Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-11-28

lfEph tue btl'ONh falh ZINES
The intelligence of the people is such that
it is rare the inquiry is made why newspa
pers are not as cheap now, as in 1sG0 Al
least that has been our experience, and YET
occasionally the inquiry is made. 1t is fair
question and deserves a frank answer We
refer, of course, TO country weeklies which
i'll price can never compete with the city
weeklies, made up Of matter paid for once or
twice in dailies or semi weeklies before reach
ing country subscribers. few country pa
pers having some specially, or located in
some particularly favorable district are offer.
ed at less than $500 a year, conditonally,
but most of them are suffering "for want of
support, more than is generally known out
side Of those acquainted with the business.
Patent outsides' or insides have greatly
multiplied the number of newspapers be.
cause such papers can be furnished cheaper
than home prints, and yet We never knew
community that did not prefer n home
print paper if such could obtain living sup
port at home even at an advance rate, nor
have We ever conversed with publisher of
one of these prints who did not express pre-
cisely the same choice, and who did not in
tOnl tO n4She his T~Pss - home f,ris.t - Il. 90
earliest moment it might receive sufficient
home support, Such is the value of news
paper to any community, that it is not
strange that they prefer such an one to none
at all
OF all the Vermont papers of to-day, that
were printed in $50 most of them we think
are sold at 5000 a year, few little less,
on conditions, and few at higher rate,
while all were sold twenty years ago at 81. 90
to Sl.5O. To-day these same papers cost
more than in 1860, and 81. 80 for them then
was more than $50 now. We think there
IL ot 81 tba I,I q, 81.
has not been enlarged two or three times
since lsGO, and are now giving their readers
five to ten columns more Of reading matter
The cost of white paper is less than formerly
10y some two cents pound, but not equal to
the increased amount of paper used and in
creased amount of composition by enlarge
ments. This is doubtless understood and re-
membercd by the people. Another extra ex-
pense is the postage which all publishers are
required to pay by law, amounting from $50
to $500 year according to circulation. One
or two papers in this State may pay more,
and those centrally located and circulation
nearly all in the county, may be little less.
Our estimate is based on our own business.
Again, the editorial work and expense on
most country newspapers has been multi
piled many times within the past fifteen
years, more especially in the "local" depart
ments. The people demand more work, and
publishers have responded by giving it,
though at an additional expense
There has always been competition among
newspapers, as in other business, and often
with the same ruinous results We remem-
Der such competition in county in this
state, quarter of century ago and the re-
suit was the final death or absorption in some
form of every paper in that place and all but
one in the county. The Flaw of trade" and
4 AZ H. l..
then, and when such competition appears,
the Kilkenny cats disappear, OF course as
indicated in the first paragraph of this article,
there may be an occasional exception, where
paper is devoted to some specially or has
an extra good district for its business The
profit of a newspaper if it has any, is in its
advertising patronage. While local adyertis-
ing has been fair TO good, though less than
formerly, this department of support from
abroad and the agencies has been greatly re-
duced during the past six years, and so far
thrown the support of the country newspa-
pers on their subscription lists.
There are yet other details in the increased
expenses of publishers, as compared with
1860 but we will mention one only, and that
is the increased amount Of capital required in
country newspaper office, as compared with
former times. During the past two decades
the hand press, as means of printing news
paper, has almost entirely disappeared. The
cost of one of these was from $3.50 to $3.50,
and not large enough to print newspapers of
the present average size at that, while the
power press now in general use costs from
$1,000 to $4,000. This while there has been
no corresponding increase in business or sub
scrption list. Other details could be added,
but this article has already exceeded the lin
its intended. Whatever may be the merits of
modern newspapers however superior some
may be to others in either price or matter
they are invaluable in many ways to every
family in the land, and it is hardly possible
for publisher to make one so poor as not to
be worth many times its price.