Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-06-04

cludes Butte, and as usual in Feb
ruary the city had been agog about the
ball team for the coming spring. But
without newspapers it was impossible
to arouse or sustain interest in base.
ball. You know, half the pleasure of
the fan comes in reading about the
game after he has seen It. Further
more. he must have gossip about the
players and the other teams. The
owners of the Butte team knew this
we'll and they frankly declared that
should the newspapers not resume
they would drop their franchise and
withdraw their team.
"The theaters also suffered heavi-
ly. 1t was almost impossible to bill
the town, and never was billboard
advertising less effectual and It's in
feriofity to newspaper advertising
more clearly demonstrated. First
class attractions played to empty
chairs People were Indifferent to
what was going on at the theaters
Lack of newspaper advertising cost
the theaters and travelling companies
many thousands of dollars.
Another Example
Another striking example was the
case of leading real estate dealer,
who was engaged in exploiting sub
urb. He had announced only few
days before the papers suspended, a
contest in which prizes in money and
land were to be awarded to those
forming the greatest number of words
| from the letters composing the firm
| name. The contest was to have been
chronicles in all the daily papers and
the results we're to have been an
nounced. Without the papers the pub
| lie soon forgot the contest entirely
1t resulted in g. dismal failure.
Stock Markets Suffer
The local stock exchange suffered
along with the rest. Without inform
alton on the state of the market in
Europe and in the principal American
oenters,' on which to base estimates Of
stocks and bonds, investors would not
buy. The brokers issued daily bulletins
and "tips,' but the public wanted
something more reliable, accurate re
ports which the newspapers convey
Wild rumors filled the streets after
the newspapers suspension, which hat
a depressing effect upon the local eS
changes and business in general.
Malicious stories were circulated. i
was noised about that the leadin;
grocer had failed for hundreds of thou
sands of dollars. The owner Of tn,
largest department store of the north
west was said to be curtailing his bus
ness and his solveEcy was doubted
AS matter of fact this merchant wa
laying off clerks by the score, be
cause the absence of advertising hat
left his aisles empty. Formerly he car
ried from four to eight pages a day
1t was rumored that a former mayo,
had killed himself; rumor had a pro
minent brewer killed, and he was OBJ
l1ged to hasten home from white
resort to convince his friends that a
was alive. RNmor divoced a doze1
couples and started unfortunate stor
les the newspapers were afterwards
Obliged to deny Rumor, in shor,
proved conclusiyely the service which
newspapers perform in keeping tn,
people Informed Of the thurth.
Newspapers All Important
The shutdown of the newspapers O
Butte, covering period of thrity-nin,
days, brought home the truth tina
without suitable newspapers advertis
ing the housewife does not come dowr
town to buy until forced by necessity
and the busy head of the house will
not make the rounds of the stores tt
choose. 1t served to show that adver
Using enables the buyers in the mod
ern homes to make their choice befor,
leaving the house, and that the ad
vertis1ng columns of the newspaper
save the buyers a large amount O
time in addition to squirting them tt
purchase and putting them in mint
of purchases timely and necessary.
"The duration of the suspension 0
the newspapers Of Butte, the circum
stances surrounding that suspension
and the results 1t presented express
forcibly this fact: That a communit
today cannot get along without
newspaper"