Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1893-09-20
The Country Paper.

The following has frequently gone
the rounds of the press, but loses moth
ing by repetition, and we give it place
in u columns hoping some good may
result from a reading of it:
The most abused, least appreciated,
and at the same time, the most poten-
tial factor in the community is the To-
cal newspaper. You don't think so; I
know you don't but it is the truth. The
local paper does more for its county
than all the blanket" daily or weekly
papers combined. Not an issue passes
but what some enterprise or some in
.dividual receives a free advertisement,
not a worthy cause but what it champ.
ions and espouses. But still the woods
are full of men who embrace every
opportunity to curse their county paper,
and swear it is not worth picking up in
the road. Of course, it may not al
ways have as much news and be as
bright and attractive as it ought to be,
but that is because you haven't paid
your subscription for two years and
the editor is forced to maui rails occas-
ionally for a living. The next time you
think your paper dull, send the editor
your subscription and see if the next
issue isn't better.
You forget that it cost something to
run a newspaper, and the editor must
pay his expenses, and make a living be-
sides. Then you meet another class of
people who are eternally asking why
the editor puts SO many advertisements
in his paper? Why, bless your soul,
man, that is the editors only ource of
revenue. If he were to print no adver-
tisements and depend upon such sub
scribers as you, he would be in the
poor house in less than a month.
Another class of men can't under
stand why they can get a city weekly
for half what their county paper costs.
These same people can't understand
why water doesn't run up hill, either.
The city weekly is printed from dead
matter that has been used on daily
editions and hence costs nothing for
composition. But the matter in a
country paper is set up and used for
one edition only. Then, you pay for
the city weekly in advance, and you
pay for your country paper-well, you
don't pay forit at all. There is another
man / want to mention. He has taken
his county paper for, say ten years. 1t
has been a source of pleasure to him
and his family for a decade. 1t has
given him puff after puff. When the
baby died it contained a half column
obituary which was dear to him, but
commonplace to all other readers.
When his daughter married it had al
most a column of stuff about the hand
some bride and the intelligent groom,
and the intelligent groom came in next
day and got two extra copies of the
paper and went away without paying
for them. 1t had contained all this
and much more of like nature, but
one day the editor wrote that he would
like to have pay for sending his paper
for ten years, and this man gets mad
and tells the editor to stop his paper for
it amt worth a d-n anyhow. Such a
man may be a good father and q kind
husband, but I doubt it.
But the worst of all is he who takes
his county paper for year after year
and without any apology or paying a
red cent, has the postmaster to notify
the editor that he doesn't want the pa
per any longer. If such a man won't
steal, il Is only because he had a good
mother.
The local paper builds up your coun-
ty, develops it's resources, fights others
peoples battles, and gets badly kicked
and abused because it does not do more.
In today's mail you may receive the
New York World and Harper's Weekly,
but I'll bet anything in the world that
you read the home paper first. Still,
county papers are not worth a cent.
Queer isn't itY Yes, very queer. 1
tell you, kind reader, this is a queer
world and the people living in it are
the queerest of all.