The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-07-16
TWO CLASSES OF HARD WORKERS
Would 1t be just for the Farmers to Have
Goyernme ntal Aid and Leave the
Newspaper Men to Hustle
Alone?
lGreenville NeWs.7

OTeSuFlllG ~ GWS.
The newspaper men of this country
as class work very lard for their liv.
ings and get mighty poor livings at that
They can and do complain with justice
that they are oppressed by advertising
agents, neglected by people who owe
them, pursued by people they owe and
constantly defrauded and wronged. A
few Of them are prosperous. Many Of
them fail and lose their time, labor and
money after straining every nerve. The
great mass of them barely manage to
make ends meet, and come out at the
end of each years hard work as poor as
they began.
A few years ago they could sell their
weekly papers at from 50 to So a year
and their dailies at from IS to $40. Now
81 weeklies and Sc dailies are the rule
and they have to supply bigger and
better papers to do business.
We can claim that we are oppressed,
robbed and poor; that paper trusts and
tWine trusts affiict US; that when we
borrow money we have to pay interest
on it; that many of our presses and
plants mortgaged that Jay Gould
and the Associated Press extort their
cash evry week; that our bard-earned
and painfully gathered ducats flow in
unceasing streams into the Golfers of
monopolists; that the printers and press
men demand their wages every Satur-
day and the cash to crafty them has
often to be hustled fer.
All these complaints are like those
the farmers make and equally well
founded.
Now suppose the newspaper men Of
the country should unite in demand for
relief. Suppose they should proclaim
their hardships and misfortunes and
the fact that they are as arule good and
useful citizens, that the great mass of
the people depend on them for inforlna-
tion and intellectual food. Suppose
that in consideration of all these things
they should demand a flexible currency
suited to their needs, abundant in sum-
mer "hen collections are scrarce, con-
tracted ~ winter when cash in abund-
ant. Suppose they should demand that |
the government should lend money at |
per cent, to two-thirds the value of
their plants, or accept their subscription |
lists or account books-based on the |
faith and credit of the people-or guam
titles Of completed job WORK, as securi-
ty. They might even 60 further and
run off few millions of paper curren-
ey on their job presses and put that up |
as collateral.
Would anybody think or claim that |
these things and demands were just or
worthy Of consideration? Or can any,
oOOy COulCuQ CudI IuO SoNSt uuSuI III |
granting them would be using any of
It's proper functions? Or can anybody
show how newspaper men would be
helped by mortgaging their years busi-
ness and collections, taking the chances
If loss or gain and borrowing money
hey would have to pay back.
The illustration seems absurd, but we
ask serious consideration for it and
lefy anybody to point out the essential
difference in the case that could be
made by the newspaper men and that
made by the farmers.
Like the farmers, We work and SOW
LII the year trusting to harvest at crop
time. Like them we are de-
pendent on the weatherand the seasons
or abundance or scarsity. Like them
We have to meet sharp competition, to
'educe prices according to demand, to
oay the prices demanded of US for tele-
graph tolls, paper, ink, type setting,
presses and rents.