Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1897-01-14
A WORD TO EDITORS.

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A WORD TO EDITORS.
In the heat of our recent political
a letter written by a Con:
necticut man., but one thoroughly
familiar with western affairs. appeared
in the New York Evening Post, which
emphasized one tact, gis; The deplor-
able ignorance of the east as to the dis
astrous results, in the west, OF the
agricultural depression Is in very great
part due to western editors. The
western editor, the writer of the letter
pointed out, is in an extremely difhcult
position. First and foremost, he needs
to keep up good courage himself as re-
CARDS the prospects and prosperity OF
his locality. Next, he wants to keep
up the courage of his readers; and
finally, from every motive, he wants,
by presenting the attractive side OF life
in his part of the world, to draw per-
manent residents:
All this, OF course, is praiseworthy
and admirable. But IN their effort 10
show their readers the bright side OF
life, western newspapers have, rs a
rule, kept still as to the dark side.
Hence, an eastern editor, even though
he be a very wide.awake man, and a
constant reader of his western ex-
changes, gets a wholly false impression
of the real state of things. His read
ers In turn, as a rule, are wholly de-
pendent on him and his paper for their
knowledge Of western matters, and
hence it happens that a widespread
and most unfortunate Ignorance pre-
walls in the east of what a depth OF
misfortune and hardship prsysils In
the west. Hence also a most mis-
chievous, sectional misunderstanding
An exact Illustration OF what the
writer of this letter pointed out, has
recently come to our notice. certain
western city OF about $4,000 people,
with no Support save an agricultur'
al one, has, to our certain knowledge
beer ~fearfully hard hit by the hare
times, Real estate values have beer
pretty nearly wiped out, business
houses have failed, bankers are strain
ing every nerve to keep from failure
But the editor of the leading" newspa
per in this same city, recently saw Il
to try to boom the town. He scoure'
the country, and by dint of hard work
managed to find a matter of q dozel
farmers who had prospered, notwith
standing tie Starvation prices OF farm
products. From each of thess-nsea b
drew out a glowing tribute to the ad
vantages of the locality. A long edl
torlal ssleader" was to the same effect
The whole. tone of this issue OF III
paper gave the reader the iDpressio
that the town and whole vicinity wer
prosperous, and a whole cart load
this particular edition was sent cas-
What naturally follows? Just in s
far as this paper is read at the cas-
complete misapprehenslon occurs
"B0sh and nonsense, all this talk abor
the hardships of western farmers" th
eastern reader will explain. For
good while after that, he will attribu'
the most just and temperate statemer
of the business prostration Of the we'
as the utterance of the "calamity-how
err" and, further, il he happens to hay
loaned money in this particular tow
he will probably be far more exactin
as a creditor than he would otherwii
be.
Brethren of the PRESS Don't!
is all right to keep up good courage an
it is wholly praisewortbY to he
develop ones town; but let us be ia
and square about 1t. In the long n
in this matter, not only is "honesty Il
best policy" but dishonesty is ul'
mately fraught with disastrous co
sequences. The whole attitude OF Il
east towards the west, in SO far as it
distrustfuT, hard, suspicious, has be'
m~essurably due to the short-sighte'
though we'll meaning, western edito
They have had, and are still having,
gigantic "object l~esson'' as to thi
Let us lay it to heart. What say yo'
gentlemen, one and alp