The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1901-03-14
What's the Matter Mith Enc Tannj

"HAGs the Matter with the Town
The Ness City News has an article
on the dullness of its town. The
complaint is probably general. We
publish the article for information. as
follows:
THE TROUBLE MAY BE HERE.
Some effort has been made DURING
the past four or five weeks to ascer
tain what causes the appearance of
dry rot in this community. One day
TINS week we made mental invoice
OF the business interests of the city.
and the result was that we scheduled
about fifty persons and firms actively
engaged in trade and professional
pursuits Now, do you think that
any person looking over the papers
published in Ness City would imag-
Line that there were half that many
business places doing business?
Well, hardly. Among all these inter
-ests there are but six houses that
might be classed as liberal advertis-
ers; there are ten that are fair adver-
flsers; and four that are spasmodic in
their announcements. There ora
thirty different individuals ana firms
that do not spend enough money all
told for publicity in the course of a
year to pay the postage on a single
issue of country paper, and of the
different branches of business that do
not Patronize the newspapers at all
may be numbered She following:
Iroeers.J Lumber yards 2
"'Shefs Coal dealers 3.
BARRIERS 2. Feed mills 2
snort order i. Real estate =.
Livery l. Blacksmiths 2.
Hotels 2 (;Iothjn1
Hardware i.
We refer to this matter, not SO
much to register kick against the
men who do not advertise, but to
show the people abroad that the paper
does not fully represent all the bust
ness interests of the city In other
words, that we have more of a town
than a person would be led to believe
by glancing over'its newspapers. IF
the business men do not care to ad-
vertise, that is there own affair and
we have no abstract right to censure
them for their course. If they want
1t to appear that the town has gone to
seed or that 1t is simply little cross
road hamlet, they are perfectly iusti-
fed in doing business in that way.
and the town will run down at the
heel until there is a change of the
business blood coursing through its
veins that will infuse new life and
energy and attract other people to
our community. IF newspaper as
1T is contended by some, is the index
to the character of the place in which
1T is published, then Ness City is ac-
tually a much better town than it
should be if ju6gea by this standard;
but is not half as good a town now as
1T was when its papers were better
supported In fact, if the papers
We're to depend wholly on the CONNER
cial patronage they receive, it is very
doubtful if the place could support
single publication six months out of
the year, and of quality very inferior
to any thing we have had for ten or n
dozen years. IF Ness City's news
papers bore evidence upon their face
OF a better support than they do.
Ness City should be a better place in
Which to do business, and there
would be less con lecture as to what is
the matter with the town. 1t may be
the fault of the papers themselves
that they are not better supported,
ana 1T such is the case it would not
be amlss for the business men, the
commercial club, or the individual
citizens, to say SO, and set about OBJ
tanning the class of papers that would
do them Justice and that they are
willing to support properly. Ifit is
because The News is not the kind of
paper this town needs, if it is not
published in manner to suit the
tastes OF the men who should adver-
tise, 1t is an easy matter to obvir4
the difficulty. Get a betf- -se
run it, or start IAN to
are will'- A
papef AaU g