The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-03-04
THE GREATEST ENTER
PRISE IN ROSWELL.

Some people might name one thing
mercial Club would get the most
votes, because it is an agent of the
entire business community. But let
us u a moment, and consider the
foundation and purposes of this enter
prise. Advertising seems to be the
next step. Then, how shall we adver-
tise? Why, in the newspapers of
course. The secret is out.
The first thing a new town or
townsite wants is a newspaper 1t
may have a town company or COM
mercial and real estate dealers org
anization frst-but if it has, the next
enterprise sought by the organization
is a newspaper. The town of Triton,
for instance, is now in shape to do
business-and ever Dexter had news
paper before it got the promise of a
bridge, though the paper has aow
gone where the woodbine twineth."
Having secured a newspaper, the
papers first effort is to get a school
and a church, then to boom the eli
mate and resources to attract settlers
as to the town. If the town grows as
rapidly as Artesia, which has been
built in less than four years, county
seat ambitions are Matched. But
whatever the size of the town, the
newspaper is the chief trumpet of its
fame. Every organization from the
Ladies' Aid to the Commercial Club
is in some way related to the news
paper,-and outsiders judge he town
very largely by the patronage and
enterprise of its newspapers.
All this is only preliminary to what
might have been expressed in two
lines. Saturday, March 2 was the De-
ginning of the fifth volume of the
Daily Record. AS a weekly paper the
years ago by Lucius Dills and nis
brother-in-Eaw, MI. Lea. The paper
was then printed n page at a time
on a job press, and except in edito-
rial ability, was by no means equal
to papers now printed at Hagerman,
Lakewood and other Pecos Valley
towns not then on the map. The Rec
ord grew up with the town, not only
recording the minutest details of
Roswen's history, but helping to
make the events themselves.
The history of sixteen years has
been written on the spot and on the
dates of its publication was more in
teresting, If not more important, than
the compilations and deductions of
Bancroft, Ridpath or Macaulay-four
hundred newspaper pages a year in
the Weekly volumes and fifteen hun
dred such pages a year since the Dali
ly was established. However, the
newspaper pages are not preserved
save i the Historical Society and the
office of publication. Still they are
the most reliable and most complete
history ever penned. OF the early
days in Roswell the present writer
knows little except from hearsay.
he present at the birth and caristen-
ing of the first daily issue. March 3,
1903. We understand that three daily
papers we've started from different
Offices in Roswell on the same date.
The struggle for eIbow-room at u
became strenuous. The survival of
the httest was inevitable, and the
Daily Record is now able to contem-
plate somewhat calmly it's first bat
tie with both honorable and disAonora
BILE enemies. There was a strike of
printers i~nstigated by a rival paper.
and for some weeks both Daily and
weekly Record were suspended, while
the rival held the field to itself. The
late H. F. NJ. Bear had invested the
savings of a lifetime in the Record,
and but -four the assistance of his bro
therin-law, the present business man
ager of the paper. he probably would
have been robbed and driven from
the field. The fight was won; but at a
cost greater than the loss of money
and chattels, for one of the fairest,
noblest most sincere and lovable.
and mentally best equipped young
men who ever lived in Roswell now
sleeps In the South Side cemetery
as a result Of worry that he conceal
ed even from ais own family until
his nervous system collapsed. There
was one trait OF human nature he
could not MISUNDERSTANDING
and holding no envy or enmity ag-
ainst any man, neither could he COM
prenend the deliberate cussedness
that sought to injure him for politi-
cal $ Frank and open in all
mis- dealings and taking it o grant
ed that all men were as honest as
himself, conspiracy had him ut q dis
advantage-and the very discovery
- ~H~& m~m4,wN hF- wo~rrRwaH