Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-09-17

| two never advertise, and one does SO OCCASION
I ally.
Watson Chalmers of the Chico Enterprise in
| forms US that his town is best with seven doc
| tors and damned with six lawyers and that
while five of the former make known their
ability TO cure or kill, there is but one OF the
| latter who proclaims his willingness to draw up
| a will or prepare bill-of divorce. Thus only
| SIX out of thirt en- are advertisers.
| Frank Johnson, the business manager OF the
| Marysville appeal, informs us that his city has
| eight livery stables, ye. only three indicate TO
| the public through the columns OF the papers
| that they are doing business. In the same city
| are eight manufacturing establishments, but
! only two of these make it known that they have
| goods to SELL Frank Swazey, of the Redding
Free Press, tells US that his town contains TWEEN
ty-seveu saloons; one would suppose among
| these there would be keen and active compe-
| tition yet only four make known to the thirsty
! man that they have something hot on cold
| day and something cold on hot one.
| We can duplicate these figures from Red Bluff,
| Caluss Willows. Yuba CRY, Lodi, Wheatland,
Auburn. and nearly every other town IN this
| part of the Stale, you see we have kept with
| in bounds But you ali recognize the facts and
l need not dwell upon them You remember
the Irishman over in Napa who, objected to
| Democratic barbecue on Friday, because said
| he, the bift OF the Democratic party don't ate
mate Oh Friday" Now, gentlemen, the reason
! why the 'hift' of the business men don't pat
roniZe us better is because they don't real the
| va ue of advertising. They have never been
| brought IN contact with other me rch8hts wko
| know how to make use OF the local papers in
| way that pays them well.
| Some one has wittily said that ing business
| without advertising is like winking at pretty
| girl in the dark; he knows he is winking, but
how the devil does she know it? Too many
| California merchants are like the yonng man
they are winking in the dark. The first serious
| business. then. that we ought to undertake is
| to educate our business men in this line 20
make them know the value OF our columns in
| bringing them trade. They don't patroaize us
| because they don't think il pays them. Make
! them understand that each dollar Invested in
! advertising brings them back three or four in
trade and they Will nil your papers with pIof1t.
! able ads. every week l don care what plan
you take to illustrate this to your people-some
! will take one plan and some anotheF-it is i'm
material as long as you reach the end in view.
It's parity our iaut in this matter. We let
| them run an ad for a year or TWO without
| q change In one paper note an ad. for rub
Der boots still running in midsummer. In the
| next is one advertising spiing styles, though
| the season has long been passed. In a third is
a holiday card though the merchant is just
getting in goods for the Fourth OF July. Some
| merchants, unless their attention was called TO
| it, would never change the style of their ad.
from the time it was inserted till they failed in
business or the paper suspended.
This then, is one of the points upon which
! we ought to counsel together To devise some
plan that viii bring the local papers better 0lp-
port from the business men of each community
and any ideas or Suggestions from members
upon this subject will be OF value to the major
iLy of country editors who are mere to-day
1t is fact to be regretted that in making his
paper a success more depends upon the tact
and skill of the editor as a business manager
than upon his ability and talent as writer.
Running a country newspaper is a matter of
dollars rather than of ideas, of quick collec-
tions than OF good WTitings-a matter OF busi-
ness aptitude in place OF cleyerness and taste in
a literary sense. You may be man Of capac-
ity. one who is well read, brilliant writer.
and yet be surpassed as an editor by a man of
common attainments. Now in most country
offices the editor must be at once editor, busi-
ness manager and bill collector, and, bear in
mind, that of the three the last is the most i'm
portant
No matter how much ycur paper may earn, if
1t is not collected promptly you are always be-
hind and IN trouble financially. A per with
a trst-class business manager and third-class
editor can succeed, bur reverse these conditions
and failure will be certain to follow.
no paper can make headway where there is a
lack of business judgment, good senseand cheek
to collect what is due. Some one has said that
an advertisement is tier than an idea. And
another thst to run country newspaper sue:
cessfully you must be judiciously timid and
about threefourths coward. We don't agree
with the old saying of whoop it ur, not because
it is right. but because it pays, yet there is a
grain of ruth in it. In other words, the paper
must be run from the business office, and not
from the editorial ssnctum, for you are not pub.
fishing paper to present your own ide s. but
to make living. No grocer or hardware dealer
cou continue long in business if he persisted
in keeping for sale not what the people des
manded but just what he desired to sell. The
same idea holds true il newspaper work
The average newspaper represents the aver
age man: high tone of moraliZing, without
local news or gossip would be valueless to him.
