Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-09-16
THE PRESS ASSOCIATION.
EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS IN COUNCIL
LAST NIGHT.
Proposed Revision of the Constitution
and By-Laws-Duncan Mcpherson on
sUnity of the Press"

The annual meeting of the Northern an,
Central California Press Association wa
held last evening in the lecture-room o
the Crocker Art Gallery. There were pres
ent the following members of the Associa
ton:
Rufus Shoemaker, Grass Valley Tele
graph; W. w. johnson, Marysville appeal
A. c. Folger, Bridgeport Chronicle Union
H. A. Richmond, Placer Argus; J. J Camp
bell, Gait Gazette; w. S. Green, Colusa San
DIR. Dobson. Red Bluff Sentinel; Watson
Alameda Eacindl; ] A. Filcher, Au
burn Herald: E. B. Price, Oroville Mer
| catry; S. S. 9oynton, Oroville Register; Wicl
B. Parsons, Woodland Democrat; Rober
| Nixon, Yreka Journal; T. H. Dawson
Corning Observer; N. B. Kirtley, SutteT In
dependent; W G. Benton, American Pres;
| Association; E. B. Willis, ]. A. Woodson
and T. w. Sheehan, Record Union; V. S
! McClatchy, Bee; w. T. Kidd. Millvills
Times; R Tremain, Lassen Mail; D. Nc
| Pherson, Santa Cruz Sentinel; S. II. Callen
! Williams Farmer; G. NJ. Francis, Naps
Register; C. D. Radcliffe, Colusa Herald; A
B. Lemmon, Santa Rosa Republican.
| Frank J Dyer, of the Los Angeles Citizen
| Secretary of the Southern California Pres:
Association. ]. B. Tibbetts, of the Sants
Barbara Independent, and ]. L. Mum, San
| Jacinto Register, were present at the meet
| ing.
President W. S. Green. of the Colusa Sun
called the Convention to order and made q
! short Introductory address. He briefly re-
| viewed the work of the Association since
! its organization. and paid compliment to
William H. Mills who. he said, had done
much toward making the Association whal
| it was. He believed that a seat in the Con.
vention in few years would be worth as
much as one in the Stock Exchange.
| Secretary Rogers read an invitation from
! the President of the Museum Association
| TO visit the Crocker Art Gallery.
! Ii was stated that the Directors of the
State Agricultural Society desired to pre-
sent each of the members of the Association
with complimentary season ticket, en-
| titling them to admission to the pavilion
| and race track.
The following letter from Senator Leland
| Stanford was read and enthusiastically re-
ceived by the Association.
lam in receipt of a letter signed by you and
| other members of your committee. inviting me
| to be present at your September session and ad-
| dress your Association.
much regret that l am obliged to decline
! your klHQ luNlthliOu, Ou dCcOuut Oh my G9pec-
| ted absence in Europe hut it would have given
me great pleasure to meet with you. My conf
| dence in the progress OF the human race lies in
the development of its intelligence. l have an
idea that we are very far from that civil lizstion
which is possible, but toward which we are pro-
crossing faster now than in any other period of
the worlds history.
think that the press is the greatest educator
we have. 1t spreads thoughts and ideas and
| makes them accessible to all. IL is not always
what wish it was, but feel confident that in
the end 1t will be as near to the tastes of its
patrons as possible With the general progress
in the intelligence and humanities of life, the
tone of the press will be higher and more hu-
name.
I, myself, once came near being a newspaper
man. In fact l was appointed editor of
paper, but this was in the East before the
time of railroad communication, and when all
intercourse with the West was substantially
closed with the closing. of navigation on the
lakes. The association backing the paper in
question failed to purchase press which they
supposed they could obtain near at hand, the
project was IN consequence abandoned, and
failed to become member of your honorable
fraternity. l have often thought since that if
had become an editor should have filed one
of the most responsible positions in life. For it
is great responsibility to talk every morning
to larg5 numbers of people. educating and di-
recting them in some line of thought There is
no paper issued but what has it in its power to
make people better and wiser. Ideas when
scattered always have that effect
Thanking you again for the compliment you
have paid me, remain your friend,
LELAND STANFORD.
The following newspaper men made ap-
plication for admission to the Association,
and were unanimously elected:
U. w. Bowen, Suisun Republican. G. E.
Pendleton, Red Bluff Cause; j. G. Over
sinner, Maxwell Mercury; l.. S. Hanscom,
Modesto Herald; McGrath & Dodge, Lassen
Aduocate Miss Eva T. Rednall ST. Helena
Star; T. c. Jldkins, Fresno Republican:
j. w. Hoag Pesaluma Argus; Frank J
Dyer, Los Angeles Citizen; Pillsbury &
Ellsworth, Tulare Register; Frank j.
Mofitt, Oakland Times: Taylor Brothers,
Arbuckle Aut0crdt; Jesse Wood, Chronicle
Record; S. J Matthews. Republican, Press,
Ukish; S. A. Drummond, Antelope valley
Times, Sci pio Craig, Redlands Citrograph:
Z. f. Meet, Enterprise. Anderson; J. ID.
| Jones, Fresno Inquirer; j. w. Ferguson,
Fresno E1positor; n. B Kirtley, Sutter In.
| dependent. Yuba City; j. H Hardy, Cotton
wood Register; William F. Saunders, Signs
| Of the Times, Oakland; Geo. F. Kernaghan.
| Pasadena Star.
1t was ordered that the Chair appoint a
committee of five to nominate the officers
| of the Association for the ensuing term,
| and to report at the session this morning.
The Chair appointed Messrs. Woodson,
Krauth, Parsons. Callen and Chalmers.
| Editor D. Mcpherson, of the Santa Cruz
Sentinel was called upon to address the
meeting on the subject of THE Unity OF
| the California Press" The speaker COM
| menced by saying that there was no such
| thing as the unity of the California press,
| and he had been given something to dis
| cuss which did not exist. There was no
| unity because the newspaper men lacked
| business sense. Business was at the bot
| tom of fraternity, and unity rested on fra
ternity The time was when newspaper
men were lawyers, ministers and literary
men, and Horace Greeley was such man
He was one of the largest financial failures
in America. though the founder of the
greatest paper in the Empire State In all
his career and with all his ability as g
| writer, he gained no fortune to speak of
To-day the world was run by busines;
men and on business principles, but the
press of California was an exception. The
newspapers were not run on business prin.
cples. AS general rule those connected
with the papers were ambitious as writers
and editors but not as business men. This
was the secret of the failure OF most of the
small papers. The bootbacks, millmen
navigation companies and other corpora
tions could form unions and raise the
price of their labor, and yet the newspa
=
pers of the State could not do this
even though they set themselves NJ
as the teachers of these men
In short, they signally fsiled t.
practice what they preached. In the grea
cities where the newspapers were success
ful they were found to be in the hands, no
Of leader writer's entirely. but the success
came from the business office. The Cali
fornia newspaper men were, as rule
poorer than The lawyers, and to be con
WINGED of this fact one need but to go t
their dens. Their condition was made s.
; because they could not stand up to thei
, own prices for fear of being underbid by
) contemporary.
, Continuing. the speaker said there coul,
be no success without harmonious relation
existed among all. Indeed, there was oftel
so much bitter feeling among editors tina
they were not even on speaking terms
The Association he believed would il