The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1881-09-22
NEWSPAPER FnLLY

| We w OEARIh
There has been some talk of late in
the Kansas City papers, and others in
that neighborhood, about cheap papers,
caused by the reduction in tie subscrip-
ton price 20 the Kansas City Times
and Topeka Commonwealth We pre-
sumo the prOprietOrs of both papers had
some good reason for reducing the
subscription price to their papers ono
half. They say by the act that If they
can now afford 10 furnish their papers
at s. per year, they have heretofore
been practising extortiOn upon their
subscribers by charging $40. That is the
conclusion which many people Will reach.
In the case of the Times it has
been apparent for long time, TO all
classes, that the journal was ex-
ceeding it by some distance in both en-
terprise and brains. For some
years the managers of the Times con-
Quoted ii entirely upon the sensa-
tiOnal basis. This coming to an
end, as sensational papers always do,
and the paper falling back upon its
! merits as a newspaper, IL finds It's CON-
petitor outstrippiDgit in the race. The
''cheap" dodge IS resorted to to enable
the paper TO regain its lost ground,
but II will not win. Two
things must result from the re-
ductiOn: either the paper cannot
spend the money upon its pages neces.
sary TO make it good newspaper, or il
will die. The folly of trying to run a
$40 paper on So has been tried over and
over again, and has always resulted in
back down or funeral. No merchant
can long do business by selling goods
below what they cost him. No newspa-
per can be long conducted on other than
sound business principles. We are of
the opinion that no morning newspaper
can succeed in Kansas City, with the
outlay necessary TO keep it up with the
demands of the enterprising people
among whom il must seek circula-
tion, at less than the standard price
of such publication, which is
not less than SO. 1t costs just about
so much to run first-class paper, and
when the subscription price is put down
to one-half intelligent people at once
conclude that the paper has dropped
down to n cheaper class, or is on the
road to decay. 1t is just so with coun-
try weekly papers. We have seen a
great many try to live at 81 per year,
but never have known one to succeed
They are always short lived We mean
those who put expense enough upon
their composition to make them worthy
to he called newspapers. We were
a little surprised when we heard
that The Times had adopted
the cheap dodge to keep
up its evidently wanting fortunes. We
make the prediction now that it will
either die or change hands soon, or else
become a mere cheap excuse gifts form
er SELF We are glad to see that the
Journa! proprietors have the good sense
to pay no attention to the Times cut
on prices. They have long given the
people the best paper in the Missouri
valley, and cannot afford to take step
backward.
But we were more surprised when we
heard the Commonwealth had drop
ped TO IS a year, because the pro
prietors of that concern have not es-
tablished reputation heretofore as
gentlemen who were anxious to "work
for nothing and board themselves" I'll
the concern is weakening before tho
prospect of the new Capital soon TO be
issued, they could not have adopted
better means Of advertising their
fears. The true policy of that
paper would have been to have
strengthened ITS editorial pages
in view OF the proposed able competition
it isto meet. A general, when an enemy
is approaching his entertainments,
does not tear half his defenses away but |
makes them stronger. If the Common
wealth had Invested the amount of mon
ey it loses by Its reckless, foolish and
unnecessary reduction in its subscrip-
ton price, in Strengthening the paper,
1t would have shown far greater wisdom,
and been in much better condition to
meet any competition that might be Of
fered. The people of Kansas are intelli-
gent, and they are willing TO pay for
papers just what they are worth. They
want their papers at a price that is
fair and reasonable. They do not ex-
pect the publishers to work for nothing
They appreciate the usefulness
and benefit of live newspapers, and we
assert what we believe to be the truth
when we say that it was not a cheaper
but better and ADLER paper they want
cd ut the capital. In making the cut
ON prices the Commonwealth has only
opened the gates wider for a CON-
peIitor. Everybody knows a good morn
ing paper cannot be published at To
pcka for So, aad when a paper an
nounces itself at half price the public
expects it will not he half SO
good, that it is not ON a sound financial
basis, or that il is rapidly going to the
dogs. II is evident net only to all
newspaper men, who understand the
business, but 10 all intelligent people
that the Times and Commonwealth have
made an inexcusable blunder.