The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1891-09-18
The A. b. C.'s of Journalism

| A table of contents of (the REFORMED OF tn
obs sa on the moon, Won Motkes memoirs
the ,So spG Ma. the RRrKasS
opening in Ohio, the horse breeders at Whit
the raa
Of troops on the austrian frontier, the grea
battle around Valparaiso. Emin Bey's success
In Africa, the Chinese preparations for war, thu
Cars visit to Denmark. the revolutionary out
break in Nicaraugua, and the death of kailroao
Commissioner Bragg, not word about which
did any paper in Rrattlebor0 except the REFOR
MER)-which are OF about rs: much impor-
lance in a wide awake, modern local newspaper
as an extract from last years almanac Pho
nix.
Wrong, sonny; you mustn't suppose It Is
only the things you comprehend and are In.
terested In that people of intelligence want 10
know. To the schoolboy spelling out his q.
b. c's, the beet thoughts and greatest move
ments of the world are of no more impor.
lance than the almanac. But he makes mis-.
take II he tries TO run newspaper on that
principle.
There are some local papers that confine
their efforts entirely to locals. This Is well
enough II one aspires to nothing better than
being a retailer of neighborhood trivialties, or
II its readers are only those who also read
the dailies. But the Ideal country newspaper,
the one that comes nearest to meeting Its OPP
portunties Is the one that aims to CLEAN all
fields, to keep In touch with all departments
of human interest and progress, and to make
the farmer or the laboring man who has to
depend on 1t, a fairly well Informed man,
able to converse with intelligent men, and
capable, II his book club or circulating library
gives him access to more specialized reading,
of forming some Idea what 1t is all about.
Locals have to be given. even to the most
attenuated personal bits, IN these times, and
that Is the reason the REFORMER printed 1OS
loS lotNr IN tklo
Phoenix, and 173 personals TO 81 In the
Phoenix, besides taking SIMILAR though not
SO great, lead In county and vicinity news,
as II always does. But while 1t has to do this
work the RRFORMER would be sorry II 1t
could do nothing else, and consequently had
to take what Its neigbbor did at the banquet
given the Republican clubs by DR.. Holton at
the Brooks House few months ago. when
discussing the condition of the party locally.
Republican leaders one after smother got up
and said the great need In BrattlebOro was a
paper of some brains and infOrma-
tlon capable. Of meeting and answering "Dem-
ocratc les"
We had hoped that the Phoenix had profted
from this very unpleasant evening In the
household of its friends. 1t quickly respond.
ed with furnishing white paper enough. Only
the brains remained 10 be supplied.
lnstead of that we regret to see It take the
usual refuge OF ignorance, and narrOwness
and pettiness, flatterng itself that nothing out
Of Its little circle Is of any account.
1t Is not the way to improve.
A Hedgehog Gets a Dog.
Poor "Dandv?c She went up the noun. |
ain Sunday afternoon, with her master, and
instead of travelling the winding road straight,
The made excursions into the woods on either |
'ide; and after being lost to sight about ten
minutes cher master meantime whisting for
ler), she suddenly came tearing up the road
such sightD with her mouth. inside and
nut, her nose, ears, eyes. and, In short. her
ntire head. literally covered with "bristles
rom fretful porcupine.' Her master and
wo assistants Immediately began to extract
he largest as fat as possible meantime little
Ruth cried as II her heart would break. at the
offering Of her pet dog, Dandy.) Two hours
we're spept at this work, when approaching
ain and incoming nightfall admonished oil
pedestrians to make their way down the
When the dog was released. you
ught TO have seen his expressions Of graft.
ude (! and, although probably over hundred
4 the finest needles were still stitching In
i'm. many inside his mouth, he trotted down
he road, q little lame. but wagging his tail
unday night and Monday together, at least
TX hours were occupied by q surgeon and
be owner OF the dog, pulling out the finer
plies Tor needless that had pierced through
nd become imbedded In the tissue Of lips,
Mouth and tongue. The patience with which
his dog submitted to the torture, might al
most be called superbuman. The spines of
be hedgehog, or porcupine are almost
ninutely barbed, and they penetrate skin and
MUSCLE aud ligament with more facility than
be finest needles. When this creature Is at
aeked, 1t rolls itself into ball. erecting and
extending It's sharp hard splnes In any and
very direction. and the dog in question must
ave seized the creature, and received its
Isggers. harder than steel; and bad they not
'esn extracted. the dog would probably have
niserably persisted within - hours. As It Il.
'Dandy' NAV survive. He i the property of
apt. r. W. Childs.-lProf. Frankenstein, 10
rhe Turf, Field and Farm.