The herald., 1898-01-14
AN AUToCRATIC COMBINATION

| If the people of Denver should combine
| to say to the merchants of Denver, You
must reduce the price of all your goods
| 20 per cent what roar would go up from
| behind counter and desk. Yet a large
number of the merchants of Denver have
| combined to say to the newspapers of that
| city, I'VE demand that you reduce your
prices of advertising 20 per cent, or we
will not do business with you"
| This would seem to be a combination to
| boycott which is unlawful as well as in
| famous; 1t is a threat to dominate the busi-
ness of another and dictate the measure of
| its activity. If these buldozing merchants
can dictate to the newspaper what prices
it must receive for its goods, it can with
as much propriety and justice dictate ;he
policy of the paper, control its expression
and generally direct how it shall be con-
Quoted the best to subserve the selfish in
terests of the merchant.
Already the business of advertising has
assumed the form of constraint and threat.
The advertiser largely dictates the place,
the form and the character of the neigh
borhood of the advertisement. 1t has un-
happily largely succeeded in thrusting
Itself into the very midst of reading mat
ter, and of setting itself cheek by jowl
with whatever article or character of mat
ter It proposes to lie with. 1t has made
cringing newspaper publishers play the
harlot and accept any manner of compan-
ion that is offered.
The greater newspaper advertising agen-
cies as coolly dictate the space, place and
style of advertising matter as If they
owned the sheets which kow-tow before
them, without, however, any of the bur-
dens. responsibilities and obligations of
ownership. So far have these encroach-
ments proceeded that the reading matter
of most newspapers is 80 cut up. pitted
severed and scattered that the reader is
very often compelled to follow tripping,
dancing and stumbling like one chasing a
jack o. lantern in order to read to the end
of an article.
Some of these advertising autocratS have
gone so far as to attempt to dictate the
character of matter that may appear in
a newspaper next to their own expression,
concerning which, by the way, they never
submit to the least criticism.
1t is to the credit of journalism that some
papers still remain which do not cringe
before such injustice. that retain their ad-
vertising pages and advertising space as
such, and refuse to be dominated by the
dictation of another as to what they shall
receive as reward for their labors The
newspaper publishers of Denver are COM
petent to determine for themselves what
advertising space in their papers Is worth:
it is not the business of any one but them
rates are not compelled to buy. The mer-
chants of Denver have a perfect right to
refuse to pay the rates charged for ad-
vertisng by their local journals. but they
step beyond this right and invade the
realm of justice and fair dealing when
| they combine to coerce the publishers to
yield to their dictation.
| In California, as a rule, the advertiser
| and the newspaper are on good terms.
| There has hafD 1psS of q to
dictate; nearly all of that sort of thing
comes from the east, and we suspect that
| this demand is encouraged and stimulated
| by advertising agents in large degree. 1t
| is to be hoped that the Denver press will
maintain its manhood, peremptorily re-
| fuse to submit to the pricing Of it's goods
by another, and decline to be dominated
by the mercantile combination of depart
ment stores, dry goods houses and cloth
! ing establishments, all Of which are rep
resented as in the boycotting conspiracy
| Sacramento Record-Union.