The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1907-10-18
AN ADMoNITIoN FROM THE CITY.

Merchants in smaller cities aud
towns throughout the state--and the
country-aro constantly complaining
of people in their vicinity who patro-
nize the mail order houses in Chicago
and other large cities. These mer-
chants say that in most if not all cases
the same articles or equally good ones
could be bought of them as cheaply,
and they, who spend their money
around home. deserve the custom of
the home people. We think these
complaints and representations are
reasonable aud just. Assuming that a
local merchant carries good, COM
plete stock in his line, and sells at a
fair profit as be must to succeed he
should get his neighEors' trade. If
they enable him to do profitable
business he in his turn helps them in
directly, and "the money is kept at
home"
and perhaps in others-certain mer-
chants have agreed together not to ad-
vertise in the local newspapers. The
East Oregonian tells how at the in
stance of local merchants it pitched
into people year or two ago for buy
ing things of travelling agents, and
succeeded in driving all these inter
lopeIs out of the country, but now
that this has been accomplished the
merchants have formed a non-adver-
tising organization. This is illogical
and unfair, not only to the local news
paper, but to its readers, who look in
its columns for advertising as we'll as
otherTnews. 1t is thus even unfair to
the merchants themselves.
There are newspapers and newspa-
pers in the smaller cities and towns. |
Those that haven't ambition and en-
e1gy and industry enough to publish |
reasonable amount of local news in
u readable way don't deserve any ad-
vertising. But these are the excep-
tions. Most of the newspapers Ill the |
Oregon country have done and are do
ing ten times as much for the town
and vicinity and their neighbors as
the rest of the people ever did for
them.
As rule, the local newspaper earns
i'll its community dollars whore it
takes in dimes. 1t is forever boosting,
and praising, and helping in every
possible way. II rejoices at births |
and weddings, and mourns at deaths.
1t contributes freely in space to every |
good cause that comes along, and
there is always one on tap. 1t is the
constant friend aud helper of every le-
gitimate business man and every de-
cent person in the town. 1t nearly |
always puts the bright side out and
looks cheerful, even il it is on the
verge of bankruptcy and hasn t stick
of wood at home to start fire.
The editor works III one way or an
other about l6 hours day, for the
public more than for himself. and
gets ''thank you" about as often as
does dray mule. He will boom any
thing from baby show to a transcon-
tinental railroad, and is begrudged a
free ticket. He stands up six or seven
days in' the week for good morals and
right living, for education and devel
opment and progress and enlightenment
and civic righteousness, as no other
man in the place does or can, and too
often is looked upon as sort of a
harmless molly-coddle who hasn't
sense enough to get ahead in the world.
In whatever town there is news
paper worth the name, the merchants
should te liberal patrons of it, and its
daily or weekly grind of good work
ought to be better appreciated. The