage. There is a pa
tent-medicine, dime-cook book smack
about this style OF flowing hot and
flowing cold by order, that i'll COM
ports with the, ut other times, self-as-
sumed dignity OF a journal like the
Oregonion. One who reads these write
ups is purposely led to believe that
they embody an expression of opinion
from tho j.ernui itrvif, and that io Irrv
ciscly what is paid for and which ap-
pears rs Il merchantablc commodity,
bought and sold, just as much as some
other supplies that are not recognized
as belonging TO honorable trade.
When praise is sold by measure or
bencdictions by the pound, they lose
all but fixed commercial value, and
that is just about the estimate that is
placed upon the Oregoniaa broalsidcs
for which it receives 5000 per Page.
} 1t may be, as is claimed by our pom
} derous contemporary, that it is the
} duty Of the country press" to foster
free of charge their local interests
but is it not the duty Of the "metro
politan" press to cherish and protect
the interests of every small commun-
ity that has been made to pay tribute
to it and which is still paying its pro
portion of the profits of the "only
newspaper? Why should the loca
, newspaper be expected to do without
pay n service that the city journa
makes Il matter for barter, when the
same rules of business apply equally
: 10 both?
The advertising in q metropolitan
journal does "mean some; hing" as i.
claimed in the above extract. II
means that the newspaper has opin
ions to sell, and that some communi
ties are willing to pay its price; that i,
matters but little what the true facts
are, Il fixed pric, will overcome any
scruples which may exist as to an en-
dorsement by IN influential factor in
the active realities of business life
The results ar, however, overated by
the Oregoniaa. Its cheap-john write
ups have Little ii any influence. The
do 'ge is too transparent to carry wi Il
; it any great amount of weight or evil
dence of responsibility.