Arizona republican., 1906-12-09
Thf FOURTH LESSON
 ARI OF JOURNALISM
A Communication on the Subject of Subscription Contests With Side Re- marks on the "Wuxtry."

| idiNdyS-Welcome Saturday holiday.
 l am now presenting you Lesson No.
 III of the Primary Course in Journal
 ism. This being the Sabbath. you should devote yourselves first to the
 mastery of your Sunday school lessons,
 after which you may peruse this lesson
 m journalism. and so be prepared for
 the active work of the week. tomorrow. l have been unable to present these lessons in what might appear 10 toe a
 natural or logical order. for the reason
 that some of you. notably, the EVening l Outcast had entered upon a journalis- lie career without proper instruction. with the result that much of it must
 be unlearned before We can hone for Intelligent advancement To unlearn is frequently more difficult than 10 lea n. would much rather that my pupils in this journalistic course had come to me with clear. impressionable minds, than with minds blotched and marred by error. which must be erased before w. can proceed.
 It is unfortunate that tha Evening outcast must lose so much time in re-
 turning to first principles, in order that t may start alright upon the only road that can lead to success.
 Now we will revert to the subject of the Subscription Contest" inc0ngru- ous as it may seem. In what strange manner the Evening Outcast became involved in this subject l cannot con ceive. As well might a boy learning to read be set to solving abstruse mathe- matical problems. But the Evening Outcast has acquired wildly erroneous notions concerning subscription Con tests" which must be removed.
 l can do nc better than to advise the adoption of a system successfully em- ployed by The Arizona Republican. IL is simple and beneficial to all parties concerned and il is moreover business like, in contradistinction to earlier methods which have since been declar- ed unlawful. such as duplicating sub scribers In a lottery. holding out to them a hope that they may draw a piano or some musical instrument which can be played upon with the hands, or in the cast. of armless vic tins. with the feet. Such a prize would CT course. be worth the price of sub scription in spite of the incumbrance
 
 ways only one such prize and when the contest is ended there ensues a gen eral suspicion that the winner of 1t has been selected before the beginning of the contest. am grieved to learn that the Evening Outcast has been misled into the adoption of such an antiquated and iawless enterprise. I feel even deeper grief when l am told that the Evening Outcast, one of my pupils, is offering skating rink privileges in ex- change for subscriptions. proposing to put its patrons. so to speak lon rol- lers." q slang phrase often de- scriptive of preparations for an en- forced "skiddoo." also by the way. a slang expression. This is all wrong.
 The Republicans contest system which I have investigated involves the em- ployment of bright boys and girls as solicitors of subscriptions and the teaching of them how this work is to be done in a business like manner Subscribers are offered no special in ducements. it being the theory of the that the paper is worth the price of 1t. The paper and its ad- vertisers are incidentally benefited but the youthful solicitors are the direct They are m the frs; place paid the usual liberal commas sions on their work and are given op- to win beside. several val uable prizes. such as scholarships in high grade educational institutions and free educational tiips. In future contest of this kind the management may include among the prizes schol- atship in the Secondary Journalistic Course. thus affOrding the Evening Outcast opportunity for further ad- vancoment after it has completed the Primary CouIse in Journalism.
 But We will return 10 The Re tub ica1's system which by the way. is not orig inal. but has been employed with great success by the Los Angeles Times and other reputable newspapers the country. The youthful solicitors are of course without exper- fence. They are given in the beginning, preliminary instruction in the work | but of course that seldom suffices. They | are told that on request by them pro- fessional solicitor will be sent with them to aid them, they of course, being given full credit for even the subscrip- 1 lions which the professional may se- rure while with them. This aid is i'm | partially distributed among the con- testants with the result that interest Is in the contest. It also ln- ,reases the commissions of the con- testants besides educating them in the work of soliciting. I know of no more effective and fair subscription contest ,ystem than this. The results of 1t are | always satisfactory, it being under stood that a newspaper of merit ana n-orth is employing it. It would or course be of little or no value to an inferior or immature paper.
 My investigation of the results Of The system has shown ma several well authenticated facts, due in part to the system and in part to other causes.
 I find that The Republicans sup ;cription list on the south side alone Is in excess of the Evening )utcast's entire subscription list, not its alluring armless plano md skating rink inducements. tur- her find that for the month of Novem- ,er the Evening Outcast paid into the post office for postage. the sum or III .65. while for the same period The paid the sum of Sf2-lS. Inls Inference of nearly seven fold, is vast
 ,,-haV learn that no