The Delta independent., 1890-10-14
THEY WILL NEVER RETURN.
Good Old Editorial Days are Gone But are Not
FORGOTTEN

Forgotten.
"There was time" said the editor
publisher and proprietor of the Union
town Banner and American Watch
tower. "when my country subscribers
brought in apples, potatoes, turnips,
carrots, squashes, eggs and lots OF
other stuff as free gifts to the editor
and when set aside the second col
umn OF the third page for notices that
Farmer Smith and so forth had laid on
our table SO and so. for which he
would please accept our thanks. 1t
has been three years since even to-
matc was brought into the Office"
what has brought about this
changer"
1.-The daily papers. They have
heaped ridicule on the good old GUS
tom until they have given it its death
blow. And there's another thing.
Up to four or five years ago some OF
my subscribers were certain to put
from 5000 to $500 in the rag bag for
safe keeping and then sell the bag to
the pedler without remembering the
money. / could always count on at
least two items of this sort every year,
but they are gone forever now."
'And do you blame the dailies for
this alsoP"
'.1 do. They poked fun at and heap
ed ridicule on the farmer until he felt
obliged to deposit his money in the
bank. Don't you remember those
sood old days when the wife used to
put 500 in the parlor stove for saf1
keeping, and her husband used to
build fire without her knowledgepn
..Yes."
''Well, it is fully four years since I
have had such case. The daily
papers are to blame for it. There was
time when could count on staight
column week under the head of
Terrible Accident! Another Farmer
Dragged to Death The farmer had
a way, you know, of hitching the lines
around the body when he was break
ing colt or tying the rope to his arm
when leading fractious horse to
water. He doesn't do it any more.
The daily papers have had SO many
items headed Another Idiot Gone to
His Reward or Another Fool Farmer
Heard From that the practice is
dead"
Eyes, know"
'.And l could in those good old
times regularly count on what was
known as the pitchfork accident
Why, used to keep the item in type
on the standing galley and simply
change names and dates. You re-
member how it used to run2 Farmer,
or his son or hired man stacking hay
or straw and then sliding down on the
fork. 1t was sometimes a hay stack
and sometimes q haymow. but they
always managed to hit the fork when
they slid down. The fat take has gone
with the others and the dailies are to
blame"
.'It seems sadp'
''It is sad. You know how we used
to make up the editorial page' We'd
cut leader from the Sun, Chicago
Times, Cincinnati Enquirer or Buffalo
Courier. and lead her right out, simply
saying as preface: That able and
well-conducted journal, the -, says
had to drop the style three years ago.
The dailies began to kick and my sub
scribers to find fault. Many time l
had sheared out four columns OF edi-
torial in less than ten minutes, and it
makes my heart ache to realize that /
eAn never, no never, do so any more
One Of the saddest changes. however,
is the last''
"What is that?"
"Forcing us to drop the We which
was SO long the power behind the
throne. You can look back to when
We called into Browns grocery; when
We took run into the country the
other day; when We did thus and so
and the other thing, and were the
biggest man in town. All gone now
gone with the perquities and privileges
Why, only last week, when l chucked
in three columns of dead ads to fill up
on. the fourth page, half a dozen sub
scribers came in and complained of a
lack Of reading matter! It's change
Ia great change. and Pm afraid some
Sf US will die trying to get used to it,