The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1923-07-19
EXPERIENCES Of
COUNTRY EDITORS
By WILLIAM G. BUNDE
Editor of U-Tell-'Em


The term Country editor" is us
ually bestowed upon the publisher
of weekly or semi-weekly news
paper. The editor of daily paper
is referred to as being the editor OF
a "small city daily" even though
the town in which he publishes his
paper is smaller than the one IN
which the weekly paper is published.
Many stories are told at the ex-
pense of the Country editor" while
they are not as numerous as the
mother-in-law stories, nevertheless
there are enough SO that there Is
never total crop failure.
And the reason that there is no
failure in that particular eommod-
lty is because the work of the
editor is constantly before the pub
lie. When the lawyer makes a mis-
take it gives him a chance to defend
lawsuit, or if it is during the trial
of the case then it means another
trial; if the medical man makes a
mistake, it means job for his
friend the undertaken, but if an
editor makes a mistake everybody
in the community sees it-and does
not hesitate to tell the editor about
it.
About twenty years ago an editor
located in a community new to him.
and shortly after he had bought the
paper a political campaign was in
progress. One of the candidates for
office was a one-legged man who
habitually wore a blue serge suit
1t was easy to think of him as being
veteran of the civil war, and the
editor | have in mind published a
glowing story of the old soldier,
urging the election of "the deserv-
ng veteran who left a limb on a
southern battlefield, while fighting
valiantly for his country"
Imagine the chargin of the editor
when the editor of the opposition
came out the next week with the in
formation that the candidate had
never been a soldier, and that his
leg had been taken off in a railroad
accident years after the war bad
closed.
The sorry is old of Republican
governor of Ohio who issued his
proclamation designating a Thanks
giving Day. To make sure of being
orthodox, the governor composed his
proclamation almost entirely of pass
ages from the Bible, which he die
not designate as quotations, as
that everyone would recog
nize them and admire the fitness of
the words, as well as his taste in
selection.
The proclamation was bounced
upon by a Democratic editor, who
declared he had read it before. He
could not say exactly where, but he
would take his oath that it was
downright plagiarism from begin
ming to end. That would have been
a pretty fair joke, but a Republi-
can editor came out valiantly in de-
Tense of the governor, pronounced
the charge libelous, and challenged
any man living to produce one
single line of the proclamation that
had appeared in print before.
Everybody in the community
knows the country editor, he is
part and parcel of the community.
When he chronicles the arrival of
the bouncing boy" or when he ex-
tends condolences to "the bereaved
of the family" those interested feel
the gentle touch of friendly hand.
His faithful typewriter is called
upon to grind out" an obituary i'm
mediately after column wedding
story, followed by an account of
murder or tragic accident of some
kind, bringing sorrow to house
and sadness to the community
then comes a writeup of a baseball
game or church picnic, both events
being of equal Importance and at
both the editor was "among those
present"
The environment and the duties
of the country editor tend to make
him tolerant of the opinions of
others, the nature of his work ac-
customs him to weigh opinions in
the even balance.
Unlike the lawyer, always a spec
ial pleader, the editor is the impair
tial recorder and reviewer and his
work is constantly in the open, while
there is an air of mystery surround
ing the intricacies of the law.
There is nothing mysterious about
the country editor-unless it be the
source of his mcconnell Everybody in
town knows, or thinks he knows
better how to run the newspaper
than does the editor. The minister
the school teacher, the young col
lege graduate, the fellow who has
nothing more important to do than
to spend the surplus received by his
wife from the boarders and the
maiden lady of uncertain age whose
favorite expression is "they say
all are dead sure they could do q
better job at the helm of "our'
paper than the editor.
Then along comes the banker who
does not like the leading editoria
because it does not coincide witt
what he thinks he thinks. The fell
low who wants something put in OF
something kept out of the papel
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