Mexico weekly ledger., 1896-05-28
Beating the Newspapers.

From the st. Joseph Daily News.
No business men r more annoye,
by those who want something fol
nothing than the newspaper publish
ers. People cen to forget that
newspaper is primarily published as
business enterprise, and that it costs
great deal of money from first to las
to run one. Persons who would no
go into a merchants house of bushes
and expect to get any of his stock-in,
trade without paying for it, will drol
into a newspaper office and ask gratii
space, and the setting of type, print
ing and postage for a matter in whict
they alone have a p~ecuniary interest
and profit.
The newspaper in tn course
of the year gives to church, charity
and humanity far more than the aver
age business house and gets little or
no credit for benevolence either.
There is no good cause that does not
come asking for a good and helpful
word from the editor. No eleemosy-
nary institution, charitable associa-
ton, religious or benevolent society
that he does not help. Most papers
publish gratis all notices of religious
services, and write up all religious and
other beneficent movements. In adj
ditlon the newspaper is generally ask
ed to give free advertisements of all
pay concerts, fairs and other profit
gathering affairs of the churches and
other good institutions. Right there
is where the self self-respecting news
paper must draw the line. If the en-
t~ertainment, whatever it is, is a bust
ness scheme for the raising of money,
they who run it should be compelled
to pay the newspaper for advertising.
But the effort to get something for
nothing from the newspaper is not
confined to these good people, who
may be excused upon the ground that
they are not seeking to beat the news
paper for their own profit. There are
a great host of other people who seem
to lie awake nights to devise schemes
to do the papers out of an honest liv-
ing.
Take for example the willy politi-
clans who at this season are SO num-
erous and anxious. When they are
seeking office they know well the
value of printers ink if it can only be
had OH type that does not speak Ill of
them. They know that the news
papers are greedy for items of news
and it is amazing how ingeniously ,un-
der this thin disguise, the office seeker
will try to work the newspapers.
Every day he will have somen new item
about his campaign that he will will
ingly give away to a reporter, or the
editor, and wherein his name will be
prominent. OF course there are pub
lie interests to be conserved by a
newspaper in election times, but these
are not in the interests that the can
didate is looking after. Very often
neither the general public nor the
newspaper care rap which man wins,
n candidate being nc better nor
worse than the other. When neither
the public nor the newspaper feel any
interest in the contest the only open
ing for the contestants in the news
paper is in the advertising depart
ment at sc much per line, and they
should be plainly told SO. Editorial
mention of any man in an honest
newspaper is like true love, not to be
bought mol sold at any price, nor for
fear nor for favor. This also is some-
thing that few people to under
stand.
A good newspaper is published in
the interest of the public, it Is true,
but the dear public should learn that
it is not published in the individual in
of those constituting the great
public.