The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1913-06-03
THE HACK-HORSE.

/
The following paragraph from the
Moultrie Observer inclines us to ser
monte:
There is no class of grafters
working more persistently than the
free advertising grafters. Despite
the fact that newspapers as a rule
have tabooed the press agent and
his semi-news stories invariably find
| their way into the waste basket he
is undaunted and grows only more
insistent. From week to week the
number of appeals increase. Con-
ventions, state fairs, expositions,
automobiles, orphans homes, hotels,
railroads, chambers of commerce,
steamship lines and others too num-
erous to mention seem to think the
newspapers are hungry to get some
thing to fill up with and that all
that is necessary is to furnish them
with the dope. 1t is our private
opinion that if the stamps and sta
tionery used in sending out this
trash were saved and their value
invested in legitimate advertising
much better results would be OBJ.
tanned"
The Observer but gives an insight
into the experience of every news
paper man. The Gazette has three.
foot waste basket into the yakning
mouth of which the major part OF
each letter mail is dumped. One
wonders that business men do not
grow tired of wasting money in the
world-old effort to get something fol-
nothing.
But che press agent is not the only
offender; in fact, he appears to be
but an outcropping of what has
grown to be a human habit. Per-
haps because the newspaper men
themselves are in part to blame, the
community has grown to regard the
newspaper man as its hack-horse.
When there is something to be done
that is too arduOus, time-killing or
troublesome for any one else to do
the newspaper man is casually re-
quested to do it. His time, his space
and the fruits of many years expert
ence are considered the public S
property. But when there is some
thing to be done for which renum-
erative price is paid no one ever
thinks of him.
An instance is recalled of a small
city which was Disseminated against
in the matter of railway freight
rates. A lawyer of talents, a num-
Der of business men and the newspa-
per man combined in an effort to
arouse the people to realize the con-
dition of affairs, and by organized eff
fort reduction was secured. When
an organization was made the lawyer
pulled down a fat fee for represent
ing the trade body and the business
men got the reduction in rates they
wanted, but the newspaper man did
not get even a small piece of job
printing from the organization, as it
decided it was entirely too tony to
use ordinary printing and must have
Autographed stationery Also the
other enterprises which the reduc-
ton in rates made possible were of
the same opinion; neither did they
advertise, because their travelling
men could do all their talking. All
the newspaper man got for his hun
dreds of columns of argument and
thousands of dollars worth of adver-
Using was the satisfaction of know
ing he had helped to make the town
grow.
Through the efforts of another
newspaper man a number of manu-
featuring plants were located in his
city, but a majority of them, espe-
ciaTTy those who did rot feel COM
PEELED to send away from home for
autographed stationery were links in
a chain of corporate interests under
the same head, and while they may
have been of vaule to the community
they never brought one dollar direct
into the newspaper mans till.
Trades bodies are also great free
riders. Not only do they call on
newspapers out of all proportion to
the value of their articles as news,
but the newspaper man is expected
to give as much of his time as any
other citizen to the public work and
to come across with his share of cash
for other expenses.
Some newspaper men are getting a
little tired of being always the goat.
They have cut out the politician, and
we no longer see them do yeoman
service for the man of their choice
only to be forgotten the day after
election. Politicians are now paying
for the space they get in all well reg