The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-11-10

skies OF daily journalism in this city have
been dark with the portents OF gathering
storm, and the moon has borne In spots a
blood-red hue. Despite these direful mani
festations the public-outside Of those per-
sons directly and pecuniarily interested in
the publication of the dailies-have seemed
to regard the impending turmoil as a sort
Of opera bouffe and have been whetting
their appetites for the fun The footing Of
orchestral circulars and announcements has
ended and the full show is finally on A
prodigal distribution OF free copies is made,
and the calls of the rival newsboys, occa-
slonally gathering in a penny on the
business streets, enlivenI the evening
air. The railway and the "grape vine"
telegraph lines have enlarged their SER
vice from Boston to this city and news
preserved in cold storage is now on sale
at the news stands, just as are Califol-
MIA fruits at the cOstermonger's - and of
similar freshness The everyday local hap
penings OF a community do not gain import
ance or interest, even when exploited by
scare head lines. A "telegraphic service u
OF pewter plate is as " cold victuals " to men
that find warn meals" OF live telegraphic
news served on every hand Montpelier
business men may desire daily paper for
this city, but the daily journal they ask is
far above the standard presented, and one
for which they concede there il no adequate
local support. Expert newspaper men
have looked over the local field with view
olusion. The publishers of at least one of
the existing dailies will not pretend that
the field is an inviting one in this depart
ment OF enterprise - except for sinking
money. To people who are daily gazing in
at their shop windows or entering their
doors merchants have small occasion to adj
vertise their wares. Tradesmen are the
first to concede this. They look to sur
rounding communities and to the farming
population in the environing country for
the chief benefits of advertising. These
people the WATCHMAN reaches, throughout
all the region of central Vermont, from the
! Green Mountains to the Connecticut river,
and it furnishes the advertising at rate
| lower than the announced rate per week of
} the dailies-peradventure their advertise
4 ments he not inserted, for appearance sake,
| free of charge. Not only this, but the
| WATCHMAN reaches at least ten persons to
the daily's one, and it reaches them in a
territory which the daily does not enter.
To this sort of service, profitable TO the adj
vertiser, our esteemed contemporary, the
weekly Argus in limited way, also con-
tributes SO every requirement Of the
Montpelier advertiser is fully and Adequate
ly supplied by two weekly journals, long
established and of large circulation, to
community to which daily publication can
add no possible advantage. Neither as
means of supplying news, nor of furnishing
advertisers additional and needed advan-
tages is a daily a " long felt want !" in Mont
peier. But if the obliging publishers are will
ing to pay the fiddler the public will dance so
long as the music is lively or till some new
sensation comes along. Meanwhile the old
reliable WATCHMAN continues on its way,
viewing the local situation with equanim-
ity and rejoicing in growing prosperity.