The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1910-01-27
Country
Editors
An Article by the Late Gov. John
A. Johnson, Published Ten
Days Before Death.


Days Before Death.
If i were asked theI main point of
difference between the rural and .ur-
ban editor, I should say it was largely |
a matter of personality. In the one
case the personality is the chief asset;
in the other it is no longer appreciable.
Few of. the great city newspapers
print the names of their editors, aud
often no one knows their guiding
spirits. The editorial page is regarded
as the expression of the paper, not as
the conviction of a person.
Almost unconsciously the great news
papers have undergone process of
eliminating the individual. Asa whole
they have not deteriorated in literary
quality; on the contrary, we have bet
ter newspapers. The editorials are
just as sound and the news features
just as interesting-butt the man behind
is no longer visible.
In the country the editor lives "near
to natures heart" He is part and par
Gel of the community life. Everybody
knows him. When he chronicles the ar
rival of the "bouncing boy" or when
he extends condolences to "the bereaved
family" those interested feel the gentle
touch of friendly hand. He records
triumphs and successes in the spirit of
participation; his chronicle of vicissi-
tudes and struggles and sorrows has
the element of personal sympathy.
In its general aspect the country
town is not different from the large
city. Here there are the same divisions
aud strata of society; the same social
and political problems; thesame surges
of ambition; the same world-old COM
bat of greed and power with chivalry
and self-restraint. But in the country
town a common bond of sympathy
runs thro' all the elements of sociallife.
In the last analysis the newspaper is
mirror, rejecting the hopes and aspi.
ratons, the trials and tribulations OF
the people it serves. The country com.
munity is bound with closer intimacy
and for that reason the attitude of its
newspapers is necessarily more provin.
cial and more paternal.
The environment and the duties of g
country editor tend to make him fail
critic and safe judge of men and meas
ures, for the nature of his work &C
customs him to weigh opinions in al
even balance. Unlike lhe lawyer
always special pleader, or other pro
fessiona men confined by narrow out
look on single phase of life, the elto
is the impartial recorder and reviewer
seeking only the truth.
The lawyer has an easy road to fam'
compared with that of an editor. A
ex-President Cleve'a set forth in hi
last article in The Companion, there
.an air of mystery surrounding the in
tricacies of the law. The exigencies o
the profession require lawyer to be
ready and fluentspeaker, and this powe
is an aid to prominencein in public affairs
There is nothing mysterious aboutt tn
country editor-unless it be the sourc
of his income! The schoolteacher, tn
minister, the young college GRADUATE
and numerous other people about th
town know, or think they know, ho
to run newspaper better than doe
the editor. He is not always given til
opportunity for training as a publ
speaker, and the nature of his work
ameasure units him for quick thinkin
and clear expression before peopl
His composition is of slower proce
and is done in the quiet of hissanctur
where only the rhythmic throb of tt
presses and the gentle click of the tyl
are heard.
But the influence OIL the writer
more lasting than that of the orato
and even for temporary purposes,
often as great.
The degree of success is in eth
case, Of course, largely 9 matter