The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-12-25

JW&A2A4s
with the "cub" and do all the read.
ing l can between times, and besides
that there is the paper to publish
and that is a mans job itself. Be
| fore | can get all the farmers tt
reading what l say about better
farming l have to be able to publish
something that will be a benefit t6
all of them, and then l have to take
the paper to them and show them
that it will benefit them, get then
to subscribe, get them to read it and
keep them reading it and that is said
to be mans job too.
The farmers in the country have
been getting the worst of it in the
newspaper business for as long as
can remember and l got notion
that l could change that somewhat
1t is hard process, but l believe
it can be done.
A county paper usually publishes
all the news they happen to get. y
A better class of county paper en-
ploys a reporter and the reporter
gets all that can be found around
the town. The publisher gets some
body in each country settlement or
township to write the news of that
community. For quarter of a CEN
itury the county papers of the United
States have "jollied" their country
correspondents into writing the news
| just for the fun of it, for the en-
ljoyment it would bring them, for the
honor attached to it and for the
good of the community. A better
class of local papers pay these writ
ers some money once a year or once
a month, but they don't pay them
enough. Most of them pay about 25
or SO cents column. l have been
studying this matter and have con-
cluded that the news of the country
is usually as important as the news
of the town. The country CORE
spondence in the local paper il
usually joked about more or less be-
cause some items seem quaint.
have made quite study of the items
usually printed about social matters
/ in the towns or villages and have
concluded that those items have just
as much in them that Is silly and
of little consequence as has the coun-
try news. Both kinds are important
and alright if the people want them,
and if the publisher can stand 1t to
print them the readers can read all
they want of it and leave the rest
for those who are more interested.
The publisher acts on the theory that
what pleases some people would be
disgusting to others and these others
do not have to read what they do
not care for. I am going to publish
the news of the country and as much
of the town news as I can get. / am
paying the country writers about
double the price paid by most of the
country papers in the United States
and am studying the matter care
fully to see if I can afford to pay
more.
When community subscribes for
my paper and furnishes good deal
of subscription money to help op-
crate it that community is entitled
to get some of it's money back thru
the local writer or writer's. Writing
the news and editing paper have
always been considered honorable,
but not profitable. The folks con-
Injected with The Idaho Republican
are trying to make it both honorable
and profitable. The old system, still
in vogue among most newspapers, Is
to work hard, write we'll and stay
poor" If my dream comes true they
will be as we'll paid as any othel
workers in the community excepting
of course, the very wealthy folks.
The country writer's have had tt
put up with good many disagree
able things that discouraged then
about writing and one of them Il
that when they send in bunch Of
news and it gets set in type and Il
about to be placed in the forms fol
printing, and an advertiseme nI
comes in requiring about that much
space, the advertisement goes in the
paper and the news letter gets LEFT
out till next time. The publisher
, is between two fires. He needs the
; money and il he turned down the
advertisement, the advertiser would
feel offended at not getting the de-
sired service. In the next issue o.
LH0 paper, perhaps LouI udyo ldtoi
the news letter Is published and Il
seems little stale. People thinl
the reporter from that community
has just sent it in, and they criticist
him or her for not being more wide
awake. The correspondent has no
, time to go and tell everybody IL
the community how it happened ant
of course can only guess at it him
self. Sometimes we put in a piect
of country correspondence and leav'
out an equal amount Of the tow
news and the reporter, who ran al
over town to get the news, feels jus
, as much discouraged as the write
in the country. want the countr!
writer's to edit page Of their owl
!, for one issue of this paper, after thu
holidays, and tell all about the diff
: lficulties of reporting for the lOca