Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1874-04-11

and needy. Better insert an advertise
ment free, however, than charge sum
that will make the business seem mean.
Some publishers get rid of a complicated
table of rates by charging so much a line
for each insertion. If an advertisement
goes in once for dollar, it is published
three times for three times that amount !;
but the most of us don't do that, and
must have graduated scale, and to ar
range such q scale fairly and systematic
cally is one of the great arts.
ADVERTISING AGENCIES. These furnish
the reserved funds for the ordinary coun-
try newspaper. They sprung from a
great necessity publishers in the country
could not afford to employ at each COM
mercial centre an agent to work exclu-
sively for his paper; nor is any publisher
| in Maine quite so rich or independent as
to refuse the patronage of foreign adver-
tising. These agents occupy field that
journalism They are blessings when
working in their legitimate channels, but
their powers can be abused The history
not be told that they owe their existence
|
parent from which they have drawn their
| lives without them their occupation
ceases. While they remain the agents OF
the newspapers, to do the work OF the
newspapers, and receive good pay, they
tables are turned and newspaper pub.
rather, then the fun ceases. Let the pub
IL hn1 s,, hn
Never should these agents of the news
paper be allowed to dictate terms, the
style OF the position of the advertisement,
Except on special contract,) who shall
advertise or on what plan contracts shall
be made with other parties. 1t is bad
enough to muzzle the editor, but it is inf
nitely worse Qor the pockeD to sell ones
independence in the management OF the
advertising and business department of
his paper.
We hardly know how to prize the ad-
vantages and blessings OF tree advertis-
ing. Ia the mother country, for years
after the introduction Of newspaper adver-
tising. the publisher was subjected to Il
tax that absorbed nearly the whole Of the
gross receipts. In this country, where adj
vertising has never been taxed, it has
grown to enormous proportions. Our tax
comes in the form OF commissions to
agents. These should never be grudg-
ingly paid They are laborers in an i'm
portant field and are in every way worthy
of their hire. Shall publishers continue
to be gullcd by travelling mountebanks,
pretending to represent tirst-cass houses,
who come with so much parade, with con-
tracts and duplicates, and eXacting condi-
tions, spending precious time in getting
your bottom rates, giving fair promises to
pay at the end OF quarters that never
come. You ask for quarter, but you get
none. With the exception OF such men
as Aver and Renne and others, whose
promises are as good as gold, it is unsafe
to deal with these travelling parties.
Sometimes they come as spies, taking the
poor newspaper man unawares, and.
tempting him with a few dollars in adj
vance, make him lower his rates, to be
used as 9 lever in future contracts with
other publishers. I own that it distresses
me to have these fellows exhibit receipts
for advertising from brother publishers in
whose honesty as members oil this associ-
alton had always coniided, that were far
below living prices,-but they fell and
their prices with them, just because a
greenback triumphed. Had Adam been a
newspaper man in distress instead of a
gardener, the tempter would have ap-
peared to him in the form of patent
medicine advertiser, holding out green
back instead of an apple, to tempt the
poor printer to lower his rates. There is
no safety in trusting these men, even
though you do receive Il quarter in ad-
vance-thay are bound in the end to get
six or nine months advertising free 1t is
strange to notice advertisements in news
papers after it well known that the parties
advertising have gone into hopeless bank
ruptcy, and that the publisher is perpetual
ing and countenancing Il fraud by the
continuance of the advertisement. When
these persons enter your offices refer them
to the place of business of your agents in
all the large cities, where they may obtain
as favorable rates as at the home office.
Publishers do wrong to allow these tray.
ellers any commission. although they
come often with specious claims for that.
They argue that they have to spend their
time and money in going through the coun-
try visiting publishers, and think it nothing
more than fair that they should receive
the agents commission. But listen not to
this slimsv argument. Tell them not to
travel farther on your account, except it
be from the door of your office. They
are rats undermining the legitimate
and honorable business OF the agencies.
1t is strong argument in favor of the
advertising agencies that so few have
proved reereant and gone to ruin. | do
not refer to those, OF course, who have
started without any knowledge Of the
business, but with the reckless determna-
ton of cheating some one, and whose
lives are measured by less than twelve
month; but those of steady growth and
honorable purpose, whose names readily
occur to you, some the pioneers in the
business. and accounts with whom are as
safe as though made at the counter of any
bank in christendom. There are So rec
oonzed firms or agencies in the U. S.
s. of which are in New York. The most
of these are good for all their obligations; ;
indeed they have passed through the
recent financial panic with only one or
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