The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-03-21
Trash as n Commodity.

one Of the editors Of the New YORK
Evening Post recently set forth to dis
cover whether the American people
really do read such trash IN newspaper
guise as is produced by Hearst Pulitzer
and the other members OF the yellow
kid guild. He collected lot of statis-
tics which proved that they do. AS an
instance, the newsdealer in n small
village not far from New York told
him that H. sold each morning $50 of
the yellowest. 40 of the next yellowest
journals. and only 10 Suns. 2 Tribunes
and 1 Times. Commenting upon this
exhibit the Rochester Post Express re-
marks:
These newspapers have about the same
ratio of sales i'm this city, showing con-
clusively that the yellow journal thrives
simply and solely because depraved peo-
pie want il. If they did not want IL,
they would buy either the Times or The
tribune, which do not make business OF
| publishing lies and salacious stories. To
the hest of their ability, these two news
papers publish the most authentic re-
ports of events they can get, and as 10
salacious stories, they do not publish
| them at all. Yet in return for their eff
| forts to be decent, they have the con-
sola ton of seeing their yellow rivals
| largely oltsell them. But this is not all.
Among the advertisers in these yellow
journals are to be found the best busi-
ness houses i'm New Warehouses; that
| belong to the abl,st and most upright
| citizens in the metropolis. When these
gentlemen give their advertisements to
| newspapers that pander TO the basest pas
| siOns and thus do much to demOraliZe
| the community, what can they he think
| ing about? DO they say to themselves
| that it is only a business matter, and
| that If they get returns from their adver-
| tisements. that is all they have to con-
| slider? Well suppose the Times and Trib-
| une should adopt the same line of argu-
| ment. Suppose they should say to them
| selves that in publishing a newspaper
| the only point they have to consider is
| returns. and that if the public wants lies
| and filth, the public should have them.
| Would not both papers soon be reduced
to the same level with the publications
| that these very business men denounce
| so severely in their academic discussions
| of morality? If returns are the only thing
| that business men have TO consider, then
| the thief and gambler have as excellent
| warrant for their occupations as the dry
| goods merchant or the hardware dealer.
Our contemporary remarks are apt
but they overlook one point. The mer-
chant who advertises in trashy news
papers gets only a trashy trade. 1t
| isn't trade which stays by him year
| in and year out. 1t isn't a trade he
| could figure on in estimating the value
OF the good wlll' of his store 1t is
essentially a fickle. superficial and ir-
| responsible trade. 1t trades with one
merchant today; with another tomor-
row-it is always chasing after the
kind OF trade to establish a business
with. You might as well try to con-
struct a modern building on a founda =
zion Of mud.
The figures Of "yellow' circulation
quoted above do not agree with those
which have come under our observation
here in Scranton. Several newsdealers
have informed us that the New York
Sun sells more papers today than ever
before, having trebled in two years.
The Sun is bright and cheerful but il
is the antlthesis of yellow" journal.
We know positively that the local cir
culation of one of the notorious "yel-
low sheets printed in New York is
dwindling rapidly, so rapidly that its
publishers are scared. We expect 10
see the circulation of the other one go
90 pieces any day. You cannot fake
the American people indefinitely. They
are too fond of getting their money S
| worth.
While speaking of circulation 1t may
not be amiss to say that The Tribune s
was never better and is growing stead
lily. To all whom this may concern we
shall be glad to submit convincing
proof.