The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1909-04-23

a. April 6, 1875.
EOr of hs Banner.
fPr Sir Nv hasty and acci.
81 to 0csh will bear the
o pieasant "reminiscences II
usual number of pleasant
- re" things | had not seen
Fwhsre. and-a newspaper Now
weakness to love a paper
s"Aness N me is chronic AS
eoi read fhem-every line-as a
~ J made them. and now as Won
Fnh a newspaper within reach
eannot help writing for it-perhaps
would be more proper to say at it.
And J want to indulge in a little
'pendr chat about newspapers.
IL me north, the weekly county pa
-~n infallible indicator of the
and kind Of people in that coun-
show me the paper before see
own and I viii tell you who and
It's citizens are; whether they
- good churches and schools:
<1ether they are shiftless or enter
using, temperate or scottish; wheth-
= they keep their fences in repair
nd their roads in order; whether
I1y are neighborly and social or ILL
N4lnred and quarrelsome. Yes, a
ETeai moral barometer is the newspa-
Der. and when I see one printed on
Fell0w paper without local news, ex-
sept Of an abusive or rowdyish char
acler. with slim editorials and dead
advertisements. 1 generally go on
Hithout stopping. l am not fond of
places where people lounge in bar
rooms or are perpetually found loaf
Ing around railroad stations with their
lands In their pockets.
Put with all this, / still recognize
- oct that the newspaper, properly
Inducted, is one of the means of pop
Dstruction, and is almost, if not
as necessary as the public
~ do not believe there can be
)ssive civilization or a secure
m where the local newspaper
ID existence. The school merely
our children abstract knowl-
the paper teaches them how to
that knowledge into use. Sci 4
- has no value except as it is APP
lied. OF what use would be the
mpass without ships, or geometry {
m the rule. the plumb and the lev !
~ Wisdom is known of her chill /
zen says the proverb, and 1 con-
81 that the newspaper is not the
oduct OF one mind, but it is the de-
lopment OF the wisdom of a COM
unity. II is the vehicle of thought, /
the learning. industry and genius
the people where it is published. 1
disseminates information; it gives /
hat we know to others; it brings 4
- the worlds store-hOuse new /
from which we may acquire 4
f.fsh fields and pastures new" II
the organ of freedom. the surest /
feapOn against oppression. 1t is the
nmpanion of the fireside, the friend !
n all.
Viewing il i'm this light, l believe it 1
the duty of the people in every /
! 4unty TO give their paper, if they
fve one. a hearty and an energetic /
Import. They should subscribe for
. - --ff 70 FOR
~ go further than this: While ,
~ should be. so far as possible, /
I<oppOrting. the fact is still to be
11nized that i'm many poor and !
IrIe communities this is an impOs-
|nty. and vet these are the very 4
|.ces where a paper may be almost
absolute necessity. Ii is needed /
encourage the weak, to stimulate 1
Industry. to set forth the advantages
ror immigration, to procure capital,
a. build up and invigorate. And here
H. where state and county patron /
ake should be wisely used. | know /
here has been a great outcry against
so system of public printing, and l
anne from a state where there is an |
bnnual outburst of virtue in that line
d public expenditure, but I have new
fr yet seen the tax payer who knew
that ne was one cent the poorer for /
such OUTLAWS. while | am positively 1
and perfectly knowing 10 the fact that |
she state. through the papers which |
lunwise Legislators have sought to de- /
Etroy. has largely increased in wealth
and population. II is a state almost
without debt and is not surpassed by
any I'm It's general progress. Little do
the people know the trials of the pub
Usher OF a local newspaper; little are
they aware how he labors with head
and hands. and how scant. after all,
A. his reward. I do not know how
you are situated. my dear brother of
the Quill. but il you have as sub
scrfber every man in your county; if
0every merchant advertises in your
~uF.r,,. aud "a oounfv commissioners