Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1889-06-11

II may be safely stated that much o
this list Ia distributed and not circu
lated. You will note / draw dis
function on this line. The subscriber
is a patron who takes the paper ant
pays for it. he failsto pay he be
comes a deadhead. From the pub
lisher's standpoint there can he hui
one profitable circulation and that II
the paid list. II follows, then, tina
the legitimate circulation must have
the cash system for its bssis. Cash
in advance, and stop when out,
should DO the motto of every paper
desiring to run on business princi'
pies. l know il is often difficult
especially for country papers, to sd-
here to such rule. IL Is hard &c
keep from making exceptions where
patrons are personal acquaintance
and one infraction destroys the rule.
One subscriber will promise to pay
"the next time he comes to town" an
other when he "sells his crop" and u
third when he can "collect mp some
thing" They are all clever fellows
and friends of the paper and will be
offended If 1t be stopped, and so !,
goes. Smith may pay, but Jones and
Brown will soon forget their prom
Uses, and the publisher Is lucky If he
succeeds In collecting two out of the
three, after twelve months of persis-
tent dunning. The one and only
remedy is to shut your eyes to friend.
ship and collect in advance, like any
other business man who cells goods
to the public. To send paper for
year or more on time for the sake
of circulation, is as unbusiness-like
as 1t would be for merchant to sell
shoes upon the same terms, The
shoe dealer could not last and the
publishers material must soon be-
come dead matter" Un.ess we
make an exception in the case of the
exchange fend, there is butone thing
about printing Office moro unde,
sirable than "inanimate substance"
and that is "pi." Pie may be the
dearest object of the office-secker,
but ii Is the last thing printer
wants to tackle. II is but one short
step from Office Cpl" to thatla recep-
tacle, which l will call the shades
compartment" but which is known
in printers parlance by shorter and
more expressive name.
Run down the long list OF
papers that have died in Kentucky
in ten years and ask their publishers
Why they persisted, and my word for
1t, you will find that niue-tenihs OF
them were killed by the credit sys-
TEN. So many newspapers blossom
out only to fade and die, that somc
poet has been moved to write .
stanzs, mournful, yet truthful aud
expressive:
Mans vapor,
Full OF woes,
Starts paper,
Up he goes.
IL is true many papers 90 up anf
it is to be hoped that all editors go N
when their souls have gone TO press
But there are comparatively few
cases of failure where the proper at
tention is paid to the maintenance
of legitimate circulation, provided
the business is under the control Of
men who know how to run paper
When the printer distributes hi
papers among non-payers aud dead
heads, he not only loses his dues, bu
he loses the cost of Issuing, postag'
aud time. 1t cannot be an even lose
II is bound to bring him out in debt
Not only this, but it degrades JOUR
nalism by bringing 1t upon levc
with the gratuitous handful or al
vertising circular. Cut of all bI
Legitimate subscribers. Requir'
your best friends, including even thu
colonies and judges, to pay in adj
vance. Run your paper for none,
and not for glory alone, and you wit
pursue wise and a profitable course,
If every publisher in Kentucky
would adopt this rule and determine
TO have no circulation but legiti-
mate circulation, how much better
would it be for all ? The reading
public will not do without papers
and if there were none to be had on
time all editors would be paid in
advance. Make them pay up. Take
it out, If necessary, in cord wood or
turnips, but collect in advance. Put
down your - 90 paper to 81 co If you
will, but get the dollar before the
product of your brain goes forth,
perhaps to circulate from neighbor
to neighbor until whole community
t. on NTH lynn pla1na
Let me digress here to pay my
respects briefly to those who assist in
circulating paper by borrowing
from its subscribers Few people real
lie how much this is done. 1t is not
right or legitimate. 1t annoys the
man who takes the paper. 1t de-
priyes the printer of what is justly
his. 1t shows that the borrower
possesses close-fisted nature and
small soul. 1t stamps him as lacking
that spirit that should induce every
progressive citizen to encourage en-
terprises that benefit the public more
than the individual. Whatever you
do, my friends, don't sponge on your
neighbor for information and cheat
the printer. Borrow his money, his
clothes or even his toothbrush, hut
leave him to the undisturbed enjoy
ment of his paper.
In closing would urge upon my
brethren of the country press 10 fol-
low the example of city papers aud
carry none but paid up subscribers
AS business proposition, it is better
to have 1000 paid up names on your
list than 1000 to take chances upon.
You may pick your men and in spite
of all you can do you will lose enough
on such list to Offset the profits on
all the rest. 1t is better for the ad-
verliser as well as the publisher. A
bona fide circulation is worth double
as much to the advertiser as a sample
copy distribution of a surplus that
is in no sense legitimate.
'eThe Journalist as Roformer,"
paper by Ed. o. Leigh, of the Padu-
cab Standard, completed the morn
ing's program.
In the afternoon a paper was read
by Green r. Kellar, of the Carlisle
Mercury, ON advertising" and
after several resolutions were dis
cussed and a number of reports from
received, tho citizens,