The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1940-10-10

every interest but those imposed by you Generally
speaking the great majority of todays newspapers are
keeping their books with black ink. Few OF them
return large profits to their owners and publishers
Fewer still operated at loss The majority are
purely local institutions, with payrolls that con-
stitute important item in the income of many
local families and in the sales of local merchants
Whatever profits they make are renvested IN large
part for the Improvement of the paper and Tor the
betterment of the community in many aspects. Few
tnuous ganfu employment few afford better rates OF
pay for comparable work.
There approximately 1000 daily newspapers,
printed in English in the United o States Their tota
100000 Sunday. For these copies, the publishers
receive. in Your pennies, an annual total of about
uted in payments to the boys and who deliver
the papers to your doorstep About $550,0000O0 is
advertising space from merchants, manufacturers and
people who render the many services that Americans
regard daily necessities. AS said before, you
pay that S550000000 also, in daily too small to
when you buy cake of soap. pack of
cigarettes a dress suit of clothes. AS free
Americans, you pay nearly Sl,0O0,000000 year for
the right to read and use in your daily affairs the
service of free press. What do you get for your
billion dollars?
neighbors-a topic of universal human interest since
prehistoric times Second, you get the news of how
you being governed, the daily performance of the
men and women you send to City Hall, to the Council,
the Legislature, to the Governors Mansion, to the
Congress, the Presidency, and the many branches
you have set up for your comfort and protection
Third you learn of the daily tides of business,
merce fashion. Fourth, and fearsomely dominant in
these days, news of what is happening in the rest
of the world Fifth, you read, If you wish, the
opinions of trained to observe and interpret all
of these events in terms of your own experience
Sixth, you have wide choice of information only
indirectly associated with the daily parade of news
evens-on health education selection of food and its
preps5ation social conduct affairs OF the heart the
care <of children, the management of household
garden the attractions of the stage and screen the
popular sports in their Finally, because this
catalog has to be closed sometime you have limess
range of amusement and diversion within the pages
Of your daily neWspaper-shor stories, serial stories
serious and comic cartoons Photographic and artistic
tales of fun, adventure, romance
You representing average family probably con-
tribute less than $40 year. in pennies and fractions
of pennies, to make this miracle possible You pay,
the average less than $40 year for the privilege
of having your morning or evening paper on the
doorstep when you want it. Your average family share
in the cost of advertising the goods and services
that make your life worth living is in the neigh
borhood Of SIS year-ess than SO cents week. We
could stop right there, and have you agreeing with
that you get your moneys worth many times
We suggest also that you that so cents week
many times over by careful use of newspaper ad-
vertisng and study of the values that presented
daily Your unseen and unfelt investment of SIS a
year in the advertising cost Of the goods you buy
returns you dividends every time you buy adj
vertsed article, dividends in money and in better
merchandise and longer service.
That is American system, with free press at
its heart which has created for this nation standards
of human living that are matched nowhere on the
globe. It is not perfect system. II has many in
equaites for which vie have yet found no
and honest operation if it is to survive and to
tend its benefits. It is a system which requires
newspapers which merit public respect and conf
dence newspapers which carry and win the
fight for the public interest against any encroach-
ment of tyranny great small and from any quarter
whatsoever You, the public individual men and
women have the right of life death over the news
papers which you. Your ancestors Wrested
that right from the hands of absolute rulers. q
necessary guarantee to the enjoyment of all other
blessings of freedom.
Your ancestors ensured that right in the First
Amendment to the American Constitution providing
that Congress shall make no law . abridging the
freedom of speech of the press That right is
reserved to You If You abdicate ii, if Your News
paper does not defend it. with every snew and every
resource at its command need but look about Us
to learn the certain consequences of failure
There can be no stronger guarantee that American
institutions WillIye and prosper than free press
strong in, its gonfdence of your moral and economic
support Sou1ageous, alert, vigorous and honest ir
its defense Of your right to enjoy every privilege tina
the Founding Fathers declared the nalienablt
rights of mankind
~ FRI cf he ro1nh tod paoh