The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-10-04
KANSAS COMAENT
WHY SOME PAPERs FAIL.

L.
Last week We looked in vain through
a paper published in a county seat
town in the Sixth district for an item.
District court was in session and an
important case was on trial, but not
word was mentioned about the case
and only three words about the sessioG
OF court The same week we looked
through two county seat papers for
some information regarding q big race
meeting held in that particular town.
Nothing doing. Every week We read
an item something like the following
The home boys and Bigville played an
interesting game of baseball last Sat
urday in the pasture north of town.
No score given. These same papers will
nave long articles about some subject
of no earthly interest to their readers.
Smooth firms in the east send them
the stuff in the guise of time copy 1t
is really advertising, but the editor
does not see it, and wastes his time
and space on the desert air, as far as
his cash drawer is concerned. People
want the news A half column of live
local news is worth ten columns of that
sort of slush. Just to fill space" is Il
theory that should be discarded in
every newspaper office in the land
When subscribers pick up a paper,
read it through in thirty seconds and
throw it down with the remark mo
news in the Clarion this week. the pa
per at once becomes valueless to adver-
tAScASr the biggest asset IN q nSWSpap per
office. True. some weeks are aIl-fired
dull but the live editor and real news
paper man gets out readable paper
Just the same. The careless, sIipshod
fellow who prints anything just to fill
space is the fellow whom the type
foundries and paper houses refuse to
trust and subscribers dislike to pay.
Anything worth doing at all is worth
doing well. This particularly applies
to newspaper office. Always give the
=sr7r1 49, =.
court has done, and try to avoid run
ming a puzzle contest for your readers
to guess at when you print an item
about anything.-Osborne Farmer.
ONE OF THE PENALTIES.
The newspapers of Lincoln and
neighboring towns protest bitterly
against the newspaper stories of the
Shady Bend transaction, claiming that
a rank injustice is being done the peo-
of a highly moral and lawabiding
character.
Newspaper protests will do little
good in a case of this kind. however.
1t is. of course. unjust but commune
ties have OF suffer humiliation for the
sins of its representatives, just as a
respectable family writhes under the
disgrace brought by its black sheep.
The name of Shady Bend always will
be associated with a disgraceful oc-
currence, and the only way the people
can square themselves is by showing
a determination to punish the offend
ers, instead of apologizing for them
or handing out explanations
The newspaper apologists lay too
much stress upon the alleged fact that
the victim of the outrage was of a
free and easy disposition. 1t makes
no difference what sort of woman she
was. Had she been a reincarnation |
of Lucretia Borgia, there was no ex-
cuse for a tar and feather party.
The people of that vicinity should |
show their detestation of such doings, |
not by ringing editorials or windy ar |
but by a general desire to |
see the girls assailants get all that is
coming TO. them.-Emporia Gazette.