Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1859-09-20
WARRINGTON NEws AND GOSSIP.

liz, tion of the C;ov,rnment advertisements having
been withdrawn from the National Intefngehcer,
we deem il proper, nevertheless, To commune 10
insert them although it be gratuitousiy, Tor the
inf ,rmation of our subscribers, and especially
these Of them interested I'm government contracts,
as they have been accustomed during many years,
4, ind them in the columns of the paper. We ac-
cordfngly insert the above advertisements, which
appeared officially within few days past; but in
doing SD think il proper, to obvate misconcep-
ton to accompany the publication with this brief
note of explanation gsneer, Of yesterday
DlO-atng.
This announcement Of the Intelligsncer having
been commented on elsewhere, it becomes our
duty to Oursef to say that law passed in 1S45 pro-
vides as follows:
" That in all cases where proposals for any con-
tract or contracts to be made by any Of the E1scu-
ttre Departments or Bureaus, and in all cases
where notices Of any description issuing from the
same are now required by law to be advertised,
the same shall be advertised in t,ro newspapers In
the city of Washington having the largest Per1id-
nert SEbscTipfiOn.n
In administering this provision Of law, the
Government from the date of its enactment to the
present time, have required affidavits from the
pressmen and book-keepers of the different Wash
ingtOn city newspaper offices, setting forth the
number of copies of each edition Of the said
newspapers furnished I'm the course of a week to
permanent subscribers; and with that data at
hand have awarded the publication Of the gov
ernment advertisements to the two papers serving
the largest aggregate number Of copies of all edi
tioIs to bona fde subscribers, as being the two
papers having 'the largest permanent subscrip-
ton" Thus has the law been Interpreted by the
administrations Of Polk, Taylor, Tyler, Pierce,
aud buchanan. We regard it 4 just interpre-
tat on, aud as being well settled law, having stood
the test OF tine efforts of interested parties to upset
it throughout fourteen years, andbefore five such
trfl, ala -1. .iniet
Under this law, enacted long before the estab-
lishment OF the Star, and under this reading of
the law cOeval la its operation with the laws
actnent, the Star has long been designated as the
first per entitled 10 print the Government adver-
tissments; its regular isaac having gradually in
creased, until its bona tide daily edition is quite
nal to the aggregate daily circulation of all the
res of the w ashington city newSpaperscombined.
and its aggregate issue of copies Of both editions
In the of week at least ten thousand copies
greater than that Of any other newspaper published
in the district of Columbia-as Was abundantly
proved by the last showing made by the city
papers a call from the Government; the result
Of which Showing, we regret to say, deprived the
IrsHisenesr Of the right to publish the Govern
mtnt advertisements
From the enactment of the law until to-day
these advertisements have never been regularly
inserted. marked in the rders to print them in
any other edition of the w Washington papers than
the dailies, though showings of semi-weekly and
| tci-weekly editions also have been required and
| made.
Not few efforts to get around this law have
been cSSayed. For instance ia John Tyler's time
paper added the Subscr pit on list of dead news
| paper, previously printed in Portsmouth, Va, to
Is bona fde list, and, addressing papers to the
names upon ii for some time, claimed the Govern
Inent advertisements on the ground OF thus having
the largest permanent subscription. Those in
terested exposed the trick, which. being ex-
posed. as matter of course failed as the law
does not contemplate the award of the Gov
eminent advertisements except to papers having
themselves the largest permanent bscfption
without essaying to cllim, b. way of obtain
ing the advertisements the service of subscribers
| to defunct newspaper formerly printed hundreds
of miles away, under any contract whatever as a
bona file subscription To a Washington city Jour
nal. Otherwise, any Washington paper. without
| Il hundred iona fde paying subscribers. may on
serving the LIST OF defunct newspaper for Il week
or month OF two, deprive paper whose regular az
sresate pull icaton ofcopies is hundT ed times the
largest. Of is right under the law Various other
instances of ''sharp practice to obtain the Gov.
| eminent advertisements have been resorted to
4
demanding pay for the paper until after the con-
test before Tie Government had taken place least
| they might order IL stopped before the game to
| surrePtitiously obtain the Government advertise
| mems had betn successful.
50 far as tie Star is concerned, the Govern
ments advertisements are of very little import
ance to its business that has outgroNyn any
necessity whatever for any other support than
| that il commands from the public at large b. =
cause all know that an advertisement inserted in
1t Is read by perhaps twenty persons in the Dis
trict Of Columbia and the region for twenty miles
| around, for every who reads an advertisement
| inserted in any other Washington city newspaper
The pressure on the Stars advertising columns is
evident to all its readers and proves that all classes
in the Dstri t are alive to their own interests in
the matter Of seeking to reach in advertising the
largest number Of those whose custom or attention
they aim to secure.