The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-09-21
THE COUNTRY NEWSPAPER
w. X. Hearst Pays Tribute to the
Small Paper.

4 =
and to the great value Of those news
| papers as advertising mediums.
1t would be impossible to keep this
| government going. impossible at least
to keep representative and democratic
government alive in this country If it
| were not for the thousands Of news
| paper editors scattered throughout
! the land-every one Of them a watch
er and an observer, a viligant police
man in politics and public affairs.
Wherever two railroads cross in the
United States and there is a town or
village, there is--fortunately for the
| country-a local editor.
The editor watches the two rail-
roads, he watches the affairs of his
township, county, State and union.
He talks daily or weekly to his fell
low citizens concerning affairs that
most vitality interest them. He is for
them an eye that does not sleep. a
man alert and devoted to those that
are his constituents.
If the railroad crossing kills too
| many, if the railroads combine 10
charge too much or serve too poorly.
| If the judge, governor or mayor seems
| more Of a railroad official than a pao-
pies, the editor is there to tell about
it.
Big metropolitan newspapers with
calculations running into many hun
dreds Of thousands daily, have a pc
culiar power of their own.
But if you took all the METROPOLITAN
newspapers Of the United States and
weighed them in the balance against
the press Of the small cities and towns
OF America, it would be as though YOU
weighed a city office building against
Pixies Peak-and the local press
would be Pixies Peak.
The local editor speaks to his read
ers as one friend speaks to another.
They know him by sight. They know
his record. They know the hard fight
tai;t he has made and is making. they
know for how small a reward he ren-
d"rS efficient, unselfish service. And a
word from him means m)re than
many columns from some anonymous
and unknown editor Of he big city"
The politicians of this country
l. of h.
tor. They respect it and fear it-and
it is a good thing for the country
| that they do.
a man writing fearlessly in some
congressman's or some senator's home
town can do more to keep that official
straight" than all the metropolitan
| newspapers put together.
Public men know the power Of the
local editor and of the local newspa-
per. 1t is a pity that the business men
of the country are ignorant of that
power.
The man who has something really
worth while to advertise could, if ne
would use the local newspap pers intel
ligently, multiply his sales by ten,
make himself known to millions tb,t
do not know him, and put himself at
the head of his line of competition.
If the automobile manufacturers
who attract attention just at this
moment would put their advertising
intelligenty in the local newspapers,
paying a good, fair rate and Offering
a good value they could very soon
America from 10000 in one year.
which was the record of 1910. to 500.-
900. or 100000 in one year-and
this IS no eXaggeration.
The smallest of the country news
papers has among its readers one or
| five or ten or a hundred men that
| could be made to buy car now and
| viii buy one sooner or later. Some
| intelligent automobile manufacturer
| realize this and sell tens OF thous-
ands Of cars through the local newspa-
! pers before his competitors know
| what has happened.
| The average of prosperity and OF
| wealth among tn" readers Of coun-
| try newspaper is far greater than
among the readers of metropolitan
/ daily, and in proportion To tn cost
I of advertising. intelligent publicity
| through the country newspapers
| gives 10y far the host results
What "" have said about autorlo.
| hil" ADVERTISING refers to advertising
IN other lines. The dwcllcrs in the
| cities. readers of the metropolitan
dailes have before their eyes the