Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1918-05-15
The Press for Christian Temperance.
(Franccs E. Willard.)

"The mightiest of the mighty lea
On which the arm of progress leans"
why should the devil have all
the good tunes?" was the ~clear-cut
question Of good John Wesley.
Why should the devil have so
much printers ink?" was from the
first a leading question among white
ribbon In every village, town
and city of the world in these days,
there is, as a rule, some sort of news
paper, to establish which cost the
proprietor a snug sum of money. To
keep it going makes a constant de-
mand on his purse. We women could
no more have started these papers
than we could have made a world,
but if we have the tact and talent, or
to state it more correctly, the good
common sense to put a mortgage on a
few square inches every week in
the columns of these papers, it is
lust as we'll as if we owned that
amount of space, which, if paid for
at advertising rates, would cost an
incalculable amount of money.
There is not another line CT work
except that of gospel meetings which
our women have taken up with so
much alacrity, for they are quick
witted enough to see that there is
not in the world another power where
we can bring to a focus so much in
fluence for the spread of temperance
principles and temperance practice
as the newspapers, because they go
everywhere and are read by all peo-
pie. The voice that speaks dies on
the air almost before its echoes reach
us, but the firm types and black ink
hold through months and years. The
newspapers that issue from the press
in New York city may be read IN
Yokohama, Melbourne, St. Peters
burg, and in the Islands of the Sea.
When you have got a thought into
"cold type" it is there "for keeps"
There is no magician in this age
like the clear-headed, far-sighted man
or woman who impresses the
thoughts that he believes are Gods
truth, upon the printed page.
The universal complaint concern
ing our local press superintendent
is that while they "run we'll for a sea-
son" they are apt to grow weary
in we'll doing" and seem to forget
that it is "in due season" that I'VE
shall reap if we faint not" lnnu-
merable editors have said to me, Il
gave a quarter of a column" (or a
half as the Ease may be) Ito your
superintendent and she. sent me ma
terial to fill it for a month, three
months, six months, or possibly a
wear, and then the whole thing drop
ped" Other editors have said, III
we could count upon the copy as a
certainty and that it would not come
in too late, we would set aside the
space, but the women do not seem
to understand that an hour or even
a moment makes all the difference
in a newspaper office between nav
ing what is sent put in the paper or
in the waste paper basket"
Verify, we must be up to time as
well as up to date if we expect to
the confidence of that much
tormented dignitary, the editor.
Another mistake that we some
times make is to devote our attention
wholly to the local editor. A paper
of Importance is divided into apart
ments each of which is under the care
OF some one member Of tie staff,
and an ingenious press superlntend-
ent will not only try to secure the
insertion of local news on the city
mage. but will furnish every now
and then a story, a bit of verse, an
anecdote, a pithy paragraph for the
home column or the scientific selec-
tons; indeed, there is hardly a sub
division of the paper for which an
ingenious woman would not be able
to find, from time to time, approprl-
ate and attractive selections.
One of the most neglected fields
is reporting the sermons and address
es of temperance men and women.
How often have we found in the To-
cal press some account of where we
had come from and were going to-,
account Of u general appear
ance or manners, some friendly hope
expressed or adverse prophecy, but
never any setting forth of
WE HAD SAID.
If our press superintendent IN
the large cities and towns could Sc
5000 ,+o,orranhic reports at least of