The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-06-17
EDITORS MEET
In CONVENTION
Alabama Press Associa-
ton at Dothan.
ENTERTAINMENT OF VISITORS
Annual Reports Read and Ad-
dresses Are Made.
-sA
A Feature Of the Day Was a Discus
sion ON aThe Government, q Conn
petitor I'm Envelope Printing"
strong Resolution Adopted.
ENTERTAINMENT OF VISITORS


mighty hot in Dothan today and the
members OF the Alabama Press Assoc
citation, who gathered here for the
thirty-eighth- annual convention. vigor-
ously used palm leaf fans while they
transacted a mass OF business at the
Houston County court house.
The feature of the day was an earn
est discussion at the afternoon session
of "The Government, Competitor In
Envelope Printing L. s. Deal. of The
Dothan journal. led the discussion. and
q number of weekly newspaper men
took part The result was a strong
resolution urging the Alabama delega-
ton in Congress to take steps to have
the law repealed, law that was de-
ciared to be ruinous to printing Offices.
l Halt q hundred editots were present
| this morning when President Lawrence
assembled the convention. The invo-
cation was by DR.. Craig. and Captain
A. 4, Pace welcomed the visitors. X.
e. l.. Mel, Of Selma, made the response.
President Lawrence. In his annual
address, reviewed the work of the year.
President Lawrence spoke as fol-
lows:
Fellow Editors and Publishers, Ladies'
and Gentlemen:
"Instead of apologizing for not hav-
ing a lengthy and labored address to
deliver on this occasion, take II that
brief statement concerning a few
matters of vital interest TO us as ed,
tors and publishers and printers VIII
be more acceptable than apologies or
Oratory.
The Press an Educational Agency.
cit is my purpose to bring to my
seoE 81 Ess o
work and our position In our commu :
nifty, county and State. Not that l
would have any Of you more puffed up
you better acquainted with the rea-
sons you have for being puned up /.
Modesty is a mmendable virtue but
in most newspaper offices 1t has been
pigeon-holed or thrown into the work
Arthur Brisbane of The New York
American, says journalism ia the most
important business in the world, and
what he is talking about in this par
ticular instance. The newspaper is
the distributing agent of modern CIV
iiization, and the distribution Of knowl-
edge Is the most important work OF
the age. There Is an Immense amount
of knowledge and information in the
libraries of the world, but the great
disult Is to get It out and Int tss
are only available to a very small per
cent OF the people What / mean by
available is, not that they are not ac-
privileges are restricted to a favored
class, but that those who are most in
need of and would be most benefited
by them are those who have neither
the leisure nor. the inciination TO nth
~ IN our larger seftfes only about one
person In ten attend lectures or re-
g0SSs sFyicss erie does os the nos n srgI
along the lines os enlightenment; II
simply means that the press educates
the great masses OF the people and de-
broadcast and most effective citizen
ship. Apart from the primary schools
in which the rudiments are taught and
a foundation laid upon which to build.
the press is the greatest educational
agency In existence today. While lee
turers and preachers and teachers
reach their thousands. the press reaches
its tens Of thousands. aye, millions.
every day In the year. To have an
audience like that is the greatest thing
imaginable; and while 1t carries with II
tremendous responsibilities It also AZ
fords magnificent opportunities and
The Necessity of Publicity.
Every one of you who have had even
a brief experience In newspaper work
know that few. things amount to much
the newspapers hold the key to the
situation. And yet because of rivalry
and competition we are continually al
lowing ourselves to be imposed upon
yertising for all sorts of money-making
ing, schemes, or political propaganda.
The local press Is called upon To
boost everything, from a strawberry
supper to street carnival-for the
public good(?). If a stock company is
organized to put on county fair or
build factory, the first agency they
enlist to make their scheme go with
the public and bring them a profit, Is
the local press. and they expect and
get column upon column of free ad-
yertising and psrnap.s, $50 e 2ds di in
ad. The State fairs, the great exposi-
lions, the great educational campaigns
along all lines are exploited in the
same way, largely at the expense of
the press. The money realized from
these schemes goes to pay the salaries
of the officers at the other end of the
line. Pro bono publico! How many
impositions are practiced upon us in
thy name!
Better Organization Needed.
1--WE have all heard of these abuses be-
fore, and have discussed them time and
again, but so far there has been no
concerted action for their correction,
and without concert of action there is
no general relief or remedy for these
and numerous other abuses 1 might
compact organization. Compact organ
ization calls for fun membership. Full
calls for systematic work
persistently prosecuted until practic-
ally every newspaper In Alabama
holds membership in this Association.
a BILE to make effective any plan that
we may adopt for our mutual benefit
and protection. We cannot get better
rates for advertising so long as half of
the newspapers In Alabama will sell