The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1894-05-05

buy the paper to get the news ant
form their own opinion. Everybod,
knew then who wrote the leading ed
itorials in the Tribune and Times
Nobody knows who writes them now
As an illustration of the extent t,
which this newspaper evolution hai
gone the great metropolitan journals
keep resident correspondents at tn,
principal capitals of Europe on salar
les equaling that of member of con
gress, and publish almost daily cabl,
letters on which the tolls amount L
800 a column. The n. Y Herald'>
account of the defeat and flight o.
Balmaceda by the Reyolutionists OF
Chill, S. a. cost that paper $3.50 pei
word for the cable charges, or NOR,
than 81, 600 a column.
It is the conception of the newspa
per as alegitimate private bushes,
enterprise that has made these great
results possible. The editor gathers
the news of his field and sells it to his
subscribers. When the subscriber
gets that he has what he paid for,
and there his claim stops. The pa
per is not obliged to print the com
munication of ''Old Subscriber, Con-
slant Reader, Taxpayer or "Pro
Bono Publico.n nor even to give any
reason for it. II the subscriber inn
agines he has special rights and there
fore special grievances, he can stop
his paper, and there is no harm done
The conscientious newspaper endeay-
ors to have its news correct and trust
worthy, and to verify its information
in order not TO mislead nor to injure
the innocent. Considering the diff
Guilty often Of finding reliable sources
Of information and of sitting the false
from the true, the wonder is not that
so many errors creep in, but that 50
many are kept out.
In the large cities this mutual rela-
ton between the press and the public
is better understood than in the coun-
try, and hence the relative growth Of
the city paper has far outstripped
that of its rural contemporary. The
city paper does business on strict bus
mess principles and hence is able to
be prosperous and to live in its own
home on a front street. When you
enter its Office the first thing visible
is the business manager with his
clerks at the cash counter. The edi-
tor and his assistants are in remote
back room or ON the third floor. The
day of the business manager in the
country newspaper Office is coming al
so, and when il does come the local
newspaper will occupy the place it
long since earned-that OF an indie
pendent and profitable business enter
prise. The country newspaper has
been crippled because the editor was a
good natured, obliging individual who
allowed himself to be handicapped by
yielding to the mistaken public notion
that it was part of his business to
boost along everybody's else business
free of charge.
When that time comes, the man
who wants a notice printed in the
newspaper for his personal benefit or
to advance his private interest, will
pay for it, just as he pays the mer-
cHdnb lOT HIS Boous.
The boarding house keeper who
wants the paper to notify the public
that he has moved to another street,
will be charged regular rates for the
notice, just as he charges his board
ers for their meals.
The subscriber who pays for one
copy of the paper regularly will not
expect few extra copies free ocea-
sionally when something nice has
been published about him, any more
than he would expect his milkman
from whom he buys quart of milk
each morning to send him in a half
gallon of cream free of charge every
time he entertained his friends at a
select dinner.
The church, or this, that, or the
other society that gives a benefit en-
tertainment, or pays some noted man
a big sum to deliver lecture. will not
think of imposing on the newspaper
by asking it to advertise the affair
literally for weeks and then in pay
ment grudgingly give a couple of com
tickets to the poor editor
who is struggling to pay his bills and
bring the paper out on time.
The political committee which inn
ports an orator to speak for the party
and candidates, and pays for his SER
vice and expenses, will not demand
that the editor of the local party pa
per prints columns of campaign litera-
ture for nothing, while in the large
cities the papers print this for 25 or
80 cents line.
The party candidate will not expect
the party paper to advocate his cause
and boom the ticket from the open
ing to the close of the canvass, all for
the good of the cause alone, and then
as soon as he gets into the Office begin
to beat the printer by asking him to
cut advertising rates. or by going out
side of his party, and even out of the
county to get his job printing done,
as is sometimes the case.
The teacher who conducts a pros
porous normal will not expect free
printers ink to work up his school
while he pockets the tuition straight.
In short, the reign of newspaper
dead headism will be over, because
dead headism will come to be esteem
ed as unprofessional and as unbusiness
like to all concerned as it has long
been Improbable to the editor.