Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-09-19

most inOpportune time 10 d newspapers
for the reason, as Is well known, thai the
past protracted period of general depres-
sion in business incur midst has been very
seriously felt by them, and this depression
still exists, particularly asrespects SAID pa
pers They have made very consi cradle
losses frem the inability ofmany patrons to
nav. A large class Of these patrons were IN
arrears when the depression set in andthese
arrearages were carried, and many OF them
are still carried, and in addition they
have been decidedly increased, so that the
burden of delinquents is now excessive
and heavy. To cut off all this delinquency
is to ieopardise circulation, for the reason
that it not only offends and assures a large
loss, but in many cases makes active oPPo-
nents ont of the persons ne longer IN
dulged. 1t has therefore been the Pollcy
of the papers to nurse their dellnquents
and accept, whenever they could get 1t,
small installments ON account IN the hope
that ultimately their lists would not only
be preserved, but u large measure OF good
viii assured.
In order to do this the proprietors have
mt themselves to the risk, inconvenience
and expense of the necessary OUTLAWS called
for To carry this large amount OF dehn-
uuency. Ii is vet a problem how far their
hopes will be realized. Up to this time
there is Il decided d~isprOportiOn between
receipts and d~elinquencies.
In addition to this burden, thus car
ried, patronage in all other departments
has suffered. Advertising has fallen OIL,
and lob work has been cut under and cut
down until the margin for profit has been
reduced To the NEST slender character. ms
has resulted not only from the general de
preston prevailing, but likewise from the
offices in the city, whose n make lta
business to canvass and solicit work at
any price that will cover cost Of material
| used, and none of which give work to
union printers. The newspaper JOB Offices
have had the.alternatiye presented IN many
instances Of either losing customers or
meeting these dead low prices, and as a
defensive policy for the future haye felt
OBLIGED 10 meet them. The result Is very
Door showing indeed on their books. In
addition, the representatives of job print
ing and photographic establishments IN
other cities are continually in our mldst
Offering such prices rs arc disheartenlng 70
the regular business of job printing n
Wheeling.
Without enlarging on these features OF
the business which have made IT unre-
muneratiye for some years past we may re-
fer To the fact that the wages which we
have paid. and never omitted to pay at
any Inconvenience to ourselves, have had q
constantly increasing purchasing power IN
the necessities of lite. Prices of all kinds
have been on the gradual decline. While
this decline has invaded Our own business,
aS every other, yet to those i'll receipt OF
regular weekly wages employed by us 1t
has brought only advantage. Their wages
~ further by a decided per cent than they
did the day they were liked. ii the
wages were fair during all these years
they are much more 80 now. All wage
earnerS have .hId their advantage over
those who have paid them the same wages
while their own prices were steadily de
Ginning. 30 far as the prOprietOrS are con-
Crrned. counting these declines and losses,
they would have done better had their IN
yeStment been loaned out nj simple inter
st. They have not realized simple IN
tcrrSt on their capital. Neither can they
tell, ~ things stand to-day, when they
will realize that much from their bust
ness. Under such circumstances we re-
Spectfully protest that the demand on us
| AZ a time like this is most unfair. We
feel that advantage is being taken of lis In
our depleted situation, and therefore we
appeal In that sense Of fair play thai
should actuate employers and employees
one toward another, and that we trust we
have preserved in all these years toward
our help, to consider the hardship which
such a demand, il successful, would en-
tail upon Us,
The newspaper situation of Wheeling,
IL is well known, is peculiar. We are
! literally hemmed in with more powerful
I competition aud more ATTRACTIVE news
papers. There is PittSburg, whose papers
reach us in large and increasing numbers
early i'm the day. There is Cincinnati that
reaches Us in the afternoon. There Is
| Baltimore that reaches in the evening.
All these papers, along with those OF
Columbus, o., meet our circulation before
it passes scarcely beyond the confines OF
the city and drives it back into marrow
limits indeed.
We cannot help this. We cannot, as
the SlyIn" Is, publish "NOnpareil news
paper i'm Il long primer town"
We must accept the situation and strug-
gle against the adverse tide Us well rs we
can. 1t Is oniy fair therefore that We
should not be Handicapped with demands
upon us out of all proportion tn our oppor-
t]unities.
We claim to be paying more to-day than
the state uf our business iustifes. We are
paving ~ much, aud in many cases more,
than Larger cities. For instance, Column
bus, Ohio, with 4 population OF $4,000,
pays only the price we pay, VIZ: - cents;
Toledo, Ohio with q similar population
PAYS 81: indianapolis, Indiana, with a
population of 100, OOO, pays only b cents;
WilkSbarFe, Pa, with a population OF b.
900. pays only 30 cents; Reading, Pa,
with Il population of -, 600, pays only 80
cents; Erie, Pa, with a population of 3D.
400. nayS only 80 cents; Terre Haute, In
/. diana, with a population of 35,OOJ, only
paws 30 cents: Evansville. Indiana, with a
population Of so, OO0, only pays sd cents;
Dayton, Ohio, with apopulatiOn OF 10000,
ONLY pays 33i cents. Until only u few
DAYS ago. Cleveland, Ohio, with a pOpula-
ton of 2lO,OOO, paid the same wages rs
Wheeling. And yet we are asked under
all the disadvantages and diScouragements
to which we nave alluded, and which are
well known to all of you, To go beyond,
not only our own grade of cities, but be
yond also the grade of many much larger
places. ,
This, we feel is unfair and unjust, and
we rely upon the mere statement OF the
facts presented TO iRduce that sober second
thought which will insure u justice ut
your hands.
NOLKSBLATT,
WEST VIRGINIA PRINTING Co,
FREw, CAMPBELL x HART,
WHEELING, W. VA, Sept. !, lSSO.
MEETING OF TIE STAMP CRASKS.
EVERY one recOllectS the interest taken
i'm the sale of the MORGAN collection OF
ruriOSitipS -broc etc i'm New York