The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1875-02-18
About Newspapers.

AD0ut NeNsPdpcESs
Every careful observer of human events must
admit that the newspaper patronage of the conn
try is gradually passing into the hands of q few
metropolitan papers. II must he further admit
ted, that the Influence exerted by newspapers Is
controlled, to great extent, by very few men.
Admitting the above to be true, we are further
letl to believe that the power of the press is
gradually, hut snrcty becoming centralized.
We have a vast number of country newspa-
pers. For years these journals have been owned
and controlled by independent, thinking men,
who were not afraid ~ promqlsate their views
through the pres, to the world. But within the
past decade we have had an organization of all
the great daiies of the country, called the "As-
sociate Press" baiiied together for, what is
| termed, mutual protection, and for the further
purpose Of gathering ard disseminating the news
of the day. This association has an agent in
each of the great cities of the country, whose
business it is to collect aud send 10 the various
head quarters al thcnews Of Importance to be
| obtained.
This association is grand monopoly, against
which it is useless for any single individual
to attempt to compete.
For instance, all the daily papers in st. Louis,
that were in existance when this association
organized, became fall members. Since that
time, no new paper can get the associate press
dispatches unless the publisher joins the asso-
ciation. To become member Of this orsanza-
tiOn, in st. LOuis would cost from one to two
hundred thousand dollars. Should new paper
be started in ST. Lonis, any other city in the
country, and not join this association, il would
be crushed out within ninety days, by this great
monopoly.
At Washington, the great political centre of
the nation, we have q score or more newspaper
reporters and associate press agents. who send
news from Washington, not as it actually occurs,
but shaded to suit the political complexion of the
paper to which il is sent.
From New York we have the business and
moned interests of tlie country written up
down. as suits the whims of the Bulls and Bears
of that great money centre.
As proof of the above statements, We have bnt
to refer to the Pacific Mail Steamship subsidy
business. This company is gigantic oue and
at one time did an immense business. Since the
building of our Pacific Railroads, of course peO-
pie prefer to travel overland to the Pacific coast,
and consequently Pacific Mail stock has gone
down. This company introduced measure into
Congress to authorize the Government to pay
them several millions of dollars subsidy for
carrying the mails to various points on this con-
tinent. They sent man to Washington by the
name of Irwin, with seven hundred and fifty
Thousand dollars, to work the bill through Con-
gress, and to place the money '.where il wOuld
do the most good" in securing the passage of the
bill. Mr.. Irwin testites before an investigating
committee, that he paid large amount of the
money to newspapers and reporters. And here
we have the whole ihatter in nutshell. These
metropolitan newspapers having received the
money for their influence, Immediately begin
writing letters and telcgraphng through the As
sociate Press, the Importance of this measure to
the country. The great daiies of the city, hav-
ing been paid for their work. write it up with
great vigor; the small city dalies and the coun-
try press, not to be outdone by their city cotem
porarles, take up the refrain; congressman and
senators see by the newspapers that the subsidy
blil Is popular with the people, vote for it, and
ii becomes n law.
Now then, where rests the rcsponsibilityi And |
VINO Is 10 blame for all this' Not the Congress
man, who votes for ths bill, in the belief that his
constituents require him to 50 vote; not the |
country press, which has baen falsely Informed |
IN regard to the facts in the case; but the news
paper reporters of the large dailies who have |
been bought mp, by money, to deceive the p,ope. |
The great daies, having an immense circula- |
tiOn, large advertising patronage, and power
to compel monopolics to pay them for their in !
iluence, can well afford TO send their weekly edi-
tons broadcast over the land, at a price that
drives the country publisher to the wall.
A few years ago all the country papers were
illed with city advertisements. To-day it is en-
tirely different And whyi Because the city
papers arc gradually snpplanting those published
should a st. Louis manufacturer desire to in-
;ert an advertisements in one paper in each Couu-
y in Kansas, he womb be at once confronted by
he publisher of the city paper, with facts and
igures that would cause the manufacturer TO
,hanse his mind. For instance, the proprietor
If the st. Louis Giobss would say, "you need pot
snd an advertisement to any paper in B,tIer
;Ounty, as VIC send over two hundred copies of
'ur paper to that Comfy, and proportionate
lumber to all other counties in the State, and
We can give you better rates than the country
,ress."
From the cheapness with which these papers
IRE sent to the people, and the mOnOpolizing of
he advertising patronage of the country, the
newspapers published in the towns and villages
re fast deteriorating in freshness, vigor aud in
luenee.
And here are met by q newspaper mouono
y IN another form.s Country publishers, not be-
nS able to resist the encroachments of the city I
ress, and not being able to furnish the reading G
natter demanded by the liberal reader. is com,
eiied to either suspend publication, procure q
eady printed sheets, In one form or another, for ,
is paper. Thus we have u gigantic monopoly ,
allied the Publishers' Union !.
AT Chicago. St. Louis Cincinnati, and all other
iies, are printing houses established for the /,
Die purpose of supplying the country press with ,
heap reading matter. One of these unions will u
Irnish patent onfsider for two or three hun
red country weeklies They have "Repnbli- d
an, "Democratic,n or "Ncutral" reading mat II
n to suit the wants of all. o
For instance, should we conclude to put on a t
patent outside" to the TWes, the ST. Louis a
mon would agree to furnish US n sixteen col Il
mn paper with the outside all filled with solid K
adihS matter, mail 1t TO us so that we would II
ceive t each week in time to priut the inside :;
nome, at precisely the same cost as We now n
W for hte paper.
They can do this and make money by by il in II
le following way: te
he same reading matter sent to us is sent to e
70 or three hundred other papers. But they lie
not send us sixteen columns of reading mat
T, but reserve four or five columns for adver- al
sements, for which they make their own con- W
acts AMI receive the pay for the same and il
ere Is scarcely an issue of these "patent out A
les, but contains srticles written in the in n,
rest OF some monopoly, and for which these Il
iniisners unions receive pay.
he reading matter furnished by the sspateut - "
tsides issimply rehash of the associate press u
spatches, and are but auxiliaries of the great Oh
socIate press monopoly. &c
taking the country press of the entire Union. ir'
q IN our Judgment, il has deteriorated in pow, m
innnenee, and vigor, at least forty per cont sc
zee the close of the war eli
aklng the history Of newspapers in the oldsr | p-
ates and 1t is safe TO predict that within the an
~ decade many hundreds of country papers Ie.
u u De swallowed up by this great monopoly. dh
Already We have the startling appouncement =,
y we are soon to have daily newspapers prin- IN
ana mailed to subscribers, fires, the publisher n
ying on his advertising patronage, alone, for y.
We have no definite plan of action to urge nm. C.
Pnollshers by which the encroachme1ts of tn
gigantic monopoly can be successfully resis- ed
|, we wish TO point out to the fraternity on. sol
Inc plain faets, as they exist trustipg 10 them liz
practical solution of the problem for n snc- ar,
sfni resistance to Newspaper Centralization-N xe,
'orado Times. s~
nu