Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-01-25
JOYS of a Country Editor.

IA
LIN of a country paper was not intended
for publication, but the Kansas City editor
considered the letter too rich in philosophy
to die Il natural death in his coat pocket
and requested permission to publish It.
The country editor readily consented, say
ing that, though the letter was not intended
for publication, yet to go ahead-that every
man should be willing to have any letter
he writes given to the public, If the public
will stand for it. So the Kansas City editor
printed the letter and it has been going the
rounds ever since. The letter follows:
IT know everybody in the whole country
roundabout by his first name. There are a
thousand things to make life joy The
youngsters ii school come to the office for
my opinion in difficult things in their les
sons. I figure out the contents of stacks Of
alfalfa and prairie hay for farmers. am
the court Of last resort when II comes u
prices of corn and cattle and hogs during
Cleveland s administration advise widow
women about their affairs. lend the chron-
ically impecunious sums ranging from so
cents to SIS and always get it back. [ head
the list and help carry the paper to take
subscription for some one in distress.
''Our office gets the freak vegetables and
big corn and fine fruits. We never get any
knocks. No one ever comes round to tell
us what to print. Our town has no joints.
We have one drug store and it sells no
booze If our druggist should invest in .
government license he knows and his wife
knows, because / told him aud he told his
wife, that an item would be made Of such a
license being granted.
THE only wrangling I ever have is with
the preachers. This town has six churches
count thenl-six, and there is only room
for one. All the preachers are on the free
list. But I hardly ever attend church and
when they bring around a half column OF
dope about their particular church, I take
it and boil it down to single paragraph
and that makes them sore And they send
the presiding elder around when he comes
to town to talk to me and to adlnonish me
that am wasting wonderful opportunity
to do real work for the Master. And /
come back BY telling the presiding elder
that our paper is doing more to make the
town a decent little hamlet in week than
all the preachers do in Il year
aThe last one to haul me over the Goals
nded-demanded-to know why did
not attend church, and I told him. Told hifn
Of the chnrch-ridden town-of the make
shift pastors we have had for % years-of
the pitiable irony Of having young MAJ
who could not grow a decent beard and was
hardly dry behind the ears from college,
undertaking to tell grown men who had
met a good many phases Of life-its tempta-
lions and wickedness and sin-how to live
on Sunday-and through the week lived
his life apart from the common herd OF
men and women who have trials and heart
aches and joys and sorrows.
"a little country town like this needs a
mana man for spiritual adviser A man
like that and one church in town could
pull down $4,000 year and do an immense
amount of good, while as it is the women
give suppers and hold bazaars and take
freak ways Of earning dollar III order that
the pastor may have bread and butter and