The central record. (Lancaster, Ky.) 18??-current, 1899-07-13
SHOULD THE COUNTRY WEEKLY
BE NON.PARTISANa
(Louis Landram. Lancaster Record.)

1 found copy of the paper which
Capt. Louis Landram will read at the
Editors Convention, at Henderson. 1t
is splendid production, and, believ-
ing that his patrons are entitled to all
his brilliant illusions, l submit it to
the public:
''The weekly press of today has far
more circumscribed field of labor than
it did quarter of century ago. In
"Ye Olden Tyne" the destiny of the
Nation, it's public policy, and all queS-
tiOns of grave import were suggested
by the weekly press. The country
newspapers all over the land kept even
track with the public pulse and, in
many instances, the wielders of the
editorial pen were men of marked abil-
ity, whose close touch with their con-
stituency enabled them to blaze the
way with an almost absolute accuracy,
and to give our public men clear in
sight into what our people expected of
them. The rural districts seldOn got
a daily newspaper, and had to depend
upon the weekly press for all news of
the great outside world, Railroads
were few and far between. The old
fashioned, numbering stage coach, with
it's two, four or six horses, carried the
mails to the interior towns, and the
city papers were always as much as
twenty-four hours old and it was uSu-
ally the weekly editions of those pa
pers that reached the fireSides of the
favored few. A daily paper was such
a rarity that it was handed round from
household to household, and it was not
an unusual occurrence upon the arriv-
al of the stage coach, to see knot of
leading citizens listening to the town
reader as he read the news of the day,
political and general, from some sheet
at that time probably fOrty-eight
hours old. The annihilators of space,
known as the fast mail trains have
changed all this. There is scarcely a
town in Kentucky that does not receive
bundles of Louisville, Cincinnati, Chat.
tanOOga or other dailies within twenty
four hours Of their date of issue. This
has, of necessity, curtailed, to a great
degree, and has practically transform
ed the weekly. It's field of usefulness
has been narrowed, and, according t.
my way of thinking, it now fills its
proper place. The people of a county
are but large family. Their inter
ests as such, are the same: the move.
ments of their neighbOrs and friends,
the price of hogs, cattle, butter, eggs
and farm products are matters of fan
more moment to them than the ques.
tiOn whether Leatherlung Dolittle OF
Ananias Wind Jabber shall be made
Ambassador to the Fiji Islands. l be.
lieve that the weekly press should be
absolutely nOn-partisan in politics. ]
do not think that the personal opinion
of the editor of a crossroads weekly
would have feathers weight in de-
Gliding either state or national politics
| believe the columns of the weekly
paper should be filled with the coming
and gOings of the neighbors and friends
in fact should be coy corner in which
we can find in detail what our home
people are doing in a social and bust
ness way. believe that the editOria
column should be taken up with artic
Giles for the general welfare and pro
gress OF our home people. When w
do this cOnscentiOusly and fill our col.
umns with all the news Of our county
however trivial it may sou nd to stran
gers. 1 believe the result will be a large
circle Of interested home readers, an(
/ further believe that we Small-fry car
safely leave the discussion of natiOna
affairs to those who hold down the tri
pods OF the great daily papers.