Middletown transcript., 1897-01-23
MISUNDERSTANDING.

They are of daily occurrence and are
often unnecessary. The wise lesson of the
thoughtful father, given in some of the
school readers to his three sons, each posi-
tive that he was right and his brothers were
wrong, suggests itself not infrequently as
excellent reading for older people. The en-
terprising new merchant of the town had
erected on the top of his high warehouse
an immense sign. One son said the sign
was merely ''Smith & Sons; an other was
certain il announced "Wholsale Grocers";
the third was positive the Invitation was
merely to the farmers and was Hides
bought here. The dispute was waxing
warm even to the point of settlement by
blows when the father suggested that the
matter be investigated. Certain it was when
the hill of the High School was reached
that the big warehouse towering above the
other buildings viniticlted the youngest
son for the Wholesale Grocers" were too
plain to be mistaken. But going to fathers
Office down town to the surprise of two of
the boys Smith & Sons met their gaze
from the big store house, and visit to the
big hill on the south of the city, by which
road the farmers come to town, revealed the
announcement Hides bought here" A
closer investigation proved that the sign
was triangular. as every reader has guessed,
and the misunderstanding among the BROTH
ers was satisfactorily explained, each being
right and at the same time wrong.
This is true of many differences of opin-
ion. They are met with in the newspaper
Office as elsewhere. Recently an association
in town received bill for the publication
of resolutions of sympathy upon the death
of an officer or member of the organiza-
ton authorized by the society months be-
fore. It was the first bill of the kind and
was felt to be unreasonable since no charge
had been made this or similar associations
for numerous similar insertions. There
are always two sides and often the Sign"
is triangular one, but the statement is
the only one in point just now
One source of misunderst ndings the
TRANSCRIPT has found the country paper
subject to is, when does local ad. take
with it free copy of the paper2" Most of,
fees try to have rule on this point To save
misunderstanding in the future and to have
an understanding where desired the TRAN
SCRIPTS information has been that in Mid :
dletown the free delivery of paper has for
years been drawn at the line of $500 an
nual advertising or about one-fourth of a
column. But few months since a local
suit at law hinged on that point and the
local advertiser whose annual bill amount
ed for work Of all kinds to about q hun
dred dollars won the suit. But suppose the
hundred dollar advertiser cuts his patron
age one-half and the next year does the
same and so on for several years, when
should there be a charge for the paper7
ANY of the TRANSCRIPTS patrons are well
come to an expression of opinion in the
columns Of this paper on the subject.
The writer knew an editor, not Of thi.
county, however, who invited resolution,
of respect, poetical obituaries, &c, for hi
paper, for which he made regular charges
as well as for copies of his paper which b,
| persuaded people to take from the pos
Office, and the bills which administrator
and executors paid him were said to hay,
been numerous and large. A 'smisunder
standing" evidently was what he songh
but such newspaper men are few be it sais
to the credit Of the craft and while syste
matte business men like to have every
thing on the square they viii find the av
erage editor or publisher equal to the stan
dard. 0fcourse there may be .tri-angula
differences which reasonable inyestiga
ton will adjust satisfactorily to reasonab !
men.