The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1878-07-25
Narthern and so.th.rn News

papers.
IN referring to the newspapers pub
lished Ia the different sections of IA
country, we entertain no desire, what
ever, to array them against each other;
but we wish to show. if possible, how
Northern papers flourish, and Southern
papers languisb--how the former are
better sustained than the latter, and
that too, by Southern people.
There is not q sane man South Of
Mason & Dixon's Liue that will even
think fol a moment Of subscribing for
a Northern journal, without enclosing
the required amount-the subscription
price of the paper, with the order; for
it is known the paper will not be sent
until the money is pail IN adcance. By
this invariable rule, our Northern con
temporaries have been enabled TO build
up their journals on a solid founda>
ton, aud he it said to their credit they
adhere to this rule-cash in alvance-
with true characteristics Of genuine
business pluck. This is II reason why
Northern journals can be published
cheaper than papers in the South.
They are paid cash in advance for every
paper, and consequently there is nc
possible chance for them to lose one
cent on subscription. Hence, they are
successful and flourish like a green
bay tree. The Southern people contri>
butte largely to the support of Northern
journals, and in many instances aid ma
terially the dissemination of doctrine
and principle that are decidedly antag>
onistic and injurious to their respec =
tive.section of the country and pay their
money, in advance, to read articles that
are almost intolerable to a true South
ernor. We do not mean to say that all
Northern journals dissemina te bad
doctrine, far from it, for we regard
some of them rs welcome messengers
but our main idea to is sh DIV the advap-
tage our own people give them over
their home papers. If a man down
here wants one of his home papers, he
will probably say to the publisher in a
lose, %care)es way, "Sehd me your paper.
I'll pay you for it sometime or other. "
The paper is sent, and perhaps, after
he had received the paper regularly for
a year or two, he will become
offended if the publisher reminds him
that he is in arrears, and would like for
him to pay that 'small amount. >
Such business transactions are un~
pleasant, and it can only be avoided by
conducting business in such n way
as to preclude the necessity of "duns."
There are upon al average, about
one-third of the subscribers to home
papers that pay in advance, one-third
that will probably pay in the
course of time, and one-third that new
er pay. Now who is to blame for al
lowing this imposition to be practiced
upon the home press? 1t a be attri-
buted only to the publishers of the pa
pers. They allow it to be perpetrated,
when it is in their power to prevent it,
without giving the least offence. All
they will have to do is to adopt the cash
in advance system, and stick to it. 1t
is a safe rule and there is no risk to run
in adhering to it.
1t is much better to issue one huns
dred papers to subscribers who pay in
advance than to issue a thousand or more
that are not paid for, and the greatest
number of which probably never will
be. If n paper is furnished to Tom,
Dick and Harry on a credit. the expen
ses that sometimes attend the collection
of these several amounts, if eve COL
lected, very often exceeds the amount
collected. So it is even q bad business
sometimes to try to collect those small
amounts.
There is but one course to pursue,
and that is to adopt as M invariable
rule, the cash in advance system. Do
this, and the newspapers of the South,
will become more plethoric, more whole
some, and more ably conducted. We
commend these rules to the brethren of
the press.