Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1918-04-05

and unless our friends are in thorough
sympathy with our ideals,
Upon the very initiation Of our first
issue, a year ago this time, we eyperi-
enccd a characteristic difficulty which
in some form or another has been pres
ent each OF the - weeks that we have
carried the church notices In the
desire to catch our mails, and finding
that, at the last moment, we were pres
sed for time and for composition iacili-
ties, and seeing also the unlairneSs in
the matter, we eliminated from a GER
tain set Of church notices the rcpeti-
ton in half a dozen instances OF the
fact that everyone was cordially invited
to these particular services In other
notices this reference Of cordially was
not emphasized and we felt in fairness
to all concerned, and in the interest Of
our own expense and convenience at the
time, we would eliminate the phrases
which seemed partial to one church
Our edition was scarcely off the press
before protest was made and in the
spirit OF compromise, and in the spirit
of fairness, we proposed that over all
OF the church notices we should print
a cordial welcome on the part Of all
the churches, and We so decided with
out entirely satisfying our objector, we
fear.
The late arrival of some Of the
church notices gave us an unusual
amount OF trouble, particularly when it
is considered that any department such
as the church notices constitute, are
set in a separate style and in separate
section of the paper from the ordinary
run of news. 1t was thus necessary
for convenient handling that all the
notices should be in early and should
be uniform. While a number Of the
pastors were prompt there has never
been week not a single week in
which The Register has not yielded a
point or two in the matter of the time
limit regarding the receipt OF church
notices.
On one occasion, failing to receive
notices from a certain church, The
Register inquired if they were to be
had, but getting no authoritative an
nouncement we went to press without
these certain notices and following our
publication we received a very heated
protest from the pastor OF the church in
question that we had not published the
usual notices. Though he nor anyone
else had sent them to us, it was felt by
him to be incumbent upon us to have
done still more than we did do toward
the adjustment of the matter,
The church notices were originally
considered by US as an obligation which
we desired to assume if we could, re-
CARELESS whether at profit or loss.
We met the expense the past year at
cost of about one hundred dollars, and
with the difficulties we have already
referred to as further handicap.
The difficulties would not have been
as great if we had been thoroughly |
understood, and if, upon the occasion of
elimination of something or other which |
either our Judgment or our mechanical
abilities made it necessary to eliminate,
there had not arisen feeling each time
that The Register was unfair or biased |
when, to the very best of our ability, we
have been seeking to be the very con-
trary.
In further explanation of what the
editor of The Register means by sec
tarianism, there have been from time
to time handed to us news items which |
constitute in some sense propaganda
for a particular faith. These notices
as they came to us were so framed
that it made it appear to the reader
that not the church but the editor of
The Register was personally taking it
upon himself to hope, to urge, to COM
ment or preach in some behalf of the
which the church in ques-
ton should be made to say in its own
behalf if at all, and this is a condition
which we desire greatly to be relieved
of.
The proposition therefore rests as we
are forced to let it with The Registers
position that it cannot bear the expense
of repeating from week to week GER
tain routine announcements which,
while having some news value, are not
Of such broad interest as to classify as
to majority of our several
readers. If any feeling il en-
yendered by this stand which we re-
gard as so Just and SO necessary to
make, we shall regret it more deeply
than anyone else not so much from
The standpoint Of business, as from the
ear that purely business matter may
De construed by some of our friends