Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1906-11-30
Railroad Advertising.


companies can issue transportation il
exchange for advertising space in news
papers. IL would be well, if the mat
ter is carried up, that it be on the exac
conditions OF such jug-hsndle con
tracts.
Transportation to be good as money
should be exchangeable for money
A contract for the company to ex
change so many miles of transporta
ton for so many inches of advertiser,
space in newspaper, should be 81
equable and fair as not to limit it t
use in a way that implies favor or con
cession on either side.
If the contract form is adopted as ,
subterfuge to evade the law agains
passes to newspapers, certainly i
should be fair and equitable and re
garded as a satisfactory equivalent t
the newspaperman for a specific ser
vice. To hedge it with difficulties ant
uncertainties are plainly strings t
secure farther service for aid when
ever the railroads have on ak to grint
in the way Of public benefits, or more
properly speaking, in lodging the re
sponsibility that attaches to the indi
vidual citizen on either side.
The stipulations in these contracts
provide that advertising be based on 9
specific sum for each years service
and shall be forfeited if not applied fol
within that year. Tickets shall only
be issued in any case to the proprietor
publisher or editor Cor sCite or children
wholly dependent upon them for sup
port), who are engaged in the issuing
OF the named publication and in no
other business" It is further stipu.
lated that if such transportation il
presented by any other person, it shall
become void, dishonored and taken up
and full fare charged, and further, il
the person entitled TO transportation
under the contract, sewers his connec.
ton with the periodical, that his right
to any compensation that may have
accrued becomes at once void.
Then again our local scribes have
found that mileage tickets which read
"good on main line and branches west
of Beach, North Dakots," are not good
on the Olympia jerkwater, tho North
ern Pacific branch between this city
Tenino. and on trip. advertising tickets
reading "good from Olympia to Port
land and return" cash fare hae been
collected between those points both
ways. So it will be seen that the slip
of paper for transportation for adver.
Using is clipped at all corners, and
limited in such way as to be OF little
benefit to its holder-value being an
essential elementary principle OF all
contracts.
A contract to be unassailable should
be reasonable and definite. To make
. specific sum OF money q reasonable
consideration for . designated service
and then make it forfeitable if moi
collected in certain manner, is to say
the least unreasonable, and implies
that some ulterior object was intended
~ the basis Of negotiation.
Then sgain, when the mileage ticket
or tickets issued on the contracts fol-
advertising are received. they bear in
neatly printed rubber-stamp super.
scription tho words "Not Good on the
North Coast Limited" (or some other
parlor.chair train) which shows that
dollars due for advertising are not az
good as the dollars that constitute q
legal tender for every other demand
except possibly interest on the public
debt or duties on imports" a provi.
sion that is only tolerated as q relict
of the war-measure policy of our gov.
eminent.
Let us hope that the court OF final
resort will take due cognizance of all
these safeguards the railroad compa-
MES have thrown around their SO.
called contracts" which is but .
method of fleeing the complaisant
newspaper man, just as do the wide.
awake insurance companies whose
revenues are 80 largely increased by
4" lapsed policies" as to make it lead.
ing feature in exploiting business.