Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-05-23

IT will require some labor and pains to
write up q good, comprehensive mar
ket review, and may at first be irk-
some work for gentlemen whose
thoughts are running chiefly on ma
tional politics, the fifteenth amend
ment, and candidates for county Of
fees at the next election. But If you
would makea paper which the eoIn-
munity viii consider Independent, you
must not neglect OF slight this great
human coneer prices Of products
and goods. ~ Il
/ would not be understood as adv.s-
ing you to ignore political subjects,
and to publish neutral papers. Bylno
means. Neutral papers are, at best,
skim-miIk to the public taste. But
there is no danger OF your giving too
little space or attention to party mat.
ters, for the subject presses upon you
like the atmosphere, from all points.
Editors are born politicians, and
love- to talk and Wrangle over party
platforms, professions, and non-per-
formanees, and the mistake we + 3n
apt to make is, in supposing that
everybody else is equally absorbed
and excited ali the year round on par
tisan topics, as ourselves. But such u
fnOt the fact, and for the next three
years the country cannot be lashed
into a political fur6fe, MOI made 10 be
lieve that the safety of the nation de
pends upon the election Of John smith
for Sheriff, Simon Shallow for Justice
of the Peace. or the defeat of the If-
tenth Amendment. You can, there
fore, venture to discuss q large raflge
OF subjects. without impairing or en-
ddngering your party standing or Tor
feiting the good opinion ofany except
housing O-ffice-seekers; and the less
YOU are under their control the better
for yourself and journal.
In regard TO NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
for yoar peper. 1 shall say little. az it
| IS a matter 0ftaste and Judgment, end
editors are influenced very mucIlby
their own literary habits Of thought,
their age and temperament. YOUng
editors, I have observed rs 2 general
/ thing, run 10 love stories, sentimental
sOnnetS, original" poetry and face
tiOuS anecdotes and fun; while the
piOus veterans of the press are more
| given 10 publishing essay on the van
ity OF all earthly things, appeals 10 lie
u"ncOnVerted. death-bed scenes OF i1fi-
/ AHll1s dllkA VAAlCA 44lINLEl VI 10ilAbaR ALt|
OF course, there are many degrees be-
tween these eytrrmel%and the only
rule | can lay down IS to avoid eX-
tremes, and when you are IN doubt as
to the morality or ACCESSIBILITY Ola Sc
lection, submit il to your wife and fol
low her advice as to its Insertion. The
safer course will leave good or pleasant
Impressions on the mind, and add to
| your readers stock of facts and knowl-
! edge.
Iobserve in several Westerns ties
a practice coming into vogue, OF pup
chasing from some publisher in acIty,
editions of papers printed on the out
side pages, with title and date, and
obtained by express. II this practice
becomes general and permanent, the
miscellaneous selections VIII be taken
from the editors of country papers,
and pressed into the hands Of the fur
nishing Establishments, and nothing
! more need De said on the subject.
Whether the saving Of type-setting
and press-wOrk will compensate the
loss Of the control Of half your space,
is something 1 very greatly doubt.
One branch Of the publishing busi-
ness remains to be mentioned before
closing these remarks, viz: Adgcr-
Using. | entirely disappTOve Of the
practice, altogether too common, OF
taking column or half column ads :"
Oh. contracts for a year at a time, at
greatly reduced rates. These adver-
tisements are mostly quack medicines,
lottery sWindleS, or humbug patent
rights.
Such advertisements are an abOmi-
nation in the sight of readers, partic-
ularly the detestable cuts which ac-
company them. To thrust this living,
| sWindling trash BY the cOlumnfull, |
cuts and all, into the face of decent
and respectable people, for q year at a
stretch, is enough to cause JheTn to
discontinue their paper until thenuis-
ance is abated. For all such adver-
tisements YOU should charge single
| rates, without discount, and demand
advance payment. In addition to
publishing this trash at shamesully
low prices, printers are generally, or
frequently, sWindled out Of the pay
promised, and l confess to q certain
degree of satisfaction that they are
cheated, for it Is Il deserved punish
ment for inserting the stuff at such
prices, on generous confidence, Instead
Of cash gown.
The true way is 10 makeno (. contract
at less than monthly rates, and if any
one insists on keeping an " adj stand
ing for six or twelve months, charge
him monthly rates, and collect
monthly.
Open a d" wants department in
your paper; put the price at not to X
coed ten cents a line per Insertion en-
courage the people TO make known
their wants and transact their busi-
ness through the columns of your pa
| per, classify these advertisements IN
der their proper heads, and insert
them in a conspicuous part Of your
sheet. BY q little tact and consldera-
bic perseverance you can establish this
line of advertising, and, one estab-
lished, it viii prove not only profitable
to the paper, but very useful TO its
patrons.
When advertising is dali, fll up
with reading matter and disquisitions
on all kinds of local topics; and be
not tempted to save composition by
taking in quarter-price quack medi-
cines. The additional reading matter
will, in the long run, help your paper
ilOlt I'M NUTS ~ DAAhNG ECpN@ ~
cost of type-setting and loss Of the
mumbug advertisements.
Establish a living scale for advcrtis-
ing, and tenaciOuSly adhere to it. If
your neighbor is so foolish as 70 cut
under you, and refuses to listen to rea-
son, do not follow his weak example,
for he will hurt his own business FIR
more than he>can yours. When a
publisher puts down his subscription
rates, people begin to suspect he is
'Fhard up" and they decline to pay
in advance, lest he may fail; and if he
reduces his advertising rates below
customary prices, it will be taken as a
confession that his circulation is
diminutive and declining. Such are
always the effects Of the cut-under
game of the player, for if you set a
low value on your services or paper,
the public is sure to place a lower.
How then are you profited by insane
efforts to cripple or ki1 Your neigh
boris papar2 Rather "iive and let
live" be the sentiment that governs