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Show CO-OPERATION "What the newspaper Expects Ex-pects of the Merchants" can be expressed in one word, or rather in a well-sounding compound com-pound word, which to us represents rep-resents the ideal relationship between newspaper and mercantile mer-cantile indeavor and indeavor-ers, indeavor-ers, is "co-operation." The newsjaper is to the merchant mer-chant what the secretary is to the chamber of commerce. It's his publicity department his means of letting the people know that he's on earth; that he's right here in town; and that one of the main reasons for his coming was to meet you and see if lie could help you overcome those high-cost-of-living obstacles you acquired during that dry year. The commercial organization without with-out a secretary would not likely like-ly violate many speed ordian-ances ordian-ances toward the goal of industrial indus-trial superiority; and we have nothing but sympathy for the poor merchant whose only hope to catch the community trade is for some dude to run over a bunch of farmers in his 1914 model and knock them right into said merchant's wonderful assortment of most wonderful bargains. A newspaper is to the town what the brass band is to the circus. Of .course the circus with no band at all is not worthy wor-thy of mention. And, if the band is punk, the performance is apt to be punker,and the performers per-formers are probably not pumpkins. Ditto, some newspapers, news-papers, some towns, and some merchants. , A good newspaper news-paper will make successful merchants; good merchants will make a successful newspaper, news-paper, .and the combination cannot fail to make a good, live town. Once in a while you run a-cross a-cross a merchant who looks upon patronage given to the town sheet as an act of charity. Such a man will get a better definition of the word charity when he looks back from that bright home beyond the skies and beholds the county treasurer treas-urer paying a colored gentleman gentle-man two fifty for manufacturing manufactur-ing the hole in the ground in which his "wooden overcoat" was deposited. But, to repeat, the newspaper newspa-per expects co-operation from the merchant. We don't mean for the merchant to order a six-inch six-inch double-column space on front page center, and expect to co-operate with a pound of butter born five weeks ago Saturday. Sat-urday. What we do mean and sincerely believe, is that a newspaper worthy the name deserves and has a right to expect ex-pect the earnest co-operation of every business man in his town who has at heart the best interest of himself and his neighbors. The saying that "Your local paper is the mirror mir-ror in which the enterprise (or lack of it) of your town is reflected re-flected to the outside world," is as true as it is ancient, and the business man whose failure or refusal to co-operate detracts de-tracts that much from the attractiveness at-tractiveness of the scene, is not only "falling down" on his home folks in a most inglorious manner, but is actually burglarizing bur-glarizing his own strongbox. Don't be content to eke out a mere existence, commercially speaking. Go to your "Publicity "Pub-licity Department" and have it tell each one of its readers about the good things they have been missing by not having hav-ing your name on their calling list. Intimate that you are sorry you haven't invited them around the past few years. Promise to do better and do it. And if you know a news item, or become possessed of an inspiration which you think might redound to the public weal tell it to the publicity department. Don't bury it in your own breast; let your newspaper distribute it where it will do the most good. Co-operate. You'll find it the most restful, satisfying occupation oc-cupation you ever engaged in a guaranty of material well-being, an assurance of the respect and esteem of your fellows. |