The prize fights and the horse races and the
game of baseball games may not suit you, but
remember you are not printing just what you
like, cut what the people desire TO read. The
failure to recognize this fact has lead to the
| suspension OF many newspaper.
Foreign news, and even the telegrephic dis
patches, cut.but little figure in country news
paper. A friend in Nevada paid 500 in three
months for press dispatches and gained six
subscribers He then hired man, paying him
$50 for local work, and obtained thirty sub
scribers. In one case they cost the editor $50
each. and in the second but 5 each
One failure in the business MANAGEMENT of
country newspapers is in giving too cheap rates
on long advertisements. know there is quite
a difference of opinion on this point. but permit
me to call your attention to some figures pre-
sented by George P. Rowel, the well-known
advertising agent. He was addressing those
who advertised extensively, and said In
| country newspaper it coss only double for
twelve months what 1t costs fol- ihree mouths.
| II costs for three months just double what it
does for one month, it while it costs but little
more for a month than it does for week" In
other words, the country editor will run an ad-
vertisement for whole year for just four times
what he will charge FOR a single week
To put it into figures, il we charge the adver-
| tiser fifty cents for one week we will run his
| advertisements for whole year for two do lars.
Our Association is helping us to rectity these
business errors and mistakes
1t will be time and effort thrown away to at
tempt to tell any gentleman here how TO edit
| country newspaper. Yet as / am your tempo
| rary spokesman / will briefly indicate what
deem the essential points of success in this di-
| rection.
In the first place. don't write too much
good editorial ought to be like desert at dinner
| the very best there is. Keep in mind that
able writing is one thing and successful editing
| quite another. If you feel that you must write
editorials make them short. Ten men read
! half column where one does full column, ana
| five will read stick where one will peruse
half column of matter. Condensation ought to
! be the motto of every country editor, for five
editors Can write good halt column where one
| can prepare brief pointed paragraph. Say as
much as possible in the fewest words. a re-
porter when angrily asked by the managing
| editor "why the devil didn't you make this
shorter?" replied, II didn't have time" He
| was correct. 1t takes more time and labor 10
| write a g cd twenty-five item then to loosely
| write on, that will fill the third of a column.
| If you have private quarrels keep them out
| OF your paper. Avoid offensive personalities,
for in the end you viii lose by them Weigh
| well the matter you select Henry Watterson
| said Indeed the mere writing part of editing
| paper is but small portion OF the work. An
! editor must have good share of common
sense, for three-line item of gossip in one
/ issue can DO more mischief than a column edi-
/ torial can do good in the next. Equslizs your
/ items don't give twenty lines to one item aud
/ five to another fully as important Beware OF
! hobbies; precept Is easier than example in this
| respect Don't initiate the Register and MI your
paper with citils articles tlll your Fsauers sour
/ upon them, nor give them an overdose OF olive
OIL ike my friend Lawson OF the Apptdt: nor too
! much irrigation, like the able sun of Colusa. In
other words don't attempt TO mentally fatten
your readers upon single dishes. Give them
! iudiciouS blending OF law morailtv, pollties,
| INNING stock. raising and fruit-growng. and be
careful to keep away from the hobbies and out
/ OF the rlts
/ How TO gain new subscribers is a question that
puzzles most country editors. The merit OF
yonr paper, the fact that you labor zealously for
yonr town or district cuts but little figure in the
matter of gaining new names AS an iliustrs-
! ton no papers in this State have labored more
industrosly to advance the fruit interests OF its
section than the Placer Republican and Marysville
| Appeul yet we doubt II twenty new subscribers
| have been added to their lists in consequence
| OF this enterprise. No paper could have urged
the irrigation interests of Colusa with more
| zeal and ability than the sun, yet 1t is more