The gold leaf., 1909-07-22
Charlotte Chronicle

A few days ago, Mr.. w. C. Wolfe,
a retired journalist, OF Monroe, drop
ped into the Chronicle otfice-they al
| ways drop in, you kDow-and after
having lifted square Of tobacco from
our desk and made himself comfort
able, proceeded to start up a con-
versatiOn about newspapers as they
are now and as they were then.
Wolfe was cOntemporaneous with us,
with the exception that while he had
a cylinder press, we pulled an old
Washington, a press that we have
always believed was the original
from which all hand presses were
made. Said Wolfe: ''Just think. In
our days there were no telephones.
A telegram was so rare that when
one came the editor would tremble
as he opened it. There were no rural
delivery routes. The paper was a
week old before it reached some ofits
subscribers. We had to wait until
the coming around of court to col
lect subscriptions, for in those days
court week was the editors main
chance. Now, the editor of the weekly
paper can turn to his telephone, give
a subscriber little chat about the
markets and incidentally remind him
that he owes q dollar on subscrip-
tion and when the subscriber would
come to town he would bring a dollar
for the editor" This and much
more was said by way of contrast
between the papers of then and now.
The changes have been marvellous.
Nearly all the country papers in the
State now have linotype machines,
and as a general thing, the weekly
has given way to the semi-weekly
The telephone and the rural delivery
have been important factors in this
era of progressive country jour
nalism. The weekly and the seme-
weekly paper of today carries pages
OF news where the paper of the days
the two editors were talking about
carried columns, but considering con-
ditions, the country papers of old
would bear a creditable comparison
with the papers of the present time.
Especially is this true when the edi-
tOrial pages are matched. But the
country press of North Carolina is
today perhaps the finest in the South.
The Chronicle draws from it each day
a department that makes this paper
sought after. Statesville has the best
edited paper in the State. Wadesboro,
Monroe and Rockingham each have
two standard weeklies. Gastonia is
abreast with the journalism of the
day. Lexington has what might be
called a metropolitan county paper.
Henderson has one of the finest
Greensboro and Salisbury run to dali
lies. Concord has a tip-top semi-week-
ly and an excellent daily. Maxton
has one of the best weekly papers in
the State and at Marshville is Our
Home, a weekly that has a way of
speaking out in meeting that makes
one watch and wait for it. These are
but instances. Almost every town
in the State has "a paper that looks
better than the paper Mr.. Wolfe got
out when he thought he was printing
one of the best in the State, and TAX
ing cord wood in payment for sub
scriplions.
And furthermore, the country ed
itors these days do all their CORES
pondence by typewriter and mighty
few of them hold to the old habit
OF acknowledging receipt of things
laid upon their desks. They don't
palaver. 1t has been a long time
since we have seen the once familiar
expression: "Mr. So-and-So, our pop
ular fellow townsman." They are as
independent as any other class of
business men, and have placed the
profession on thoroughly sound
and practical business basis. They
are printing papers, not for senti-
ment but to make a living.