San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-06-13
BEATING THE NEWSPAPERS.
from the Press. and Printer.

J From the Press. and Printer.
No business men are more an
noyed by those who want moth
ing than the newspaper publish
ers, says the editorial writer o.
the st. Joseph, Mo-, Gazette
People seem to forget that the
newspaper is primarily published
as business enterprise, and that
it costs great deal of money from
first to last to run one. Persons
who would not go into mer'
chants house of business and ex.
pect to get any OF his stock-in-
trade without paying for it, will
drop into a newspaper office and
ask gratis space for the setting
Of type, printing and postage for
matter in which they alone have
a pecuniary interest and profit.
The average newspaper in the
course Of the year gives to church,
charity, and humanity far more
than the average business house
and gets little or no credit for ben
evidence either.
There is no good cause that does
not come asking for good and
helpful word from the editor. No
eleemosynary institution, char it.
able association, religious, benevo.
lent society that he does not help.
Most papers publish gratis all
notices of religious services, and
write up all religious and other
beneficent movements. In addi-
ton the newspaper is generally
asked to give free advertisements
Of all pay concerts, fairs and other
profit gathering affairs OF the
churches and other good institu-
tions. Right there is where the
self-respecting newspaper must
draw the line. If the entertain.
ment, whatever 1t is, is q business
scheme for the raising of money,
they who run it should be COM
PEELED to pay the newspaper for
advertising.
But the effort to get som ething
for nothing from the newspaper
is not confined to these good
people, who may be excused upon
the ground that they are not seek
ing to beat the newspaper for their
own profit. There are a great host
Of other people who seem to lie
awake nights to devise schemes to
do the papers out Of an honest
living.
Take for example the willy poll
ticians, who at this season are so
numerous and anxious. When
they are seeking Office they know
well the value of printers ink il it
can only be had on type that does
not speak i'll of them. They know
that the newspapers are greedy for
items of news and it Is amazing
how ingeniously, under this thin
disguise, the office-seeker will try
to work the newspapers. Every
day he will have some new item
about his campaign that he is will
ing to give away to a reporter, or
the editor, and wherein his name
will be prominent. OF course
there are public interests to be con-
served by a newspaper in election
times, but these are not the inter-
ests that the candidate Is looking
after. Very often neither the gen.
eral public nor the newspaper care
a rap which man wins, one can
didate being no better nor worse
than the other. When neither the
public nor the newspaper feel any
interest in the contest the only
opening for the contestants in the
newspaper is in the advertising
department at so much per line,
and they should be plainly told
so. Editorial mention Of any
man in an honest newspaper is
like true love, not to be bought
nor sold at any price, nor for fear
nor for favor. This also is some
thing that few people seem to un-
derstand. ........
A good newspaper is published
in the interests Of the public, 1t is
true, but the dear public should
learn that it is not published in
the individual interests OF those
constituting the great public.