Barton County democrat., 1897-03-04

- ~ - PNNAi-AN
TMyMg -zzszHGL Sme through the
SkW EAcolumns of your
sz>N sz@ '"'' 'V''l"AiiN valuable paper to
suggest a few hints for the benefit of
county correspondents. will not con-
tne my remarks to the correspondents
of any particular paper, for what will
speak about exists in most every paper
to greater or less extent.
Now l have been a reader of the
DEMOCRAT and several other county
papers for many years; on general prin-
cipals have found them interesting and
instructive with the exception of few
country contributors. After looking
over your paper you finally come to
page, or part of page, entitled, "Coun-
try Contributions which should be as
interesting page as the paper contains,
with its diversified items of more or less
magnitude, such as conditions of crops,
roads, stock, health, and in fact every
thing that goes hand in hand with rural
life. But what do we find: half the
time their budget of news" is headed
with: news is scarce as hens teeth and
such like. 1t is no such thing. l know
Just how scarce news is in the country
| have had some experience in that line.
Now l don't want to appear as a dicta-
tor by naming few topics that should
be used as basis for your communica-
tions, but that is just exactly what
people expect and want to hear from
country contributors, and when they
don't get that, they are disappointed in
not getting what they want.
When news is scarce as ''hens teeth
as some put 1t, they seem to think that
half column devoted to "croaked -
nuts" or weaving one of thoes long ro-
mances around nothing, in the style of
"Mark Twain" or "M. Quad" is the
thing, and then listen for an approving
whoop from an attentive public. Did
you ever stop to think that thoes men
knew their business, and devoted their
whole time and talents to that line of
work? And that nature in the first place
gave them a big boost by endowin e
them with that particular faculty for
wit and jokes? And that the good Lord
in distributing this precious gift among
men left a great many people, and not
few would-be humorists, out in the
weather; but gave them, free of charge
a different field of labor, even if it was
a corn field. as in my case? So my
dear contributors don't break out of
your natural elements: l don't mean
that you are not competent and should
cease to write for paper, as it doesn't
require nearly so much talent as good
common sense to send in each week a
spicy, interesting batch of news from
the farm. News is what we all want,
and not personal jokes that transpire
in your immediate locality between peo-
pie we never heard of and don't want to
here of them if the stories you some
times write about them are correct. So
for the benefit of progressive public.
institute reform to some extent in re-
gard to your work. Commence at
once to seperate the chaff from the
wheat and be sure to hold onto the lat
ter. 1t is for your own good intellect
ually that I impart these few gentle
reminders to you. Train your mind on
higher plains of thought and by so do
ing some day you will find that instead
of news being scarcer than ''hens teeth
you will have influx greater than your
most sanguine expectations. We are all
familiar with these little every day cpl
sodes, and do not subscribe for news
papers to see a REPETITION of them in
print. This kissing and hugging. and
boys going with girls and getting the
s'mitten" has been in vogue ever sinse
! Adam and eve. So give US a change