Passaic City record., 1893-09-09
RAILROADS
AND NEWSPAPERS.
THE RELATIONS OF THESE TWO
GREAT CHvELIZENG POWERS.


"There is no such thing as free
transportation for newspaper men"
said prominent railroad official
recently. Railroads, at least many
of them, issue what are known as
free tickets to members of the
press but for every rod of editorial
mileage the railroads are gamers
many times over. As a rule the
per centage of reciprocation, in
dependent from regular contracts,
is in favor of the railroads, and /
do not see the wisdom of the ex-
pressed intention of an Eastern
trunk line to sever its connection
with all newspapers on the first of
the coming year, especially where
it has not been paving cash for its
advertising
Time was when the railroads
and newspapers were considered
anything but cousins, but period
of cordial relations has set in.
It is right that there should be
frienship between these two. All
over, wherever the railroad has
stopped for a moment to make a
town, the newspaper has been i'm
mediately started to boom it. But
for the railroad, the town might
not have existed, and but for the
newspaper it might not have
amounted to anything. As the
town grew under the energetic
booming Of its paper, it gave more
business to the road; more people
came to make their homes and
carry on business; more grain and
merchandise was brought in.
Newspapers now consent to pub
lish the time tables Of trains, and
give the public due notice Of their
arrival and leaving time; we pub
lish notices in which the fast trains,
punctua1 service, superb equip
lnent, elegant sleepers and COM
modious dining and buffet cars are
duly mentioned and in return the
editors receive certain long strips
of paper between cardboard covers,
which conductors mutilate more or
less as the editor travels around
on the trains.
To the inflated, says Eugene
Schaffter, of the Boone Valley
(Iowa) Gazette, in a paper read be-
fore the Des Moines Editorial As
sociation, both railroads and news
papers are kindly, both generous.
Among the employees Of a railroad,
there is perhaps as much esprit an
co,bs as in the newspaper fraternity.
They are all embarked alike In
one enterprise-to keep trains
running for the public use. Whe-
ther it be in the department. of
track or bridges, handling freight,
keeping accounts. twisting brakes,
punching tickets or any other of
the multifarious departments of
railroading, the ultimate object is
the same-that the trains duly pass
over the road from station to station
and that the public's person or the
public's property be duly transport
ed from one point to another. The
men who do all this work are a
mighty army in the land.
What the newspapers has done
for this country is not to be told
in word. They have helped many
little town out of insignificance
into the broad light of prosperity;
they have induced thousands Of ser
tiers to develop the country. They
have bound the people of the sew
eral towns into social relations by
constant newsgathering of a per-
sonal and business kind. They
have been the voices Of their town,
and the medium Of communication
between all parts of the State.
They are the business directories
of prosperous merchants, The
country press has not the grand
impersonality of the city dailies,
but is more like a familiar friend
who makes a weekly call, with lots
to talk about. In politics the coun-
try papers have been and are the
standard bearers of parties, and the
editors have fought for favorite
tickets and candidates with vigor
and resolution which deserves bet
ter reward than most of them have
ever received.
We know, however, that the
newspapers have prospered. We
are also reasonably sure that the
railroads have done well, or at least
we hope so.
The newspapers and the rail
roads are persuing their civilizing
mission side by side. The doubts
and suspicious which at one time
threatened to separate them for
ever into hostile camps are clearing
away; and while cordiality has not
yet resumed the annual pass stage,
II ic well oroI7ndad IN fhe basis of