The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1897-07-02
STOPPING THE PAPER.
A Subscribers Responsibility, Even in
This Great and Free Country.


The man who stops his paper be-
cause something has appeared in its
columns of which he does not ap-
prove, and does it with an air of
regret that it is necessary to drive
the publisher into bankruptcy, re-
minds us of the train dispatcher
who requested an increase of salary
and threatened to quit if he didn't
get it, says the Mitchell Ill.) Pilot
The superintendent replied to his
request by relating story: when
L was young man. he said, II
once did as you are doing-I told
the superintendent of the road what
you told me. He refused my de-
mand and L quit; and, would you
believe it? The darn road is rum
ming yetp
Every man has a right to take a
paper or stop it, for any reason, or
for no reason at all. This is free
country, in that respect, and men
have a perfect right to do as they
please, providing they please to do
what is right. But there is GER
tain responsibility attached to all
actions, even to so trivial one as
stopping a paper because the editor
has said something which the taker
Of the paper does not agree with, or
because he thinks it good Oppor-
tunity, a convenient time, or good
excuse, to get out of paying his sub
scription.
How is the country editor to live,
or sustain his manhood, if every
man is to cry, "Stop my paper!'
whenever he reads something that
does not accord with his views?
Not infrequently does an editor of a
local paper hear people remark that
II wouldn't have put that in the
paper" or II would have said so
and So" This class of people are
deserving of much sympathy, for it
shows their ignorance of what con-
stitutes fearless, honest, outspoken
newspaper. The man who insists
that his local paper shall say moth
ing contrary to his views is in large
measure responsible for the craven
cowardce of modern journalism.
One or two things is absolutely
necessary; either a paper must be
an insipid sheet, that has no
opinions whatever about events of
important interest, or else its
readers must make up their minds
that the editor who conducts the
paper is as honest in his opinions as
is the reader or Pathfinder of said
journal, and that a difference OF
opinion is not a sufficient reason for
stopping the paper. When con.
WINGED, without doubt, that a
paper is dishonest, corrupt and
Geceitful, stop it; when convinced
! that it is unclean, unfit to be
brought into your families, stop it,
but never stop paper of your town
that You believe to be honest,
courageous, enterprising and clean
Never stop the paper that is in
terested in the upbuilding of your
own town, simply because its
owners, publishers or editors have
written their own sincere views, in
stead of yours, or some one else's
for if you do, you are placing a
premium on insincere journalism
and serving notice on editors, thai
| the way to succeed is to write wha
he thinks will best please a few O
his readers, instead of what he
honestly believes to be the truth
and for the highest interest of al
concerned. Stop every outside
paper, if you must stop any, bu
never stop your home paper; en-
courage it to do better, help it to be
come prosperous, for with pros
perity of the paper comes prosperity
to your town. Take not only one
but take them all, and you will bt
amply repaid in many ways yol
may not think of.
Every farmer, every mechanic nC
every reasonable well-tO-dO labore
should be a subscriber to his hom'
paper. We should all go hand il
hand for the upbuilding of our towr
and county, our own homes and GU
business and manufacturing enter
prises, be they large or small