The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1875-09-02
AMERICAN NEWSPAPER D1REcToRy-We

| AMERICAN NEWSPAPER DIRECTORY.-W,
have received from Geo. P. Rowell & Co, New
York, their american Newspaper Directory
for 1857 which is a handsomely bound vol
ume Of 9S4 pages, and is gotten up with fine
| typographical taste but when that is said its
entire merits are set forth. So far as we are
able to judge, the work is totally unreliable
AID in no way fultills its promise. To show
that our opinion is well grounded we will state
that it gives the VIRGINIAN as democratic
paper, with circulation Of 800.
As to the accuracy of the information impair
ted by the Directory, in regard to the politics
OF this paper, we leave our readers to Judge,
and SO far as the circulation is concerned, we
will state that our subscription list now num-
bers largely over 1000, and we could have had
half as many more had we continued to send
the paper to persons who pay in PROMISES
Within the last three years we have stricken
hundreds of names from our list, for the reason
that the subscriptions had been running for
three or four years without being paid, and
although the parties always promise to settle
shortly, we grew tired Of doing business in that
way, and saved money by placing the accounts
in the hands of an officer for collection.
Again, the Directory gives the circulation of
the Spectator as equal to that of the combined
calculations Of the other city papers, which is
either utterly and wholly false, or cur neigh
Dor of the indicator has grown small by de-
gress and beautifully less in the past three
years. ~
The name of each paper in. the Directory is
accompanied by certain marks which denote
the business standing Of the Journal and ssthese
marks 1--WE quote from the book ''are intro
duced into the Directory in accordance with a
plan long under discussion among the princi-
pal advertising Agencies. The established
agencies desire, as far as they consistently can,
to discriminate IN favor Of publishers acho con-
duct their business Nth a reasonable regard to
the. interests Of such institutions." The italics
are our own.
In other words, if the publisher inserts all of
Geo. P. Rowell & Co.'S advertisements at. the
price offered, which is about onc-lalf that char
ged his regular home patrons, then this direc-
tory puts such paper down as under ''first class
management" Now as we have failed to con-
duct this journal in the interests of advertising
agencies, our name occupies position far down
in the catalogue, land is adorned with no marks
indicative of business capacity, according to
the exalted standard of Messrs. Rowell & Co.
We are thankful that such is the case, as it
proves that we have regarded our home inter-
ests with more favor than those of the State of
New York.
We have repeatedly received advertisements
from agencies with the request that they be in
serted at rates which are an insult to any man
who respects his business, or himself, and in
such instances we considered the propositions
beneath our notice and consequently did not
reply. Not more than two weeks ago we re-
ceivcd circular from G.. P. Rowell & Co., ask
ing at what price we would insert column for
one year. In answer we referred them to our
regular rates, and stated that we would make
no deduction whatever. As matter of course,
our proposition was not accepted, as.there are
numbers of publishers who would do it for con-
siderably less and at the same time charge their
home tradesmen every cent they could possibly
squeeze out of them.
We will mention one instance to illustrate
how some of the journals s'under first-class
business management are conducted About
six months since we received 4 small advertise
ment from New England fem, to be inserted
for one year, for Which the advertiser enclosed
one dollar and fifty cents in currency, as pay
ment in full. We promptly returned the mon
ey, with the reply that our terms for such ad
vertisement were $40, and that we could not
accept it for one cent less. Several OF our ex-
changes appeared the next week with the adj
vertiscment we had refused. for which they
doubtless received the munificent sum mention
ed above. Now We happen to know that one
of these papers declined a home advertisement
at the price we engaged to take it, which was
four times as great, in proportion, as that OBJ
tanned from the New England firm.
We will do, and have done, as much to adj
vance the interests of our own patrons at home
and elsewhere as any paper in the State, but
we cannot consent to degrade our business in
order to build up advertising agencies. nor
will we take any work from other places at less
than we charge our own citizens, from whom
we receive our support, and who, in turn, shall
receive the benefit of any reduction we may
feel justified in making. OF course we cannot
blame Rowell 6 Co. for any arrangement they
can make with publishers, but we think thai
any journal that will accept terms from for
eign advertisers, and refuse to grant them to
their town supporters, is unworthy Of any con-
sideration.
AS to business standing, we challenge
of cash books with any weekly pa.
per published in the State OF Virginia. We
are not in the habit Of parading our business
before the public, or making representations to
advertising agents as to our comparative re-
sponsibility with other papers. But as this
publication of Geo. p. Rowell & Co is calcula-
ted to discriminate against the VIRGINIAN, in
self-defence we are compelled to say that there
is not paper in Virginia in amore prosperous
condition, or the standing of which with the es-
Establishments and persons with which it has con-
Quoted its business, either here or elsewhere, is
not equal, to say the least, Of any other paper
in this commonwealth.
We have uniformly declined Mr.. Geo. P.
Rowell's s'ratting'' method Of advertising
We have uniformly refused to publish our card
in his Directory. We have never furnished
him any information in regard to our business,
and consequently he has either deliberately
perpetrated falsehood in his reference to us,