The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-12-26


it might remark that despite all asser-
tions to the contrary the fast mail is
an imposition upon the people. 1t is
paid for by the government for the
benefit of the Kansas City morning pa
perS- We do not believe the Topeka
morning paper derives any benefit from
it. In fact the fast mail has probably
injured the Topeka Capital more than
it has done it good for the reason that
up to the establishment of the train
the Capital was the only morning pa
per on the streets of Topeka before IL
O'Clock. Now the four Kansas City
morning papers are here Sunday morn
ing as early as the Capital; the Kansas
City Times and Journal every day in
the week, all of them going west into
Kansas on the same train. It might
also be interesting to learn that the
State Journals circulation in the fast
mail territory is larger today than it
was before the fast mail started. This
is because the State Journal has since
issued a 1890 o'clock edition which goes
into the same territory twelve hours
before the papers on the fast mail, Civ
ing important news and markets up to
noon Of the day of issue.
1t might be stated further in explana-
ton Of some existing jealousy that this
paper has passed the Capital, the Sun
day Capital, too, in circulation.
The American Newspaper Directory
which is authority on newspaper circu-
lations, just as Dun and Bradstreet
are on commercial ratings, accords the
following calculations to the Daily State
Journal and to the Topeka Sunday Cap
ital, the latter having a larger circula
ton than that of the week day morning
edition. These particular figures are
given to the directory by the publishers
in such a manner that they cannot he
questioned. They are signed detailed
statements. the Journals is sworn to,
and we presume the Capitals is like
wise:
Sunday Capitals daily average for the
year, 1897, II ,439.
Daily State Journals daily average
for the year 1897, II 1922.
The two circuiations in 1897 were al
most together. Since that time the reg
u1ar every day editions of the State
Journal have passed the Sunday Capt.
tai. The Decembe issue of the Ameri-
can Newspaper Directory gives the daily
average circulation of the State Journal
for the year ending September 80, 1898,
as 13,171 and for Sunday Capital ending
June 80, 1898, only 1885.
For some reason the Capital failed to
furnish the directory with a statement
for the year ending September 80, 1898
For the months ending June 80, 1898
covering a big portion of the war
period the State Journals daily aver
age as shown by sworn detailed state
ment. was 1875. For exactly the same
period, the Capitals average Sunday IS
sue was - 1873, as shown by the Capt.
tails statement printed in Printers Ink
July 20, 1898.
Printers Ink is published by the same
people who publish the American News
paper Directory
1t should be noted by the reader who
deigns to follow this article, that neither
the Capital nor the Journal pays any
postage on the papers which circulate
in the city of Topeka, or in the county
of Shawnee, so that a paper of smaller
local circulation may pay a larger post
age bill. The State Journal, however,
believes that it pays about the same
amount of postage on its outside circu-
10 Ia 2 does
Topeka Capital for its daily and Sunday
editions, Notwithstanding the fact that
the Capitals white paper is heavier in
weight than the Journal and that 1t
more often issues a sixteen page num-
Der. The State Journal has no semi
weekly and only weekly of limited
circulation. Newspaper postage is paid
for by the pound and not on the NUMBER
Of copies mailed. The Topeka Capital
apparently large payment of postage is
due to a great extent to its semi-weekly
edition, which very few people IN To-
peka ever see, and yet which is larger
in circulation than any of its other
issues, being scattered like birdshot
over a large territory.
1t might also be remarked in passing
that the State Journal has no i'll feeling
towards the Capital outside of that en-
gendered by it's own constant abuse and
Misrepresentation. There is a field in
Topeka for the morning Capital and
for the Evening Journal 1t is a. matter
of general comment that each paper
fills it's own field in a remarkably sue
cessful manner Topeka has a reputa-
ton for publishing better newspapers
than any city in the United States of
the same size and better and more ex-
pensive papers than are published in
a majority of cities of much larger pop
ulations throughout the east.
1t is the Journals good fortune that
the majority of the people prefer to
read an evening paper and that there
Sunday morning Capital This explains
why the evening edition of the Journal
every day is larger than that of the
Capital on Sunday.
The State Journal is the only daily
in Topeka which absolutely refuses to
grant any return privileges to news
boys, news agents. or news stands so
that its circulation statements give net
figures. The Topeka Capital allows
news dealers to return unsold copies.
All through the exciting times of the
war the State Journal refused to allow
this privilege. Dealers accordingly or
dered only the number they believed
they could sell.
In regard to the charge that the State
Journal sent out an Associated Press re-
port saying that the fast mail would be
abandoned, the Journal simply sent out
the rumor that was current in this city.
1t was not sent out as q positive state
ment simply current news.
The statement made in the Journal some
time ago that the Santa Ee would refuse
to renew the contract was one of those
mistakeS that will sometimes happen and
appeared only in the headline and not in
the body of the article. The principal