The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1920-12-24
LOCAL NEWSPAPER
Is A NECESSITY.

There are three most potent fac
tors in the life, growth and develop
| ment of a community. They are, the
Church. the School and the Newspap-
er, and this is in the order of i'm
| pOrtance.
1t is not our purpose here to eulo-
gize.
We will pass over the first two of
these factors and perhaps treat of
them later. If the churches were
thrown out of this community no
self-res pecting person would stay
here. With all our material prosper
| ity we would soon drop back to con-
ditions such as ancient Rome witness
sed. And if the school were dscon-
tinued material progress would also
stop and we would sink beyond re-
demption.
The church is a public institution
and is supported by voluntary con-
tributions. The school is also a pub
, lie institution and is supported by
taxation. The newspaper is semi
public institution that receives no
| public support but has to earn its
| livelihood through the regular chan
I nels of competitive business
|
now to speak.
If all the newspapers and other
| periodicals We're discontinued today
the effect would be somewhat similar
to a mighty plague sweeping over the
land. Darkness would creep in, the
| darkness of intellect. as people would
remain in ignorance of the happen
| ngs in localities only a few miles
| "A 81 ri
and telegraph communication would
soon fall into disuse because no slim
illus would come from newspaper
dom. Even the postoffce receipts
would dwindle for much of its reven-
ne comes in direct response to adver-
Using.
The newspaper is the third great
agency in the advancement of civili-
zation, yet it is underestimate more
often than the first two 1t is too Of
ten treated as merely business prop
ostion. Few people seem ever to get
the vision that the true-blue editor
has of using business to advance the
interests of whole community. The
preacher has one iob-to preach; the
teacher has one iob-to teach; but the
editor, if he be true. has a triple job,
and that is to preach, and teach, and
hardest of all and with it all. too, to
meet his weekly pay roll, pay the
other costs of production. and try to
get a comfortable living-and we all
have a right to that.
Omitting the church and the school,
we can make claim without exagger-
alton, that true newspaper is of
more real Importance, does more good
good with less money, gives more for
less money than any other business
in community. 1t is true that some
will point to large industrial plants
that flourish in the community and
say that those concerns with their big
pay rolls form the life of the COM
munity. This we answer is only ap-
parently so. This appears to be so
from a superficial materialistic sur
vey Of the field. But the life is more
than food and the body than cloth
ing. The big Industrial plants deal
in wealth, that is produced by labor;
hut the newspaper besides dealing in
news, deals in bigger things
| THOUGHTS.
Cur thoughts are things, and a
small drop of ink, falling like dew up
on thought, produces that which
makes thousands, perhaps millions.
| think. Vivian w. Bradbury in the
| Union On. " News-Dispatch.
If YOU have an article YOU want to