The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1904-06-04
THE COUNTRY NEWSPAPER.

last contained a. very opportune
/, and sensible article on the subject
of the country newspaper against
which some over-zealous member
of the Legislature has presented q
bill, the purport 81 which is to
create competition as to the public
printing in the parishes. AS our
contemporary well says. the aver
age stipend that the official parish
paper gets gets from the parochial
administration would "hardly pay
the price of one good compositor"
and still the solon in question:
who no doubt stands for the in
crease of some public officials SAL
ary in one respect or another
would suddenly feel himself
launched into "undying fame" as
q great economist if he cut down
the paltry stipend by making the
work matter of competition. An
Assessor. a Sheriff or any other
public officer is selected upon the
principal that a good, efficient
public servant must be we'll paid.
None of these public officials re-
quire any stock in trade or costly
materials.
The country newspaper man
must buy type, presses, and many
other costly things to be able to
get out his publication in good
shape. The country publisher, of
all others, knows, also, too we'll
what alone are his bundens in the |
way Of ''reciprocation," and slow
and delinquent subscribers. The |
truth of the matter is, if there is
now an underpaid public servant.
that one is surely the publisher OF
the official country newspaper,
considering the services rendered,
and if there is any legislation al
fecting him, bill for his relief
would be more in conformity with
fairness and justice. To award
parochiaj or municipal printing
contracts to the lowest bidder has
been the source of endless demor-
alization in the past. In their
zeal to Guido one another.
publishers have been known
to offer to do the work for
nothing and even to pay a bonus
for the privilege, and to the dis.
|credit of not few parishes, be it
said their governing bodies have
accepted these offers in times past. ,
There Is now and never was any
impeachment to the publication OF !
unofficial journals in the parishes.
AS to judicial sales which form a
great part of the public patronage {
they receive, the parties interested
have the right to designate their t
publication in whatever newspaper 1
they desire. {
In the few rich parishes, the '
people OF which readily support v
two or more newspapers, the do 9
ng away of the "officiai organ" }
may be quite a feasible thing,
put there are parishes where not al
single newspaper would be pub-Il
ished we're it not for the public r
fees, and in these parish e
d the various notices would have O
o be posted on the "Court Housed a
loor," as in the days of long ago. a
would surely not be in i.
Inc with our boosted progress and n
p-to-dateness of the present. AS Il
llfilling a most useful mission, as t.
ding . veriable mountain of good n
ublic work for the upbuilding of tt
ommunities and generally getting p
mole-hill of money in return, Il
le country newspaper publishers, fe
king their turns at the political
lprices of time ought to have
cir opportunities greatly en- lie
rged instead of diminished by Ii
E Legislature, which, We hope la
ID trust in the present instance, to
II sit down good and hard upon 70
3 scion who has not been able sa
find anything more appropriate W
hit upon than the poor ::'official be
wspapers Of the parishes" to
3ov. blanchard has issued q of
rning to all sheritfs and tax ca
lectors that they have but ten CO
vs after the end of their quarter an
which 70 aetde, !tol