Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1898-09-03

make a gay and patriotic scene. The
merchant will send in his bill for that.
The carpenters must be paid for putting
| up the platform, and the teamster for
| hauling water to the grounds.
"Now," will say the committee with
an air of satisfaction with its labors, its
all arranged but the crowd. The local
paper must boom our glorious celebra-
ton, and that will bring the crowd"
Then this enterprising committee, which
is usually made up of business men who
will profit from the crowd gathered to
share in the celebration, calls on the
struggling editor and publisher to use his
types and presses, his paper and ink, and
pay his printer and pressman to boom
the celebration for the good of the town.
1t seems not to occur to it that he is
subject to all the multifarious items of
expense which enter into other lines of
business; that he has his capital invested,
is giving his labor to his chosen calling,
and therefore ought to be paid for every
service performed for others and the town.
He is expected to provide his income in
some mysterious way, put in large part
of his time, and devote great deal of his
resources to booming the town and drum
ming" up business for the other business
houses in the place. And If he Is not
cheerful about it, there are hints OF boy
colt, and a murmur for an opposition pa
per, and unless he yields to this pressure,
perhaps some inexperienced person will be
tempted to come in and start second
paper in town which could not give
decent support to one.
For these unsatisfactory conditions the
fraternity has itself to blame. You can
not change human nature. 1t is pretty
much the same in every town. Free SER
vice from newspapers the public has had
so long that it has come to a belief that
the town or the county has proprietary
interest in them. 1t plays one paper
against another, and too often rival ed
itors or publishers lend themselves with
eager spirit to the game, giving away
much of their valuable space, cutting
their subscription rates to a price which
hardly meets the bare cost of white paper,
and bidding down the public printing to
rates which are preposterously low and
ruinous.
1t is part of our system of govern
ment that the people shall be advised of
the acts of their officials. To that end
the various states have made wise pro-
vision for the publication of certain mat
tiers of public interest. The compensation
is fixed by law. Usually it is fair and
reasonable, and when the newspaper per-
forms the service contemplated by law,
it ought to receive the compensation
named by law; and would receive it If
editors and publishers would drop their
rivalries and regard each other as brothers
in noble guild rather than as unyielding
foes
If these gatherings of newspaper men
of the northwest shall serve no other pur-
pose than the ultimate adjustment Of
the ruinous practice of doing county and
city printing for 1.-THE of the just rates
fixed by law, they will be worth many
times over all they have cost in time and
effort. If the various papers represented
here today could have, during the coming
years, that which the law allows them for
honest service, the financial condition of
those here today would be tremendously
improved. and their noble calling take on
new dignity and power
Frank Carleton Teck read pleasing
verses of his own composition; Lovett NJ.
Wood spoke in "A humorous vein; c, w.
Gorham recited a dialect selection and
r. G. Nicllin kept his hearers wideawake.
discussing the Philippine question; the lib
erality of the Spokane. Fruit Fair people
under the direction of Manager Bolster
who enliyened the eXcursionists by his
presence, was appreciated by the visitors,
/ and the Washington State Band of Spo-
kane added much to the enjoyment of the
| trip.
Election of Officers.
The Washington Association elected y.
w. Durham of the Spokesman Review,
president; .. NJ. Moore, Seattle Times,
first vice president; j. Hannum Jones,
Nooksack Reporter, second iee-president;
I. II. Baker, Tacoma Sun, third vice
presidents Will A. Steele, Post-Intell-
gencer, secretary treasurer Charles
Prosch Seattle, historian; T. G. Nicklin,
Whatcom, orator; Frank c. Teck, What
com Blade, poet, and the following eX-
ecutiye committee; l.. M.Wood, chairman,
Seattle Trade Register; Mrs Minnie Sar-
gent, Pullman Tribune; c. NJ. Shultz, Ia
coma Ledger; I. j. Bell Tacoma Herald;
+. NJ. Day, Peoples Party News, New
| WhatcOm