Middletown transcript., 1921-10-29
munity not from any selfish angle, but
from the broader viewpoint Of ma


from the broader viewpoint Of ma
tional good.
Some three or four months ago
there was before Congress bill on
which the press of the country was
divided. The magazines, the big ma
tional weeklies, the farm press and
the metropolitan daily papers were on
one side and the country newspapers
were on the other side. The passage
of the bill would mean creating an op-
pOrtunity for greater Capitalization
of the merchandising Of the nation in
few large cities with consequent
injury to the small cities and towns,
and to the people of these cities and
towns and the farms surrounding
them. The country press fought for
the defeat of the bill, and in the end
the members of the committee in
whose hands the fate of the bill rested
listened to the country press because
they realized that the welfare of these
country communities represented the
best interests of the nation as
whole, and the bill was killed.
During our participation in the
World war the country press stood
stanchly and unselfishly back of the
nation. 1t did nothing to create dis
sension among the people during the
time of emergency, but it did carry to
its readers a continuous message of
patriotism and national unity. In each
community it wiped away much of
factional lines, and created an atmos-
phere of intense Americanism that
welded the American people together
regardless of place Of birth or an
cestry.
Value Not Always Understood.
But the people of the cities do not
always understand the value of the
country press. With the increased de-
mand for war supplies there came
demand for a decrease in the con-
sumption of the ordinary needs of
peace time. Among the things the
of which must be cut
was paper. A city man was at the
head of the department that regulated
the use of paper, and he felt it ad-
to so limit the amount Of pa
per available for the country press as
to seriously cripple all of these pa
pers, and to have entirely closed many
of them. It was the privilege Of the
writer to present the case of the coun-
try press to this man, and it did not
take him long to see that the govern
meht could not afford to in any con-
siderable degree cripple an institution
that represented so much of national
good as did these country newspa-
pers.
Country Press Deserves Well.
The country press deserves well Of
the people of the nation, and especial
~ of the people Of the country COM
munities. Individually these papers
may not be large in size as compared
with the city papers, but quantity is
not the measure Of their value. They
are worth both directly and indirect
" far more than their subscription
price. For that price they bring to
you each week the news of your
friends and acQuaintances. To those |
Who have left the country home to 60 |
either to the city or to some other
country home, the country newspaper
8 a welcome weekly letter that keeps |
hem in touch with friends and for
ner associates. To those at home it |
.arries the news of their friends and
leighbors. It records the births and
deaths, the marriages, the comings |
md goings Of those in whom you are
Interested. It furnishes the medium
# publicity through which work for
)etter and stronger community is
It voices the consensus
# opinion of the community to the
in the halls of the
tate and national legislators. 1t is
he paper of, for and by the people
# the villages, the towns and the
mall cities. '-
No country paper worthy Of the
lame ever seeks the support Of the
eople Of its community on any other
round than that Of giving more than
ull value for all that it receives. You
i'd yourself, your community, your
tate and the nation when you support
nd read your own Home Town
'aper."