The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1921-05-24
THE NEW LORK HERALD
Editorial Department
SO RUE DU. LOUVRE
Paris

Mr.. Norfleet S. Smith, Editor
The Commonwealth,
Scotland Neck, NJ C.
Dear Mr. Smith:
h
l have been following with great
deal Of interest every issue of The
Commonwealth since you and Mr.. vau-
CHAN took charge Of it, and I want to !,
congratulate you heartily on the sort
of newspaper you are publishing. l .
have been in the game just about long I,
enough-short as that time may be.
to understand the difficulties encoun-
tered in editing daily paper. Mis-
takes will occur, people will kick and +,
obstacles VIII spring up here and there
such is the experience of any news
Ipaperman. But the paper that enjoys
the greatest success is the paper that
succeeds in reducing the so-called .
tumbling blocks to minimum, and
IN doing this it seems to me that you
have succeeded admirably
I The Commonwealth has had a long
and steady growth, and due credit
a part in bringing it to its present high
status from the late Mr. E. E. Hilliard
(who was editor as far back as I can
Eremember,) down through the line
of your predecessors to Mr.. Shackeil
and Mr.. Lindsey. They have ali con-
tributed notew orthy share in it's de-
velopment and progress.
There were misgivings as to the sue
announced that he would put the paper
on daily basis. A daily Tor a town
the size of Scotland Neck was a thing
unheard Of and to persuade a group
of stockholders that he was taking
the proper course required plenty of
nerve and grit to back it up.
The result, in brief, is that Scotland
: Neck has a newspaper which it should
: Justly be proud Of Through the As
8 sociated Press you have the best wire
e service obtainable, and your local news
is handled as well as it would be on
many big city dailies. You are getting
out a strictly modern newspaper-w1th
g emphasis on that word modern-and
$ in reading it one could just as well
7, imagine that it was being edited FOL
s town Of $4,000 people as for one OF
d 22oc.
The new type and style Of headlines
that you have introduced add great,
to It's appearance and the taste In Sc
lection and manner in which you pre-
: sent the news are equally commend
able It seems that you will soon b
faced with the problem of lack o
space, and in doing this you vii: PROT
,ablv have to add another page or re
duce the size Of the advertisement
and Increase your rates.
: Finally, there is nothing more sati
fving than to note the progressiv
movements for the betterment OF tn
town which you have so assidious
supported through the columns Of tt
Commonwealth.
- 1t was not long ago that it was ge
eralv said-and not without son
foundation-that Scotland Neck w
slow and unprogressive. Everyo1
seemed to want to see the town g
ahead and it was heard to understa
INST why it didn t. Whether it w
because of fractional fights or siml
q case of ultra-conservative again
ultra -progressives matters little no
/ the point is that somehow or other
most every progressive move, howe'
far it got, simply failed to get tt
final but necessary push to put
over the top.
And so it was not without CT
deal of interest that I watched y
campaign for paved streets-and OF
progressive measures
Scotland Neck in well-known, W
liked and we'll advertised, perhaps