The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-10-06

been in preparation for years. The edi-
tor and owner of this paper, who is
writing this article. has on deposit in
several banks of this city several thou
sand dollars. the surplus accumulation
of many years work in this city. He is
prepared to spend all this money, if
necessary, to establish the edition Of
the State Journal for Sunday morning
along the lines he has marked out, and
one of these plans is to charge the car
rfers one cent for the tWenty-page pa
per. We are not increasing the rate to
.rhe carriers. as the subscriber may have
imagined. We are really decreasing it..
Carriers have paid one cent per copy
readily, freely and gladly for the ten
page paper. We are now offering them
a twenty page paper for one cent-that
is to the carriers, mind you To every
body else it VIII be five cents or 21a
cents. even to newsboys and news
dealers.
The people who are associated with
the proprietor of this paper in conduct
ing the State Journal understand their
business. We all know the newspaper
business better than college students
and yet we like college students and
we mean to encourage and protect
them. We have the money in the To-
peka banks to pay spot cash for the
new press next month.
If the carriers of this paper had used
one-fourth of the energy in getting ad-
ditiOnal subscribers (Which are coming
in by virtue of the Sunday aaoer),
they might have already increased
their routes sufficiently to more than
Offset the difference between three and
four cents
We have offered the carriers twenty
cents per hour to solicit their own
routes, but they have generally refus-
ed to do So fearing evidently they
might get so many new subscribers
that they would at once make more
money under the new plan than they
did under he old and refute their own
tale OF woe.
1t is an astounding fact that in in
terviewing personally twO-thirds of the
carriers, scarcely one of the twO-thirds
would solicit subscri 5ers. What do
you think of that2 Was there ever a
greater proposition offered to the peO-
pie OF Topeka than the one we are now
making, to put in twenty page paper
for ten cents per week?
Now to the circular. Here it is, and
here are our replies to it. Please read
the circular carefully and read our an
swers to each paragraph.
Here is the carriers circular YER
batim:
To the Subscribers of the Topeka State
journal.
The following statement is an ex-
PLANTATION of the position of the car
rfers of the Topeka State Journal in
regard to the recent action of the
com DdtlY IN UuDASlAHAE dlA C0ALt0tt "a
the paper for sunday:
The State Journal is distributed
over the city of Topeka by fOrty-three
carriers, a large majority Of whom
are students, either in Washburn col
Iege or the Topeka high school.
1t has been the policy of the Topeka
state Journal to recognize the transfer
of the different routes from one car
rier to another. For more than ten
years these routes have been bought
and sold among the students of these
two schools. At the present time each
of the carriers has invested in his
route from five hundred to one thou
sand dollars, depending upon the size
and location of the route. In many
cases this money has been borrowed
by the carrier in order that he might
purchase a route and thus work his
way through school.
The price of the Journal has been
10 cents per week to each subscriber.
The carrier pays to the State Journal
six cents a week and earns for him
self four cents a week on each sub
scription Out of this four cents
profit the carrier stands all losses on
collections.
on Saturday September 30th. the
company announced that they would
publish an edition of the paper for
Sunday, and arbitrarily increased the
rate to the carrier from six cents to
seven cents per week for each sub
sCriber. the subscriber paying ten
cents per week as before. By so do
ing the carriers profit is reduced to
three cents per week on each sub
collections must still be met, while the
carrier must make seven deliveries
each week instead of six, the addi-
tiOnal delivery being at a most un-
seemly hour.
We consider this new arrangement
the following
rea sons.
l. The carriers already small profit
of less than four cents a week on each
subscriber is reduced to less than
three cents. Although one cent week
on single subscriDtion may seem a
small amount. yet it means to each
carrier loss of from fifty to one hum
dred and fifty dollars a year, depend
inE upon the size of his route. No one
can afford to carry papers at this re-
duced rate: Yet we are forced to con-
tinue to carry on account of the money
which we have invested in our routes.
.. The reduction in the profit from
four to three cents a week viii make
paper carrying no longer desirable or
profitable. The present carriers bought
their routes upon the four cent basis
The reduction to a three cent basis viii
make it impossible for the carrier to sell
their routes for the anOunts which
they paid for them; in fact, they will
be forced to sell at q very great sacri-
see.
3. While the carriers do not object
/ to the increased work. they do object
] to the increased work. at decreased
/ pay. They believe this manifestly un-
/ -ust.
! The carriers have always been glad
I to accommodate their subscribers in
every way possible. We are willing
TO carry the seven issues of the paper
at the same profit of four cents per
/ week and have asked The Topeka
/ State Journal that we be allowed to
4 do So This offer has been fatty turn
/ ed down.
! We believe that our subscribers will
see the injustice of the Topeka State
! Journal in asking US to carry the pa
/ per at the proposed rate.
In this correction we might state
/ that the Topeka Daily Capital is pub
+ fishing a seven Gay paper, but in jus
/ tice to their carriers allow them the
old profit Of four cents per week.
We believe that our subscribers viii