The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1867-07-11
"A Publishers Associations
Tho Greensburg Chrohicle advocates
the formation Of a Pubishers Associa
ton In Indiana 1t eayS. - A

We need to take counsel together up
| which is tlfe price Of paper, which IS
city customers, and the swindliRg adver-
Using agents both cas- rand west. The
publishers of this State have lost enough
by Seelye, Haydock, Job Moses, Shuts
, and others, to have paid the salary, and
expense of an agent in Nav York to at
/ tend to their interests and act as State
Agent. Fro 49, s-fs l.#e5
/ w C heartily endorse the Views of the
Chronicle. The attempt to form a pub
fishers association during the war was a
failure. but we believe that another eff
fort should be made Country papers
in Indiana have improved much within
the last year OF two. and we believe pub
fishers have become more alive to their
Interests than they were formerly.-Con-
nersville Times aorz. s.,,aF-' a.rs
-. We re endorse the above, and hope
the Press throughout the State will
promptly act upon the above .sugges
TONS In connection with this subject,
writer in the Ground Table, thus
sensibly talks to the Country Press, on
the subject of advertising, which is the
only thing that keeps a paper moving,
and is the life-blood of its existance.
He details at consid cradle length the
difficulties connected with advertising,
when home patronage of this kind, as is
usually the case, is small; the principal
one of which is low prices given by
Eastern agents, and the numerous swim
ding agents. As to what should be
done in order to place the enterprise on
a more firm and permanent basis, he
says = - o<
Theoretically, the plan of extrication
is simple enough The editor can COM
mand success by giving his paper suf1i-
cient excellence. Let him, by studying
ing good models and using his space to
the best advantage in the manner we
have indicated earlier in this article,
render his paper a necessity to the peol
pie ofothe region i'll which it is publish
ed Thus it will secure a sure local cir
,culation in every family of it's region,
which must be followed by remunerativeT
advertising and consequent indepen-
dence. But the practical obstacles to
such course are very great and very
numerous. They are due primarily to
the same inordinate multiplication which
we noted as the canse of the feebfeness
of the Episcopal press. The excessive
competition of half dozen newspapers
struggling for a livelihood, wherever
there is room for one, has demoralized
editors, advertisers, and the public alike.
If the editor makes stand for what is
his due, recourse is had to rivals ready
to underbid him by whatever means. II
he demands proper payment for his adj
vertising it is taken to some one who
will it cheaper and he is left with
none; if he demands prompt payment
it is taken in dudgeon; if he pursues an
independent course in any local or gen.
eral issue there is detection among his.
readers to sheet of less principle and
more ready of compliance if he refuses
to lend his own to venal purposes hum
dred expedients can be employed to
break it down or Gexalt its rival. This
state of things has tended inevitably to
the deterioration of the country press
and OF the class Of men who are willing
to work upon it.
We believe cure is not impossible.
II. attainable at all ; it must be by means
of the Editorial Associations which, or
iginated, we believe, in New Jersey,
have now been established in most of
the Northern and Western States. AS
yet, these associations have by no means
exerted their full power. They have af-
forded annual Or semi annual occasions
for editors to dine together, indulge in
mutual admiration speeches, glorify their /
profession, condole over their common
grievances, and do little practically cal !
culated to improve their condition. To
most of them at present the simple fact
of being an editor is title to II ember !
ship. The responsibility and excellence
of his newspaper should be made a quail !
fication, and tue censure of the associa-
ton should follow surely any editorial
Then the. associations
should be instrumental in suppressing
the abuses to which we have alluded, 1
and in educating public sentiment in the /
matter. Their revision of advertising
rates, their censures and exclusion from
the business within their States of advcr
Using agents guilty of the practices we
have described, their endorsement of up i
right and reliable firms, their com bined
action against gratuitous advertising OF
all kinds, their official representation to
the State and National Governments OF
the oppressiveness of the management |
of hepublic printing and the corrupt
manner in which it is often bestowed,
by these and similar measures that come
legitimately under their cognizance, the
associations could do a vast deal to ele- !
vate the tone and ameliorate the condi- /
ton Of the country press. and gradual /.
Iy to place it in the hands of a new. or
der of men. It is through the want of
all such associate action that the coun-
try day is flooded with so many !
wretched sheets which are not worth
the paper whereon they are printed, |
which are yet able, by diverting sub
scribers, to prevent worthy enterprise
from gaining constituency sufficient TO
ensure it's success. and which by the
coarseness and Ignorance of the mem
employed upon Them drive better ones