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Show COUNTRY PAPER GUARDS NATION ' Rises Promptly and Capably to Every Emergency. IS NOT ALWAYS APPRECIATED I Cements Interests of Mass of Population Popula-tion Avoiding Sensationalism, in Its Clean Wholesomeness Is Its Appeal Ap-peal to Best Class of Citizens Country Press a National Power. By WRIGHT A. PATTERSON. The country communities the village, vil-lage, the small town and the small city are the backbone of the American 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 for-eign minister of Great Britain, said to the writer in London that the entire civilized 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 solidity solid-ity that tl3 tremendous upheaval of the war had not affected, and it was only such a foundation that would preserve 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 a foundation, is the country press the village, the small town and the small city newspaper. Country Paper Wholesome. The country newspaper goes to its readers devoid of that sensationalism that Is so prominent in the metropolitan metropoli-tan papers. It carries to Its readers the news Items that represent the joys and sorrows of their friends and neighbors, and keeps the hearts of the people of the community beating in unison. It 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 brightlights of city frivolity. It goes with the influence of a known and respected member of wnose iinnos the rate of the mil rested listened to the country press because they realized that the welfare of these country communities represented the I best interests of the nation as a whole, and the bill was killed. During our participation In the World war the country press stood stauchly and unselfishly back of the nation. It did nothing to create dissension dis-sension among the people during the lime of emergency, but it did carry to its readers a continuous message of patriotism and national unity. In each community it wiped away much of factional linos, and created an atmosphere atmos-phere of intense Americanism that welded the American people together regardless of place of birth or ancestry. 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 demand de-mand for war supplies there came a demand for a decrease in the consumption con-sumption of the ordinary needs of peace time. Among the things the consumption of which must be cut was paper. A city man was at the head of the department that regulated the use of paper, and he felt it advisable ad-visable to so limit the amount of paper pa-per available for the country press as to seriously cripple all of these papers, pa-pers, and to have entirely closed many of them. It was the privilege of the writer to present the case of the country coun-try press to this man. and it did not take him long to see that the government govern-ment could not afford to in any considerable con-siderable degree cripple an institution that represented so much of national good as did these country newspapers. newspa-pers. Country Press Deserves Well. The country press deserves well of the people of the nation, and especially especial-ly of the people of the country com-I com-I muni ties. Individually these papers I may rtot 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 indirectly indirect-ly far more than their subscription price. For that price they bring to you each week the news or your friends and acquaintances. To those who have left the country home to go either to the city or to some other country home, the country newspaper is a welcome weekly letter that keeps them in touch with friends and former for-mer associates. To those at home it carries the news of their friends and neighbors. It records the births and deaths, the marriages, the comings and goings of those in whom you are interested. It furnishes the medium of publicity through which work for a better and stronger community Is maintained. It voices the consensus of opinion of the community to the representatives in the halls of the state and national legislators. It 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 people of its community on any other ground than that of giving more than Cull 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 vPaper." the community its editor back of its every word, Its every opinion. It goes to a people, the people of the country communities and the farms, that are more capable of thinking along sane, unselfish 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 newspaper goes far beyond the community com-munity in which It is printed. National Na-tional legislators In the halls of congress con-gress realize that this influence is a power to he reckoned with. That when the country press speaks in unison uni-son on any national subject it Is but voicing the sentiments of that mighty force the people of the country communities, com-munities, the people in whose hands, says Mr. Balfour, rests the destiny of world civilization. Fights for Entire Country. The country press represents and fights for those things that are of value to the country communities, realizing that In doing so It is fighting for those things that are best for the nation and for the world. It works and fights to upbuild the country community, com-munity, to prevent Its falling a prey to tile selfish greed of the cities. It champions the business, the social, the educational, the agricultural, the in "stria! interests of the country com tnunity not from any selfish angle, bu: from the broader viewpoint of na 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 national na-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 opportunity op-portunity for a greater centralization of the merchandising of the nation In u few large citif with a consequent i Injury to 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 |