The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1878-07-18
Newspapers and Advertising Agents.

We publish elsewhere series OF rcsoil-
tions passed by the Virginia Press Assocla-
ton. at its session in March last, which
deserve the commentator and support OF
every respectable joilrnalin the land. They
accord not only with our own opinion, but
also with the line OF action we have pur-
sued for the past four or five years.
There is only one objection we find to the
resolutions, and that is they do not go far
enough. Instead of refusing s'to insert any
Virginia advertisement received from out
side advertising agencies" the word ''Vir-
ginia" should be stricken cut, and after
agencies should be added Sat other than reg
ular commercial rates-those charged our
home patrons" To do more than this-to
extend to foreign advertisers rates which
are not allowed to those at home, upon whom
the publisher depends almost solely for sup
port, is a species of injustice which no hon
est man should be guilty OF. And then, too,
these foreign advertisements, taken in
ually charged, in nine cases OUT of ten, are
either of an immora! character, and directed
to the lowest and most degraded OF the
species, or else are intended to perpetrate
a swindle upon the unslispecting. Inelther
case the publisher is in measure morally
responsible for the mischief which results
from their dissemination, for we hold that
he who aids in circulating chat which he
knows to be harmful, and which he himself
would under no circumstances encourage,
is guilty OF as great dishonesty as if his own
name were signed to the advertisement and
he himself direct beneficiary of the folly
of those who are duped. We know that pub
fishers frequently admit advertisements
which they cannot endorse, but they should
exercise some discretion and to some eX-
tent as least try to protect their patrons.
To our mind the resolutions are rather
hard on papers that use patent outsides.
This class OF journals, for the most part, are
just struggling into existence, and certainly
it is far more excusable in them to be the
organs OF advertising agencies, and gath
err UP the few crumbs that fall from the Ia
uiG, lii'tH LII Is III tilooC PapCio CSCtoiioi0u oi
prosperous basis and which arc supposed
to have some circulation, exert some in
fluence, and are regarded as respectable by
reason OF their age, if for no other. 1t is
not a matter Of necessity with tie latter, and
therefore the more reprehensible.
We have long since arrived at the conclu-
sion that advertising agencies are nothing
more nor less that swindles, and consequent
ly have no transactions with them. They
swindle both the publisher and the adcer-
tiser, and should be encouraged by neither.
The other day we noticed that the leading
advertising agency OF the country, George
P. RoWell Il Co., had issued a pamphlet an
nouncing that they would insert an adver-
tisement in 1000 different papers, provided
they are paid in advance the publishers
| rates for &c. Now they have either lied or
| else the publishers have agreed to take l-4Cth
Of the price charged home patrons. Rowell
& Co. either propose to do the swindling
| themselves by not fulfilling the terms of
| their proposition, or the publishers are swim
| ding their patrons. A publisher who does
not respect himself and his business will not
| be respected and his paper should be erased
| from the list Of journalism,
If the newspapers proprietors would think
| for moment, we feel very certain that the
| advertising agency would soon be thing OF
| the past, rs it should be.