The Yale expositor., 1921-11-03

munity not from any selfish angle, but
from the broader viewpoint OF ma
tiOnal good.
Some three or four months ago
there was before Congress a 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 OPP
portunity for a greater Capitalization
Of the merchandising Of the nation in
few large cities with "a consequent
injury 10 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 10 create dis
| sensiOn AMONG the people during the
time of emergency. but 1t did carry TO
| its readers continuous message of
| patriotism and national unity. In each
! community il wiped away much of
| fractional 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 IA decrease in the con-
sumption of the ordinary needs of
peace time. Among the things the
consumption of which must he cut
| was paper A city man was at the
| head of the department that regulated
the use of paper, and he felt it adj
visahle to so limit the amount of pa
J per available for the country press as
| To seriously cripple all of these pa
perS. and To have entirely closed many
of them 1t was the privilege Of the
writer To present the case of the coun-
try press TO this man, and 1t did not
take him long TO see that the govern
ment 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.
| ly of the people of the country com
| munties 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 acquaintance, To those
who have left the country home TO 60
either to the city or To some other
country home, the country newspaper
| is a welcome weekly letter that keeps
| them i'm touch with friends and for
| mer associates. To those at home 1t
| carries the news of their friends and
| neighbOrs. II records the births and
deaths, the marriages, the Comings
and goings of those In whom you are
interested. 1t furnishes the medium
| of publicity through which work for
| better and stronger community Is
| maintained. 1t voices the consensus
of opinion Of the community TO the
| representatives in the halls Of the
state and national legislators. II Is
the paper OF, for and by the people
of the villages, the towns and the
| small cities.
No country paper worthy OF the
name ever seeks the support Of the
peonle Of it's community on any other
] ground than that Of giving more than
| fun value for all that it receives. You
| aid yourself, your community, your
state and the nation when you support
and read your own Home Town
Paper"
DIR. II. G.. FRASER