Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1907-09-06
|lDCAL PAPERS VALUE
Ne Modern Town Can Get Along
Without the Press.
REFLECTIONS OF A VETERAN.
OK Newspaper Man Hears Of q Town
" Without a Paper-he Calls the Local
= Weekly the Pioneer Of Prosress-lts
Value to the Public.


Weekly the Pioneer Of Prosress-lts
Value to the Public.
Fl have Just read a little item" re-
marked the veteran newspaper man,
no the effect that certain town in
Toxas is now without a newspaper.
| The publisher of the local paper has
moved his plant to another town and
otarted a paper there. Well, I'm sorry
(or the town that he left"
"Oh, / reckon it can get along very
| veil without a newspaper" said the
| CYNICAL listener. Rome lasted several
centuries without any newspapers and
grew to be sizable city"
Very true" replied the veteran,
ssvery true. But you must not forget
that Athens and other rival towns like
wise were without local papers. You
are talking of ancient times. l am dis
\ cusslng the present. Just suppose that
| the Greek metropolis, for instance, had
possessed a thriving and progressive
| newspaper-the only one on earth. I'm
decidedly Of the opinion that little old
Rome would have sat on one hill in
stead Of seven, and Athens would have
spread out until the ancient rapid
transit problem would have been the
biggest public question in Greece"
"But what has all this got to do with
the little town in Texas"
swell, Just this. We are living now
In newspaper age. The local newspa-
per Is the great town booster. Ancient
Rome could grow without newspapers,
but any modern city would shrivel up
and leave only a dry spot on the map
II all its newspapers should shut up
shop and move to rival cities. The To-
cal paper is the pioneer Of progress.
No other agency has been so powerful
In the building up and development of
America The great west and south
west and northwest have been built
largely by newspapers. Carpenters and
brieklayers and plasterers and plumb,
ers do their part, but the newspaper
does moro.
"A hundred years ago the United
States consisted of fringe Of popula-
| ton along the Atlantic coast and few
| pioneers In the wildernesses farther In
land. About that time the newspaper
began to make a showing. From year
to year 1t has been coming more and
more into evidence, with improvements
IN machinery, In paper manufacture. In
type casting and the like. Now the To-
cal paper is a public necessity. No
town can get along without at least
one paper. There are very few towns
now that are without their home week
iy, Take the map Of any state and
look 1t over closely. Get a. newspaper
directory and study 1t along with the
map. You'll find that any town big
enough to be on the map has its local
paper, with very few exceptions.
"As l say, the town paper Is the pio-
neer. In many cases the paper has ar
rived even before the town. This ap
piles particularly to Kansas, Oklaho
ma, Nebraska, the Dakotas and Texas
1 have had experience in some of those
states In the newspaper line when they
were in what you might call the pio
neer stage, and know what I'm talk
Ing about. now see telegraph news
items from towns In Kansas, for In
stance, which knew twenty years age
rs mere spots on the prairies, laid ou
n town lots and waiting for popula
Non. In several OF these towns the
first building put up was hotel. One
room was occupied by small printing
plant, and local paper was pub
lished. News? Why, plenty of 1t
While the town may have had only
half dozen people, 1t had bright pros
poets, great possibilities, and the edi
n tor was continually writing abou
those possibilities and prospects. New
citizens were coming in, outsiders were
buying lots, and that little newspaper
grew up with the town, being Itself
u the chief instrument Of the towns
\ growth. 1t circulated outside and le
the outsiders know the prospects ant
possibilities. Now those towns which
started In that way have daily papers
most Of them. and a home circulation
that is not TO be desplsed.
I'm sorry Ior tnat leAas to"h oe
cause II doesn't seem TO be living In
this day and generation-in the news
paper age. II apparently didn't have
Enterprise enough 10 keep the loca
editor there. He has moved, no doubt
10 a town which knows a good !hinl
when II sees II and is disposed to hell
push It along. When | call this th'
Newspaper age mean that 1t Is the
age of advertising, Of publicity. Print
er's ink publicity is the kind tina
counts. Every newspaper Is a big free
advertisement for it's community. L
talks. II blows the towns horn whei
otherwise the horn would not be blown
1T makes the town where ii is publish
ed the center Of the earl for the peo
ple who live there and for others whoI
II may induce to locate there. In thes'
days n town without gumption enough
| to appreciate the public value OF
local paper is not worth map space
and 1t won't incumber the ground yer!
long"
ptnuaer IuriSt ~ Oreuon Dies