The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-01-04
KANSAS cOMAENT
PEACE TO ITs ASHES.

PEACE TO ITS ASHES.
There died in Maine few days ago
newspaper that was more than a
hundred years old. In its early days.
and the early days of this nation, it
was something of a force, and 1t
helped to shape human destin1eS.
Those were times when men had plen-
ty or leisure, and books were scarce
and dear. and long, ponderous editor
ials were read, and marked. and
learned. and inwardly digested.
There was no Associated Press then,
and editors considered news the least
important feature of the paper. The
news from abroad came over in sail
ing ship, and had whiskers on it when
it reached the printers; the domestic
news was brought on horseback or
tors were so used to rancid news that
they wouldn't print local happenings
until they began to decompose The
great feature of newspaper was the
editorial page, and it, as remarked,
was ponderous and verbose, and sol
emn to the point of tragedy.
In those days the humorist, Els an
editorial writer, was unknown; the
humorist, in any capacity, was regard
ed as a depraved creature, a lineal
descendant of the court fool of other
countries, and the possibility that he
could be an instructor as we'll as an
entertainer never occurred to anybody
In this country, although Charles
LdIIlD ndO convinced q rev bTItOuS 10
the contrary, and Charles Dickens was
preparing to convince a few more.
And SO this old Maine paper never
had CLEAN Of humor in its editorial
page; as dignified as dead horse,
1t plodded along. Times changed, and
new generations came, but, through
some fatality. the policy of that paper
never changed. That policy became
Ia sacred shibboleth that ruled every
thing. Young men went to work for
~ ,2kI ~.<~G 1r--
| its policy; enterprising men tried to
| jar the old thing loose, but the stock
holders held up the sacred policy, as
| a sergeant-at-arms in congress holds
up the mace when trouble is threat
ened, and she dropped back into the
| old rut.
News was always subordinated to
the longwinded. funereal editorials,
and these editorials always treated of
| politics. The idea that any human be-
| outside of politics was an insult to
the hoary policy. The stockholders
were heroic men, generation after gen.
Grafton, and they finally weakened,
when they found that nobody but the
proofreaders read the old paper, and
so she died, with hoarse rafting in
her throat. If she has done no other
good, she has furnished an object les
Son that should be valuable.-Em-
poria Gazette.
1
IS THE WHEAT CORNERED?
1t is declared that about $4,000, 900
| bushels of the wheat crop raised in
Kansas this year is still in the hands
of the farmers. This estimate prob
ably is 100 large. but if 100000
bushels of the 1909 crop remains in
the bins Of the farmers they are
mighty lucky. For wheat will bring
a higher price than it brought one
month ago; at least, so declare the
Chicago men who are supposed to
know about such things. Many reasons
are given for an Increase in the price
of wheat which, when sinmered down,
mean that there is a demand for wheat
and the man who has 1t is to get a
price he believes it is worth. OF course
the farmers have not "cornered: the
wheat after the manner of Mr.. Patten,
but they seem to have it cornered so
far as the immediate supply in this
country is concerned.
If the farmer has the wheat, it is
and he will not take a gambling
chance. He knows that wheat is al
most the same as gold and that people
must have it. If he needs money he
can sell the amount required to meet
his needs and keep the remainder for
still better prices. If wheat should
not reach higher price the farmers
are in such condition, financially, that
they will not feel they have lost by
holding. 1t appears that the farmers
are doing as they please about their
wheat and when thev are able to do
| this it means a great thing for an
agricultural state like Kansas.-Wich-
tia Eagle.