Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1905-09-26
AS WE ARE.
The Irrigon Irrigator on Country
WeeklieS.

The country weekly as we
have it today came into exist
ance about 40 years ago, when
the patents were first placed
at the disposal of the publishers,
and during these four decades the
rural newspapers, as rule have
deteriorated rather than progress
ed. In other words the country
press has not kept step with the
march of learning sand intelli-
sence.
On the second day of the pres
ent month out of about thirty
country weeklies which came to
the Irragator Office, 27 hao
ale insldes or outsides, and
heaftcles in these patents Dor,
ate lines principally of Angus
e, "a and rs, with now and then
so-nalled ''specia1p dated Aug
ust 26.
We find then that the so-called
,ews was from seven 10 ten days
Id, which would have been a
tair record for the days of the
Civil War, or tor an earlier date
when it took a letter two days to
go from New York to Philade1-
phia, five days to Boston and six
months to San Francisco.
In the meantime our postal and
telegraph facilities have been SO
expedited that these days be-
tween New York and Boston
and Philadelphia have been cut
down to hours, and the months
between New York and San
Francisco have been reduced to
less than days.
Aud during these forty years
the rural population has grown
to be an eager army Of readers
OF intelligent readers who want
the news, and they have learned
to rely upon their home town
papers for local news only, and to
go to the city dailies, seni-week-
lies and weeklies for the general
news of the world.
The country publishers have
tried to see how large a paper
they could give their readers, re-
gard1ess of the quality of the
matter it contained; and the pub.
fishers or furnishers of the patents
: have met this demand at low
figures by filling a large portion
; of their space with noxious ane
pernicious advertisements, nota
bly, of the patent medicine an6
get-rich-quick ads,
SO today we find the intel1i
gence of the average country
: publisher, below the intelligence
: of his readers, for they send fertl
, each week a great mass of stuf
:. which has been read days befor'
by their subscribers, and the re
: suit is that only that portion Q
: their columns devoted to home
} or local news is of any interest t.
them.
{ There is place for the littl
country weekly, just as there is
niche for the big city daily; ther
;, is a work-a useful work-fo
= the village publisher as well a
= . the city publisher. The worl
: of each is to give the news of hi
= field, and the field of one is h
= little local, or at most count
- community, and the field of th
u other, who is in touch with th
= cable and overland telegraph,
! :, the world.
- So we say that for countr
- publisher to send out th
- "patent" stuff week after week
II an insult to the intelligence
n his subscribers, and the soon
oe that this is learned and acknov
~ lodged the better it will be Fl
as the rural newspaper fraternity
+ the country.
del In this state we have few n
a table exceptions. Three of the
ht we noticed on our exchange tabl
ryII and there are probably other
There fearless publishers are co
tent to fill the place allotted the
and leave the broader field to
ces covered by the press at Portlan
nd Seattle and Spokane.
~, NV We feel that the Irrigator b
to- a work to do, and that this wo
-s4 lis to educate our people along t
lines OF intensive farming
M lsmal1 tracts of irrigated lar
IN xeIond :uc;d~nffx, IN hs,;1d 14r =