The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-07-01


scribers have frequently reached us of late In
some cases delay has not been the only fault
charged. A strong protest has been entered
by a few of our daily readers against the quail
ty of the paper we use, our uneven register,
AID the frequent defects and flaws in the print
ing of the HERALD. simultaneously with these,
letters from country subscribers, complaining
of the irregularity with which they receive
their paper have come to hand and we are
finally admonished that courtesy requires us
to make some specific reply to these and other
malcontents.
| In deipg so we shall be as brief and as frank
as possible. We are ready to believe that the
complaints in question are well-founded; at the
same time we trust that few words OF expla-
nation will exculpate us from any imputa-
ton Of wilful neglect or Encouragement
The lateness of the hour at which our paper
is served to subscribers, in certain parts of the
city, is solely attributable to the mechanical
impossibility Of printing it in shorter
time than our presswork now occupies,
Compelled as we are to present our readers
with reports of lectures, meetings. concerts.
telegraphic news, &c, which reach our Office
between 10 p NJ and midnight. and frequently
two and three o'clock in the morning. we can
not get to press" before three or four o'clock,
and country agents and post Offices require
their daily supply before six. In the interval
we are expected to print $4,000 HERALDs This,
we need not tell the initiated, is physical i'm
possibility. With the most perfect and rapid
presses that have ever been constructed in this
country we are constantly behindhand and
the carriers--who are as great losers as our
selves by the occurrence-are obliged to wait
many minutes beyond the proper hour for their
usual supply We have. in short, reached the
point where increased circulation becomes an
inconvenience instead of benefit. There are,
we believe, highly respectable persons in the
world who regard illusions to the circulation
of paper in its own columns as mere speci-
mems Of the puff 0blique We shall be sorry if
our present remarks expose us to the censure
of these amiable critics. Still, were the pros
poets Of misconstructon even greater, we should
feel bound in justice to our injured subscribers,
to remind them that the cause which delays the
arrival of their paper deprives us Of the sale Of
many thousand HERALDs. If our mechanical
means enabled us to print 80 900 papers in one
hour our circulation would double itself in
few weeks. On the 9Th March we could have
sold 100 900 papers instead Of $4,000, had our
presses been able to produce them.
Four years ago we were placed in precisely
the same difficulty as at present. Mr.. Bennett
then ordered from Hoe three of the most per-
feet presses that could be constructed. and pur-
chased three adjoining buildings on Fulton
street to give ample room for composition and
presswork. He confidently expected to be
thus enabled to supply the demand with ease.
Unfortunately for the realization Of his hopes.
by the time the presses Ueie built and at work;
our circulation had increased to such an ex-
tent that the difficulty he had expected to re-
move was as threatening as ever. Since that
period we have endeavored, with but poor sue
cess we confess, to meet the requirements of the
public with what we may to-day call our imper-
feet machinery. We are now bound to admit
our absolute inability to continue the struggle.
Human ingenuity cannot lengthen the minutes
on the dial. and American mechanics can
not make press which will print faster than
the one now in use in this Office. Our circula-
ton cannot, with our existing arrangements,
be increased with profit to ourselves or conve-
nence to the public. What shall we do?
We are committing no indiscretion in confess
ing that Mr.. Bennett is now occupied IN seeking
solution OF the difficulty in Europe. 1t is not
.,ax IL 4toth M 10 olt o;p;p
model of press which will print as fast as we
desire. But we frankly admit our belief that
the erigency must be met By stereotyping, or
setting APP double forms. printing erery
line Of matter twice and employing a doa5ie
set Of cOmpositors and a double set of steam
presses, and thereby Increasing our expenses
nearly one hundred thousand dollars year.
By these means. at the expense which will
probably seem incredible to the public we
would be enabled to supply the required num-
Der of HERAIDs at the proper time. To some
such course we shall be driven before many
months elapse.
To the same causes which delay the delivery
of our journal must be ascribed the inferior
quality of paper we occasionally employ and
the flaws in the printing and register to which
its imperiections give rise. Mills which had
formerly a large surplus after supplying the
HERALD cannot now produce enough for our
wants. We are frequently compelled to go
into the market and pick up odd lots of
paper to meet our immediate necessities.
We have no time to choose; indeed, those
who are familiar with the trade know
that the publication Of books and periodicals
has so enormously increased Of late that it is
frequently impossible to procure good paper at
any price. The country does not contain pa
per mills enough for the demand. Our manu-
facturers-Messrs. Persse & Brooks-have pro-
missed, however to furnish us with the "raw
MATERIAL" Of good quality, and in quantity
sufficient as soon as o new mill TO cost $780,
q 4 ri