The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1903-02-18
LAURENs. 3. c., Feb. IS, 1908.
Laurens and Its Newspapers.

LaurenS anu It's newspapers
The ADVERTISER would for q few
minutes talk shop to its friends and es-
pecially business men in Laurens.
There is DOM In this town for two
newspapers. There is room in any
town with such a county around it as
Laurens for two good county papers.
There Is room, also, for one paper In
Clinton. Until Clinton trebles in size
n of her papers will be a wart. We
are not saying whichis a wart; we have
not examined. But two papers can't
live in Clinton. Two can exist in Clin-
ton but existing isn't living. One will
be a useless and profltless drain on the
community and q sorrow to itself. We
speak after long study and wearying
experience OF the business In ali its
ends and corners. One of the Clinton
papers, we neither know nor care
whioh, is an object of charity and q
clog to town progress.
Laurens might support another gro
Gerry or drygoods store. There is US
ually danger of crowdlng. Hence woe
full failures. But there is some elias
ITCHY always in the mere antile field. A
town can, however, spend a certain
amount in advertising. That amount
varies little except Of course with the
towns growth. If the New York Her.
aid were printed here, the amount Of
money spent by Laurens men In adyer-
tising would not be ~perceptibly in
creased. Advertising is the main sup
port Of newspapers. Generally speak
ing newspaper makers can spend on
their product according to the prices
they can ask and get for advertising
space.
Unless THE ADVERTISER and The
Herald are inferior and unworthy pa
pers, they r as good as the field here
will sustain. We are familiar with the
county papers of the state and we be-
lieve that the two Laurens papeIs are
up to the average and above 1T. There
may be better in South Carolina than
either but no town Of anything approx
imating the size of Laurens has two
papers which are superior to the two
here.
Assuredly, anybody has q right to es-
tablish q newspaper or to make the
trial. Any man would be entitled to
buy a press and commence newspaper
ing here tomorrow without interior
ence from The Herald or THE ADvER-
TISER. The race of idiots who are born
nnuuoNorna MAN IN fhnir rninHd Will
never be totally exterminated and the
members will continue to burn their
w and other guileless persons money
for some centaries. a man with money
and brains and industry, moreover,
may some time put a paper here that
will choke out The Herald Or ADvER-
WISER, but he will have a big contract,
The Herald Is q historic paper in South
Carolina. 1t has been q hard fighter
for more than half a century. Hard
fighters always have friends that stick
, hard. The Herald Is seasoned and
tough and has at lest nine lives left.
An old newspaper Is the most vital in
stitution in the word. A new newspa.
per is as easily killed as a turkey just
Matched.
THE ADVERTISER has lived nearly Is
years, long enough to be as good a life
insurance risk al 1t will ever be. 1t
passed through the teething period in
Conway Garlipgton's day here and ii
has not needed a dentist since. 1t is in
q better state of health, has q better
nss4tryasze -- AZ.
friends than ever before. Nevertheless
1t Is making smaller profits than II
made 10 years ago for the simple
reasons that the volume of official
advertising has dwindled woefully
and that the prices obtainab.e for job
work are about so per cent less than
formerly. In this part of South Caro.
lima job printing is today ,done at
smaller profits than anywhere we know
of.
In the early eighties a second paper
was started here. It failedd.s / aaarens
was too small. Then came THE AID.
vETTIsER and like the poor is with you
always. In 1896 a third paper ventured
M Oub VI LUZ oh0ii. lUio bO ulOTCs 1ucD
for the second time q third paper came.
1t did not fail. 1t kept %going-and
wert. 1t was nooody's fault. The
trouble was that three heads couldn't
be crowded into two hats and the only
available hats were already pulled down
tight to the ears of THE ADVERTISER
and The Herald.
The lesson is for the people-espec-
Tally the merchants. They arc
the coal supply Of the papers. They
waste money when they buy advertis
ing In experimental newspapers. Ad.
vertising is ~valueless comparatively In
a paper that has not lived and lived well
for several years. In other words, q
newspaper ought to have no especial
claims on the public until IL has proved
that 1t is o legitimate business enter
prise.
We mean by this that no merchant cal
be sure that the circulation of q new
newspaper has value. Any man can sent
out free papers. Advertising in free
papers is as good as poster advertising
and no better The chief value of Q
neWspapar IN tha marchant liea in ia