The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1891-03-26
Money Well Spent.

Lamar, Colorado, pays $l,5G0 for write ups in
| the local press. The Monitor OF Fort Scott
! Kansas is paid $1,000 for talking up the advan-
tages OF that city Hutchinson, Kansas, claims
to pay the Ne,cs $4,000 for running morning
| paper, and Newton does better by subscribing
/ $4,000 to have the Republican boom the place.
Such as this is what has made the West, and a
similar policy would go very far towards max
ing tsiis city what it should have been fifty years
ago.
1t has been a fault with the cities and
towns of Virginia that they have not
given the local papers the support to
which their services entitle them. A
well conducted, live local paper is the
most profitable industry locality can
procure, but they are not appreciated to
the extent they should be by the improve
ment companies After having been eff
GENTLY aided by the local journals, aud
advanced to the position where midas
tries may be invited they subscribe $a5,-
eco and $4,000 and sometimes as high
as 100000 to secure plant while the
closest kind of bargains are driven with
/ the newspaper, which has been the i'm
portant factor in their success, for adj
vertising and job work, ignoring almost
entirely the valuable services which
have been performed The VIRGINIAN
has labored for the material advance
ment of the State, and especially this
part of it, without abatement for the
past twenty years. For long time it
was considered crank about the ma
terial resources of the Valley, the State,
and the South, and found very little re-
spouse to the oft-repeated assertion
that Virginia had more natural wealth,
awaiting the active contact of money
and muscle, than any similar territory
in the Union. What we stated years
ago, and which was received with incre-
dulity, now almost every one believes.
Not only the papers of our State. which
scarcely gave line to encourage mate
rial development, but Journals and pc
riodicals throughout the entire country
are now extravagant in their new born
zeal and effusiye earnestness about the
wonderful hidden wealth of the State,
and take good care to charge literally
for every enterprise they puff and
boom We not only have kept con
stantly before the country the mineral
riches of Virginia, but have done SO
without money and without price,
never having asked or received dollar
for editorial matter prepared and pubs
lished to first invite and then assist all
legitimate enterprises for nearly quars
ter of century. We have written and
published enough upon the natural re
sources of Virginia within he time
named to make large book, but have
never accepted silver for it from any
incorporated company organized for i'm
provement purposes. Our editorials have
been furnished to correspondents and
adopted by them word for word and
line for line, and for which thousands of
dollars have been paid to other journals,
yet not dollar for the original articles
or the wide circulation given them on
their first appearance.
1t is true the VIRGINIAN has been lib
orally supported in a general way. but
no special effort has been made by those
WHOIu IL Has DenellIteu, III pecunlafF
way to enlarge it's business and give it
encouragement commensurate with it's
work Its success has been due to the
support Of the people generally, and not
to any special favor or recognition, in
the way noticed in the article given
above, by enterprises it has aided in
building up.
1t is not in the line of a grievance that
we mention this matter here, but it is
to emphasize the fact that the local
paper generally is not appreciated by
the community where it is published.
or supported with the libcrality its la
bors should command, No better index
to the business and spirit of town can
be presented than the local paper. If
prudently conducted and well sustained,
it more surely advertises place than
all other agencies combined. 1t ought
to be sustained by q broad and liberal
recognition, such as is indicated in the
paragraph we have quoted, and in every
way good word should be spoken for
it, as means of extending its useful
ness and charging the sphere of its in
fluence.