New-York tribune., 1903-02-03
..n7rNBER OF LINES" OF ADVERTISING.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
g. l. II NOT about time that the absurdty Oh
.i-r the rrosf,@rity and value of a great news
- IA, tho number of lines of advertising II pup
,tghce below cost should be realized? To the mere
oo,,7r,on sense onlooker the more business oi 'h'
,-,r5 q ,,aper has the less well estaniSheu 1t af
aars Nothing is easier than 70 fill up a newspaper
that has a considerable circulation ana Ju'i'1o1-iy
-. i. bigger one with advertising at hVe OF SIX
cents q line But It Is only withn le" Eedis ~
,,,v+ that new race OF publishers anu S0l'N''''o
,-e-4.. bas uueared among US paradlh1 ihe h'ii
10, Of columns so filled proof OF great success
- = t.,I,,,er,anf 70 substantial advertisers to use
nc 777odi,77n thus cbeapened and choked ana SO
tr,rv thriu announcements in mass oI e"s'P ''''-
which obseureE them . -,
- r +be manufactured article are no mysteries
T-. ,o,ar ros1s at least "a cents pound or, Ior
-, ordinary sixteen page paper. four-seVenths OF
cont 1,r- copy When ii Is sod IN tne iofh ~ %
,rIr.sd journal to the news agents VINO dlsTlnu'e
IL for half cent copy eVerypouS can Sc
art or the cost of the white paper, as well as me
- c,e+ of manufacture. must be made up out
OF something else -, -,
~ ,osr NJ manufacture is just we'll known
=. as matter of sworn testimony recently III the
ea of a big Philadelphia one cent paper. IN the
- of United States Assistant Attorney General
r3ack as Special Master In Chancery Tor the sale-
He showed to every one familiar Win he"SPaPe''
that every printed page OF thdt paper eNeii a. 'e
t,,a- n-ices and narrower range in Philadelphia
.,,ad an outlay of $20 over in the manu-
fset,tre II one-half the pages OF the paper were
sold for advertising purposes, II is obvious that
,bea ,,rs be sold merely for $l21 per page nut
for double that sum IN order to get back the Dare
cost of manufacturing the pages containing the
nous as well as of those containing the ADVERTISE
nentS.
Some Of the New-York papers contain about
tvantv-one hundred lines to the page. Al 10 cents
ti, for advertising such paper would realize only
syf6 an and II II surrendered O1e-naI
Ss snare TO advertising must still lose $50 on every
n,9e IF its sixteen pages OUT Of the cost OF manu-
fc+,re besides the circulation from Seiilns
below the cost of white paper -
IN +be vay of nv business have just seen a copy
of = contract made by OF these papers Which
makes q big boast Of its number or lines or adVer
Using as a proof of It's great prosperity and great
VsiuG 1t agrees to give a SAX iilSh
doubI. column advertisements time. TO print, a
seven line advertisement thirty-six times. 10 maze
large uhutDgraphs have them handsomely franl-o
JisDIav fhe ntctuFes all the papers branch OF
7cex in Neu-York and change them once a week
Tor four weeks besides throwing In free adver-
tiging notice-aIl for the OF sls 50! A nttle
dgUriug shows this be at about the rate of four
cents a lire besides ii lot Of extras thrown in!
have besides had occasion 10 know about a
large block of drygoods advertising In the same
paper which paws exactly that figure. four cents
per line / have known the same rate quoted 70
Fesort" proprietors four cents per iine ana raio
~dered "a tempt London advertising W new puHN~