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Show COUNTRY PAPER " GUARDS NATION Rises Promptly and Capably to Every Emergency. IS NOT ALWAYS APPRECIATED Oemwiti Interest of Mass of Population Popula-tion Avoiding Sensationalism, In Its Clean Wholesomeness Is Its Appeal Ap-peal to Best Class of Citizens-Country Citizens-Country Press a National Power. By WRIGHT A. PATTERSON. The country communities the Tillage, Til-lage, the small town and the small city are the backbone of the Amerl-cannation. Amerl-cannation. 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 the 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. I The country newspaper goes to lta 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 brlghtllghts of city frivolity. It goes with the influence of a known and respected member of 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 an4 practical lines than are those who are surrounded by the selfish and many times evil Influences ot the large cities. But the lnfl-i-t.ce of the country newspaper goes tar 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 be reckoned with. That when the country press speois 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 dolag so it is fighting for those thiups 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 the selfish creed of the cities. It thampions the huMness, the social, the educational, the agricultural, the industrial in-dustrial Intensts of the couotrj com- muolty not from any selfish angle, bnl from the broader viewpoint of national na-tional good. Some three or four months age there was before Congress a bill on which the press of the country wai divided. The magazines, ths big & tlonal weeklies, ths farm press and the metropolitan dally papers were on one side and the country newspapsri 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 ths nation la a few large cities with a consequent injury to the small cities and towns, and to the peoplt of these cities and towns and the farms surrounding them. The country press fought tot the defeat of the bill, and in ths end the members of the committee in whose hands the fate of the bill rested listened to the country press bscauss they realized that the welfare of tness country communities represented ths best Interests of ths nation as whole, and the bill was killed. During our participation In the World war the country press stood istanchly and unselfishly back of the nation. It did nothing to create dissension dis-sension among the people during the ;tlme of emergency, but It did carry to its readers a continuous message of I patriotism and national unity. In each I community it wiped away much of factional lines, 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 de-mand de-mand for war supplies there came a (demand for a decrease In the con- sumption of the ordinary needs of 'peace time. Among the things the I 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 thi amount of pa-per 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 at the writer to present the case of the conn-try conn-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 Wall. : The country press deserves well of the people of the nation, and especially especial-ly of the people of ths country communities. com-munities. Individually these papers may not he large in slse 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 of your friends and acquaintances. To those Mho have left the country home to ge either to the city or to some nthw uuiry houie, tne country newspaper Is a welcome weekly letter that keeps tbem In touch with friends and former for-mer associates To those at home It carries the news of their friends and neighbors. It records ths births and deaths, the marriages, the cealaga and goings of those In whom you af Interested. It furnishes the medlun of publicity through which work foi 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 full value for all that it receives. Teu aid yourself, your community, your state and the nation whan yo support and read 7ur own "Heat Tvsm Paper." |