The Sun. [volume] (Price, Utah) 1915-1932, 1919-02-28
PROBLEMS OF THE SMALL TOWN
NEWSPAPER MAN.


received a sort Of friendly letter from
a country editor the other day, Just as
q brotherly epistle, not intended for
publication. But the Kansas City man
thought II too good to be allowed to
perish in an inside pocket, and re-
quested permission 10 print il in his
columns. The country editor replied
that he didn I recall exactly what he
had written, but 10 go ahead-that
every man ought to be willing to
have any letter he writes given to the
public II the public will stand for IT,.
so the Kansas City editor printed the
letter from the country ediior-and 1t
has been going the rounds ever since.
IT will continue to go the rounds be-
cause II is worth a good deal 10 have
such communications made public.
Here 1t Is in full
81 know everybody in the whole
country roundabout by his first name.
There are a thousand things 10 make
life n JOY. The youngsters in school
come 10 the office for my opinion In
difficult things in their lessons. / fig
| ure out the contents of stacks of al
falfa and prairie hay for farmers. I
avn the court of last resort when IL
comes 10 prices Of corn and cattle and
hogs during Clcveland's administer
ton. advise widow women about
their affairs. | lend the chronically
limpecuniOus sums ranging from fifty
cents 10 three dollars and always get
| II back. | head the list and hoLp carry
the paper 10 take n subscription for
romeonc in distress. Our office gets
The freak vegetables and big corn and
fine fruits. We never get any knocks
No one ever comes round 10 tell rs
what 10 print. Our town has no
Joints. We have one drug store and
Il sells no booze II our druggist
should invest in a government license
he knows and his wife knows, because
I told him and he told his wife. that
TN item would be made of such n
license being granted.
"Thc only wrangling I ever have Is
with the preachers. This town has sir
churches-count thom--six. and there
is only room for one. All the preach
crs are on the free let. but hardly
ever attend church and when they
bring around half column of dope
about their particular church, take
Il and boil IL down 20 n single para
graph and that makes them sore. AND
they send the presiding eltier around
when he comes ~ town tostalk to me
and To admonish me that ! am wasting
n wonderful opportunity 10 do real
work for the Mister. And I como
hack by telling the presiding elder
that our paper is doing more 20 make
the town n decent little hamlet IN a
week than all the preachers do in q
year.
"Tho last one 10 haul mo over the
Goals demanded dcmandcd-to Know
why ! did not attend church. and
told him. Told him Of the church
ridden town-of the makeshiit pas
tor we have had For twenty-five years
of tine pitiablc irony of having .
young man who could not grow n de-
cent beard and wiz hardly dry be-
hind the ears from college. undertake
II ing 10 tell grown men who had met
lgrod many phases of lifc-its tcmpin.
tions and wickedncss and sin-how 10
livo-on Sunday-and through the
week lived his life apart from the
common herd of men and women who
have trials and hcartaches and JOYS
md SORROWS. A little country town
like this needs man .--n man for
n spiritual adviser. a man like that
and one church in n town could do
an immense amount of good
cor course, a young man must be.
SIN somewhere, but he should begin
IN mission work in a city where he
meets sin and shame and crime aud
poverty IN all It's hideousnoss, and
then he would probably be- qualified
20 90 out and preach TO country PEG.
pie. T"