Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1902-03-12
coBwEBs BRUSHED AWAY.

ulScusSlon OF the pu0llc advertising mat
ter pass out of mind. In order that even
school boy with bare knowledge of
the simplest rules OF English grammar
may read and understand it, we publish
below the full text of the Act regulating
charges for advertising legal notices:
An Act to Regulate Charges for Adver-
tising Legal Notices.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the General
Assembly of the State of South Carolina,
That State and county officials author
lied by law to publish advertisements in
the newspapers of this State, including
sales of real and personal property, by
Masters, Clerks of Courts, Judges of
Probate and Sheriffs, citations, notices
to creditors, and notices of final settle
ment by executors, administrators and
guardians, and all other persons acting
in fiduciary capacity, together with all
other advertising done by order of any
Court, including service of summons by
publication, notices of election ordered
by Commissioners, reports of County
Treasurers, Supervisors, ,Superintendents
of Education, notices of County Auditors,
proclamations of the Executive Depart
mont, proposals for works and supplies
by the heads Of departments, or other
officials authorized to advertise for COM
petitive bids, and all other advertising
whatever by State and county officials,
shall be charged not exceeding one dol
lar per inch for the first insertion, and
not exceeding fifty cents per inch for
each subsequent insertion, the said adj
vertisements to be set solid BREWER type,
including the caption and all other parts
of the said advertisements: Provided,
That newspapers using other than bre-
vier type shall receive compensation
based on BREWER measure: Provided, fur
oil for
printing shall be under oath that such
accounts are in accordance with the re-
quirements of this Act: Provided, fur
ther, That when the value of the estate
as to which such advertisement is made
is less than two hundred dollars, only
one-half the rates hereinbefore allowed
shall be charged or allowed; aud when
the value of such estate is less than one
hundred dollars, only one-fOurth of the
rates hereinbefore allowed shall be
charged or allowed: Provided, further,
That if the proprietors or managers of
the newspapers in any county shall re-
fuse to insert such advertisements in
their newspapers at the rates hereinbe,,
fore allowed, the same shall be posted
in at least three public places in the
county, one of which shall be at the
Court House door: And provided, fur
ther, That the reports of County Trea-
surers and Supervisors shall not exceed
sixty dollars each per annum: Provided,
The provisions of this Act shall not
apply to Colleton, Charleston, George
town and Florence counties.
Section 2. That all Acts and parts of
Acts inconsistent with this Act be, and
the same are hereby, repealed.
Approved the Sd day of March, A. d.
1899.
1t will be seen from even cursory
reading that only one construction can
be made of the law. The competitive
bids" mentioned necessarily refer to the
subject matter of the advertisements,
that is, the thing advertised, and not the
charge of the newspaper for publishing
the advertisement. Suppose tract of
= land is tho subject about which the adj
vertisement treats. The land is to be
sold at public auction, that is, to the
highest bidder, making competitive
bids" The officer selling the land must
advertise the time and place of sale; the
advertisement must be published in
some newspaper, and the charges for
such advertisement are prescribed, to
wit: "Not exceeding one dollar per inch
for the first insertion, and not exceeding
insel ton"
This rate of compensation for such
advertisements is in keeping with the
average rates charged by responsible
newspapers to private parties for SINH
lar advertising space. 1t is as low as
any responsible newspaper can sell its
space without becoming insolvcnt in the
course of time. The ripe experience of
the oldest newpaper men demonstrates
that successful business cannot be
conducted on lower, permanent scale
of rates. A reckless journalist may start
out to publish. for less, bat as tho night
follows the day so surely will he sooner
or later come to grief, and his "equip-
ment' be sold under the Sheriff's ham
mer.
Again, we would call attention to the
fact that the officers whose names may
be signed to the bulk of these official
advertisements do not control the plac-
ing Of said advertisements in one paper
more than another. The parties in in
terest control this matter. They say
whore they wsnt their advertisements
published, and what they say controls.
Suppose tract of land is to he adver-
tised under Judgment of foreclosure or
partition, the parties or their attorneys
prepare the advertisement and put 1t in
the paper Of their choice This is right
and as it should be. If John Doe wants
his land sale advertised in the Oconee
News let it go there, and If Richard Roe
wants his land advertised in The Courier,
let it, too, go there, each receiving a
lawful and reasonable compensation for
its work and space. This is all the
contention we make as to the official
advertising other than that done by the
County Commissioners or other county
officers for which the county pays. This
latter advertising, as stated heretofore,
is done by both pape,s under an agree
ment of half price to each paper. All of
these county advertisements are essen
italy of q public nature, and stand on a
different basis from the advertisements of
lands and personal property in the ordi-
nary official way by the Master, Sheriff,
Clerk of Court, or Judge Of Probate.
While the latter may be public in sense,
yet in another and far more important
sense, they concern only private, personal
or property rights in which the parties to
1athe cause are chiefly interested.
s.