The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-02-20
BY c. A. Bennett,
Granite Falls
Journal.

newspaper forms point of contact be-
tween society and its environment. 1t
gathers information from innumerable in
dividuals and in somewhat generalized
form this goes forth to readers as a So
cial product. BY comparing this social
product Of one community with that of
another the reader learns the competitive
value of his community. The locals are
under some obligations to be of high
order, for the common good they may be
to the state.
The thoughtful reader goes to the edi-
torials to find tho content and tendency
of public opinion. He accepts the judg-
ment of the editorials as the latest sifted
knowledge about the worlds happenings
and events. Unlike the locals, which are
facts, or should be, the editorials are
specific or general Impressions of current
events. According to James Bryce in lis
American Commonwealth only one man
in twenty in the Urited States has an
opinion of his own on great political is
sues. Yet they all think they have. What
the nineteen men really know is the edi-
torial conclusions of their favorite news
papers. The one man in twenty who
aspires TO have hand in creating pub
lie opinion, or in causing 1t to grow, finds
himself at the mercy of the public, and
only as he secures the newspaper to air
his opinions can he ope for consumma-
who thinks in advance Of his fellows reads
the editorials because they voice the
spirit of the times. In democracy
government, where the people govern, we
see at every election the conclusions Of
public opinion. The final vote of the
people for or against measure our person
is more times than not the end of edi-
torial success. Then good government is
not little indebted to the honor and in
feprity Of editorial literature.
This in a general way; but as we are
country editors it was taken for granted
that the country weekly and not the
metropolitan daily was meant to be con-
sidered in this paper. The great city
dailies pay large salaries to men who
write editorial articles only, men who are
trained to the business and make study
of political questions that they may write
thereon knowingly and intelligently. But
with the country weekly it is different.
Here the main feature Is the local page,
for the weekly is local in it's nature, and,
as a general thing at least, there is very
little comparison in the value Of the edi-
torial and local pages to the reader OF
the average country weekly or, to put it
in another way, to the average reader OF
the country weekly there is little COM
parative value between the editorial and
local pages. When he gets his local paper
the first thing he reads are the locals,
for here he expects to find mentioned what
has been going on in his Immediate vicin-
ity the week previous. It is the local
news he wants, and after he has disposed
of these he will turn to the editorial page
to see what the editor may have to say on
current events. It is the province Of the
country editor to give his readers all the
local news he Is able to scare up. This
is what his patrons take and read the local
paper for. In these columns the country
editor can express his views on subjects of
a public local interest instead of placing
such matters on the editorial page as the
city daily does, and this fact helps greatly
to increase the ratio value Of the local
over the editorial page. OF course, the
editor Is expected to express his views on
state and national matters to a certain
extent, and whoop 1t up for some fellow
who is running for congress, but he Is not
expected to spread himself like the city
editor. The facts are, the majority Of
editors Of country weeklies are not simply
the editor, but, like the writer, are
obliged to do a large portion Of the entire
work of the office. He not only has to
hunt up local news items and write them
up, but he sets the ads, does all the job
things that naturally arise, and hence
has not the time to give to editorial writ
ing, even though he may greatly wish to
do so. About all the time he has at his
disposal is devoted to gathering locals,
and thus the local page Of the country
weekly becomes the main feature of the
paper, and as such it's relative value over
the editorial page is considerable.