Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-01-17
CIRCULATION ESTIMATES.

The obj object of the AMERICAN. NEWSPAPER
DIRECTORY is not very diff rent from that of the
well known mercantile agencies which exist in all
formed Of the character, habits, reputation, bust
ness ability and financial strength of persons with
whom they likely to have business transactions
enabling them thereby to SO regulate those transac-
ons as to % bs deags to
The DIRECTORY conveys the best obtained in
formation concerning the character or value of
newspapers: Its patrons are the men who expend
and it is from them that the publishers of the DI-
RECTORI, in their capacity OF advertising agents,
derive their profit and support 1t is to them and
of faithful service The theory that advertising
ADVANCE their interests first annihilated by the
system long adopted by publishers, almost without
exception of ignoring any idea Of protecting the So
called agency, and maintaining the right to appoint
competitors insthe field without the consent Of
those already occupying it.
MOST IMPORTANT PORTION INFORMA-
TI0N SUPPLIED By MERCANTILE AGENCY CONSISTS OF
ABOUT WHOM INFORMATION is ASKED so IS THE C1RcU-
LATIoN OF A NEWSPAPER GENERALLY CONSIDERED THE
VALUE TO THE ADVERTISER.
There are, among merchants, some who deny the
private affairs and who decline giving any inforina-
ton upon which q report may be based; but the
to ma Ike report. 1t gets from other sources the
best obtainable and upon this its esti
retlcence of the party in question is almost always
attributed to knowledge upon his part that true
port made is therefore, likely to be less favorable
than it might have been had the Information asked
for been cheerfully and frankly furI shed.
so also there are among newspaper publishers
their affairs It has been the policy of the publish
of the DIRECTORY to omit all information
about circulation whenever plainly and unequivo-
cally commanded to do In such cases the mat
ter is disposed of by annexing to the report the
words, objects to stating circulation. In every case
where the above command is not plainly and une-
quivocay conveyed to the publishers of the DIkEC-
TORY, they make up their report in the same man
mating the financial strength of merchant. and,
like the institutions referred to, they decline to
veal the sources from which they have obtained their
information.
1t is undoubtedly true that no publication of this
character is privileged and that in an instance
where merchant or newspaper has been seriously
injured by unjust materially incorrect report,
the courts furnish remedy, and both mercantile
agency or Directory publisher will be held respon-
sible Tor actual damage shown to accrue to in
ured party from report proved upon trial to have
been erroneous.
This is liability which the publishers of the d.
which they hold themselves at all times ready to
meet.
The greatest possible care is taken to make the
DIRECTORY reports correct. Every publisher is
taken in a form which excludes any but definite
statements which cannot be misunderstood, while
every effort is made to protect honest publishers
against such would resort to lying perjured
ports to gain unfair advantage.
1t has rarely been found that cause of complaint
has arisen against any report which has appeared,
in either OF the seven annual volumes of the Direc
tory already issued which has not resulted either
for Information, effort his part to substi-
tute other and different information instead of
sWering the plaIu questions upon the blanks fur
nished for the purpose from the DIRECTORY office.