The age-herald., 1898-07-31

editor might get at much less than space rates. They are on all subjects, and will be as good next year as today. They are well packed and the majority are written on only one side of the paper. few of them are typewriter. Among them are many typewritten ones on the high price of water, several on street car transfers, very many on prohibition for Birmingham, an assorted lot on a constitutional amend ment, two hundred and nine on Birming- hams future, and one on high water makes high rents. They are labor saving, if nothing else.
 To return, had lots of advice rendered when I began to incubate on venturing in this particular field of newspaperdom. One old Sitting Bull of the tribe, who thought he liked me, said, Don't do it. As clever fellows as you have tried and failed. You are apt to do likewise Then the general comment will be, I knew it. If you succeed, however, they will say, Smiths the h. of a fellow
 Those who had tried it before-the news paper men-said "Keep out of Birmng- ham. It's no place for a decent morning newspaper. Merchants won't pay for ad- vertising; manufacturers say they don't need it. Few of the people read. Those who can would rather buy outside newspaper
 In the present day and generation people want the best and they are willing to pay for 1t. Intelligent people want a good newspaper. Offer them such and they will but it. Make it so newsy they must have it. When everybody begins to read 1t mer- chants will advertise in it. Thus argued; thus attempted.
 For many moons the merchants stood off and looked. They wouldn't stand legiti- mate charges for advertising. They want ed half pages at inch prices, They didn get them. Advertisements were so scarce that they became conspicuous. But the columns contained news and the people bought the paper and read It. It was hard charge up the hill, but finally the top was reached From 2ON, mostly deadheads, the circulation began to crawl up until it has reached over sooe daily, One day it ran up to 15,SOO, including war extras .,.
 The merchant began to think and then he began to advertise. The paper began to grow. It has continued to grow be- cause it is a newspaper, pure ana simple. It is nobody's organ and 1t never VIII De- It supports it's party and its nominees and it will always do that.
 In the publication of morning news paper in Birmingham there has been a serious side. The financing has been d1fn- cult That is, it was difficult Many times during the first few months Of the new Age-Herald's career it printed newspaper far more costly than the revenue derived from the same. It hasn't done 1t recently and it don't propose to do it again.
 There has been the dangerous side and the humorous side. There have been times when men came into the office with great guns in fits of imaginary indignation, but there has never been gun shot heard about the shop.
 The humor of a newspaper office is to be gotten out of the able citizens who write pieces" for the newspapers. There are lots of these people in Birmingham. They write and they want newspaper to pub fish their writings as its own utterances. Few of these "piece" writers are willing to have their articles appear over their own signatures. The same can be said of the card writer. The average card writer is a coward. The Age-Herald has had several thousand cards sent in, signed ''citizen," taxpayer" etc., by men who would not write the same over their own signatures. That's why The Age-Herald contains so few cards. A man who writes a card ought to be willing to sign his name to it.