Page:The Afro-American Press.djvu/168

160 paper was under very adverse circumstances. Its first number, (May 19, 1883,) was a seven-column folio, with three columns of advertising matter. At its anniversary issue, May, 1888, it had twenty pages, with fifty-four columns of advertising matter. In reading the history of The Plaindealer, as found in the anniversary issue of May, 1888, one can see that the glorious achievements which have attended the efforts of this ideal newspaper were due to its lofty conception of such work. The Plaindealer saw, at the very beginning, that there was more in Afro-American journalism than the desire for financial success, for it says:

"But Afro-American newspapers have for their raison d'etre other motives higher than money-making or notoriety, seeking which make their success or failure of more moment and of much more interest to those who appreciate their necessity. The failure of an Afro-American journal, i. e., a good one, means not simply that the people are supporting some other in its place, but that they are not inclined to support any. It does not mean simply a transfer of patronage, but a lack of it. It does not mean that the desire is elsewhere gratified, but that there is no desire. It is an index of the tendencies of a people and, to a certain extent, a measure of their progress." After citing this, The Plaindealer then says its mission was and is "To overcome distrust; to demonstrate that The Plaindealer is an impartial advocate of everything for the welfare of Afro-Americans; to set an example that there is no field of labor which cannot be successfully explored and cultivated by the Afro-American who is energetic and painstaking; to provide a medium for the encouragement of literary work, for the creation of a distinctive and favorable Afro-American sentiment, for the dislodgment of prejudice and for the encouragement of patriotism."

These objects, it must be admitted, The Plaindealer has