Daily Kennebec journal., 1897-01-29
Sixty Years Of a Country Newspaper.

The writer of Proverbs says that The
hoary head is "a crown of glory, if it be
found in the way of righteousness and
can imagine no more priceless posses
of it's issues, extending from the time of
it's foundation over period Of many dec
ades-the record of a long and honorable
life.
What is the thing which has made this
record? We speak of its life; yet it is
simply a newspaper-a printed sheet, IS.
sued periodically-an lnsensate thlng. II
may be brought into existence. at any
time, at the will and pleasure Of a single
human being. Its existence may be ter
minated at any time. by the mutations o.
politics, or the fickleneSS of the public, or
the operation of the inexorable law OF
survival of the fittest.
Such is one view of the newspaper. On
the other hand. we know that a newspaper
which supplies a want OF the people Is
more than a transient. ephemeral thing
Men may come and men may go; polltl-
cal parties may come into beng ana
again disappear; the map of the world may
suffer many changes; yet through all the
mutations of years the newspaper has Il
continuous existence, responding to the
demands of the times, progressing with
the progress of the world, until it comes
to have a personality of its own, and in
our fancy we clothe it in flesh and blood,
and invest it with brains and heart.
brief look at the record left by some more
than sixty years of the life of Il cOun-
try newspaper; to learn if we can some
thing of how it has satisfied the demands
its claim to the privilege of existence !:
how &c has advanced with the years, and
its matter and methods have changed 10
meet new conditions, so that; however u it
NAV now appear to our modern eyes, J.
has always had the quaiity, SO essentla
in these latter days. of ''being-up-to-date.
The newspaper whose files we shall use
for this survey was founded in 1888. IN a
,y,NIln n L.
What its prime object was. ana Will t,s
expected source OF support. Is dlstiiictiy
stated in its prospectus, winch announces >
the paper as the organ of the Democratic
marty. and appeals to the Democracy or
The county for support. The second num-
her of the paper emphasizes tnlS decIara-
per was established to support the cause OF
Democraey, and that without the support
of the Democracy. the paper must cease cease
10 exist. From all the internal eTideiice I,e
of,tninable the appeal secured the de-
sired result. 80
tsfence was made up of four pages. Will
aye wide columns 10 page 1iltnr, lhu 9ntn, and
trad ,tion say that it was printed on a
Ramfse press, which,, by means t oi d
wheel and screw, and the muscular i Io.He
nf the operator. forced the platen doWil
OIL ,,nnn me tho type. which was linked with
inother balls: and in view of these hnru
nonditions., printers OF today can pue
wander at the ufliDEiItIs Soo" N"t.'t.
the nress work. Prom its beginning TO
tha present time, though 1t goes Without
Living that it's mechanical equipment ma 5
80 1.asn ,ni improved with the progress OF IN
',era;onl il has ever been q neatly. clear
y, nrinfed sheet. 1t has never been one
~ those .bIurred and half-printed ioca
,o,anare'' a. TO which q contemporary refers
pi,nd he;nr always all printed at nome. II
,,ns ,. naver become liable to the condeinna,
lion exnressed by the editor VINO declared
.i,,,t his rivals sheet was nalt pflnted
IN New York and half smutted III Ma
Ione In tho paper of that early day, we flnd
,,erv little to remind us Of the local paper
e toiav One or two columns eacn week
u, ,u.r., devoted to a report OF the dolilgs OF
tEa legislature when that was IN session
o,no nne os two columns to the dolngs OF con-
cress giving as full report az 40 lhally
of the dliiies of today; SNORT SPACE Was
Generally given to a summary OF Iorelgn
SSexvs. from four to SIX coluInis were
ffl"S with well-seiected miscellany. and
frnm three to eight columns with polit-
;noi .o,A natter-editorial. selected, and con,
ttr;huteds and mostly devoted 10 natlonal
;,,as The Bank issue was the one tnel
1Isrnn1inentiy before the people. and US we
T., rInol1 over those papers. the Bank
rtonds out from every page ana almost
st,orv column. and flavors almost every
every N 81 sra nh. as the silver question was
ppnnsnic,ious during the campaign OF s96
Something like a pare Q! es.cii f, tssue Wa va,
6iied with advertlsements- ieW. ! Du!
Very few. of local business ahoi'' Tue RESI-