The Independent. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1895-1905, 1895-10-29
JoURN ALIsTto
suyiug and n cunning u ewspeper

Brownsville Daily Weakling. am
also editor and proprietor of the
paper, reporter, and booakeeper,
but the experiences / am about to
relate refer only to my capacity
as business manager, so | will
simply call myself manager Of the
business department Of this we'll
known daily.
When l bought this paper,
eighteen months ago, it had $50
actual daily circulation. 1 turned
over horse that l owned for the
press and outfit of the paper-no
questions asked on either side. We
concluded that the ill will OF the
paper Offset the advertising unpaid,
and the debts more than wiped out
the balance of the assets. The
trade was, therefore, easily accom-
plished. Up to that time l had
been selling garden truck about
town for a living, and had always
considered my job harder than the
editors. He in turn envied me.
So he took my horse and cart aud 7
took his newspaper and launched
myself out as journalist.
The change did not benefit the
paper greatly. Nobody seemed to
want to pay for it. There was no
difficulty in keeping up the $50
circulation so long as l didn't try
to collect for it, but the moment 7
asked pay for the paper the sub.
scription was dropped. l finally
concluded that $50 copies were all
| could afford to put out in this
way, so l let the circulation drop
to that point.
This discovery necessitated keep.
ing pretty stiff upper lip in order
to support myself and the paper
from the advertising. The claimed
circulation when | took the paper
was 1,500 copies. With the new
blood in it and the new manage
ment OF course the circulation
should increase. Up to this time
l had always been pretty honest;
in fact it was hard to be otherwise
in my old business But the first
thing l learned about the news
paper business was that honesty
wasn't expected in this line. Ger
tainly it could never be profitable;
so shortly raised the circulation
figures to 1000 and most OF the
newspaper directories the next year
credited me with that. Thus for
the first time the circulation of the
Weakling was ahead of the Browns
vile Courier. The Courier had Tor
long time claimed 1900 and held
there. But as soon as | began tell
ing advertisers about NY 1000 circu-
lation the Courier came up 20 1900
and still held ahead OF me. This,
of course, forced me up to $500 and
another similar move on their part
brought me to 5000. We had now
reached about the limit.
The population OF Brownsville
was credited at about 1850 and my
rival and myself we're evidently
publishing about four daily papers
for every family in it. To main
tain this circulation it was necessary
to maintain the population OF
Brownsville, so that increased in
our figures as our calculations in
creased. Then we took in outside
towns, and claimed all the circula-
ton in them that the size Of the
towns would stand. Brownsville
was getting to be quite a centr 9
for newspapers and outside adver.
tisers we're writing for rates much
more frequently than they used to
do. Some of them accepted the
rates quoted without question, if
we would allow them the agents
commission direct. OF course, we
we're glad to do this, No agency
would off-r us half what they did.
The agencies all seemed to be sus-
picious of our circulation. They
never even asked what our rates