The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1921-10-27
COUNTRY PAPER
GUARDS NATION
BY Wright A. Patterson

By Wright A. Patterson
The country communities = the VII
lage, the small town and the small
city-are the backbone of the Ameri-
can nation. They are the communities
to which the nation turns in time of
distress and emergency. They are even
more than the backbone of the nation.
They are the bulwark of our modern
civilization. Just at the close of the
world war, Mr.. Balfour, foreign min
lister of Great Britain, said to the
writer in London that the entire civil
ized world must look to the small
towns of America to preserve for the
world the civilization that it had taken
centuries to build, because the small
towns represented a substantial solid
| ty that the tremendous upheaval of
the war had not affected, and it was
only such foundation that would pre-
serve the structure of civilization.
The cement that keeps the people of
these country communities together.
working and thinking along uniformly
sane and safe lines, that makes of
them THAT Substantial solidity" on
which world civilization can rely for
foundation, is the country press-the
village, the small town and the small
city newspaper.
The country newspaper goes to its
readers devoid of that sensatiOnalism
that is so prominent in the metropoli-
tan papers. 1t carries to its readers
the news items that represent the joys
and sorrows of their friends and neigh
bors, and keeps the hearts of the peo-
pie of the community beating in uni
son. 1t goes to its readers with that
sane and kindly advice on local, state,
national and world problems advice
that is the result of thought and study
beside the hearthstones of the nation,
and not in the selfish marts of trade
or the bright lights of city frivolity.
1t goes with the influence of known
and respected member of the commun-
ity. its editor, back of its every word.
its every opinion. 1t goes to people,
the people of the country communities
and the farms, that are more capable
of thinking along sane. unselsh and
practical lines than are those who are
surrounded by the selfish and many
times evil influences of the large cities.
But the influence of the country
munity in which it is printed. Nation
al Legislators in the halls of congress
realize that this influence is a power to !
be reckoned with. That when the
country press speaks IN union on any |
national subject it is but voicing the |
sentiments of that mighty force, the |
people of the country communities, the |
people in whose hands, says Mr.. Bal |
four, rests the destiny of world civil
iZation.
The country press represents and
fights for those things that are of
value TO the country communities, real
izing that in doing so it is fighting for
those things that are hest for the ma
tion and for the world. 1t works and
fights to upbuild the country commun-
ity, to prevent its falling prey to the
selfish greed of the cities. 1t cham
pions the business, the social, the ed
ucational, the agricultural, the indus
trial interests Of the country commun-
ity not from any selfish angle, but
from the broader viewpoint of national
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 national week
lies, the farm press and the metropoli-
tan daily papers were on one. side and
the country newspapers were on the
other side. The passage of the bill
would mean creating an opportunity
for a greater Capitalization of the
of the nation in a few
large cities with a consequent injury
10 the small cities and towns. and to
The people of these cite and towns and
The farms surrounding them. The
press fought for the defeat Of
he bill. and in the end the members Of
he committee in whose hands the fate
IF the bill rested listened to the coun-
.ry press because they realized that
he welfare of these country commun-
ties represented the best interests of
he nation as whole. and the bill was
titled.
During our participation in the world
var the country press stood staunchly
md unselhshlY back of the nation. 1t
lid nothing to create dissension among / ,
he people during the time of emer-
,ency, but it did carry to its readers !
continuous message Of patriotism and
latiOnal unity. In each community it
wiped away much Of factional lines,
nd created an atmos phere of intense
that welded the Ameri
an people together regardless Of place
f birth or ancestry.
But the people of the eities do not
ilways understand the value Of the ]
ountry press. With the increased de-
nand for war supplies there came a
emand for a decrease in the consumD-
ion Of the ordinary needs Of peace
ime. Among the things the consump-
ion Of which must be cut was paper
city man was at the head Of the de-
that regulated the use Of
sper. and he felt il advisable to so
init the amount Of paper available a
or the country press as to seriously n
ripple all Of these papers, and TO have
ntirely closed many Of them. It was
be privilege Of the writer to present
be case Of the country press to this Z
IAN, and it did not take him long to
ee that the government could not
ford to in any considerable degree 2