New-York tribune., 1907-08-12
ISSUES OF THE PRESS.
Great Increase from 1900 to 1905
by Census Figures.
from The Tribune Rureau.I


Washington, Aug. 1.-THE United States bureau
of the announces the publication Of Bulletin
10 presenting the detailed statistics of the printing
and publishing industry in the Of manu-
features of 1905. This bulletin prepared by
William 5. Rossiter. chief clerk of the census
The printing industry possesses an importance
which cannot be measured by capital invested or
by the volume and value of product. Analysis of
the printers calling has become TO noteworthy
degree analysis of the general prosperity of
the nation Therefore interest in the progress and
prosperity OF printing is not confined to those who
/ are connected with the industry. is frequently
the with other callings. but is shared by the
entire community
The value of products Of newspapers and peri
odicals arises from two sources Of income-sub-
scriptons and sales and advertising. BY the
of 1850 the assets derived from subscriptions
ard sales exceeded those from advertising by al
most $l10o.@ or approximately one-fpurth- In
/ 1890 the products OF both branches OF almost
equal value, subscriptions and sales, however being
greater by 100000 BY the census of 1900 adver-
tising took the lead. with excess of nearly
sl6000 COO Since 1890 this lead has been further in
creased and in 1905 amounted nearly S3iO30.ooo
II is probable that this change in relative positions
of these two classes of assets did not result from
failure the part of receipts from sales to ad-
vance generously in amount but from the much
rapid increase I'm receipts from advertising;
the former more than doubled from 1850 10 19f6 but
the latter much more than tripled. In 1880 the
total value Of advertising equivalent the OK
penditure Of IS cents per capita; in i II 49, in 1900
| 81 p. and I'm 1916. 81 IS the basis of estimated
population June /: 1904 The Per .apita value OF
I advertising thus more tnan doubled from lSs0 to
1905. On the other hand. the per capita value of
subscriptions and sales increased much less rapidly.
rising from 70 cents in 1880 81 81 in 1905.
The statistics relating TO newspapers and peri
odiCals Indicate remarkable increase from 1890
TO 1905. The increase In value Of sales IN the five
years from 1870 To 1905 great ny comparison
that the increase in the previous ten year period
appears insignificant. Only eight states show
percentage of increase for the period from 1890
1900 equal 10 or exceeding that for the entire United
States from 1900 to 1906 In 1900 with the exception
Of Idaho and Montana. state reported as great
an increase so per cent Yet in the half decade
covered by this report fifteen reached
Cceded 80 cent increase.
No increase in the industry has been more
striking than that reported for the number Of
pounds Of paper used. OF the total amount Of
paper manufactured in 1905 more than 100000 tons
used solely for newspapers and periodicals.
representing almost one-third Of the entire output
Of the paper mills of the United States. To make
this paper required the services of nearly 5.OoO
men and represented approximately S9.1@G0 IN
wages. These mills used material 10000
cords of spruce. poplar and hcmIoCk logs. repre-
senting the timber product of approximately 1o0.
n0 acres. exclusive of the logs imported from
Canada. Thus every working day in the year
the forests Of New England and the Middle States
with scattered areas elsewhere in the North and
Northwest yielded approximately 1765.eo feet of
timber to be transformed into the newspapers and
Raznes required to supply the people of the
United States
The great Increase in the amount of paper used
is due much To the increasing size OF news
papers and periodicals to increasing Crcula-
ton. This increase I'm size results not only from
the constantly extending use of typesetting ma
chimes but also. from increasing resources ac-
qured a unusually long period of prosperity
Upon the basis of the size and weight previously
specified. the newspapers and periodicals issued in
1890 avera ged 81 pages each: in 1900. SO pages and
in 1906 So pages 1900 the influence of the type
setting machine upon the size of publications
lust beginning u be felt but by 1905 the effect of
this revolution in newspaper Typography had be-
very marked.
In the eventy-five years from 1880 1905 the
number of newspapers and periodicals of all
classes in the United States practically doubled.
OF the ten thousand publications thus added one
third contributed by each of the first two
decades and the remaining one-third by the half
decade from 1900 to 1905 The increase in number
of publications. therefore was twice rapid
during the last nVe-year period as during the
previous decades.
The aggregate number of copies of all news
papers and periodicals in the United States pub
Iished during the year 1905 1885 143 SS
This was increase of 31.4 per cent during the
five year period. practically One-thrd From
the nature of the case the greater part of. this
circulation IS contributed by the daily. since the
circulation per of that class of publications,
which be multiplied by 31S or 365 as the case
may be- naturally yields much the larger product.
II represents practically seven-tenths OF the total
The percentage of increase. however is much the
greatest in the monthly class. being 69S per cent
during the five year period, compared with 3ST
per cent for daily and practically stationary
condition in the weekly class. There GS copies
of daily papers issued In 1900 for every inhabtant
of the United States. per capita which rose to SS
copies in 1906 for the weekly the corresponding
per capita % in 1900 and "a In 1oS and for the
monthly and g. respectively.
The aggregate circulation per issue of all pub
lications than quadrupled from 1880 TO 1906
Increase
fornity in all geographic divisions. the total reach
Ing 139. 229.
In 1850 only six states reported aggregate
circulation per issue for all classes in excess of
900 COPIES and only two-New York and Penn
syIyania-reported aggregate circulation in
cess OF 5000 900 copies. In 1905 eighteen states
ported an aggregate circulation in excess of LOCO.
OD0 COMES and seven had circulation in excess OF
600 600 three having circulation per issue of 15.
0t0 900 Ten states-New York. Pennsylvania, 1lli-
nois Ohio Massachusetts, Missouri. Maine. Indl-
ana Tennessee and Minnesota-contributed four
ffths of the entire circulation per issue. and of
these three-New York. Pennsylvania and Illinois
contributed more than one-half. although repre-
senting than onefourth of the entire estimated
population of the United States in 1905.
In 1906 the North Atlantic division alone con-
tributed slightly greater circulation per issue
than that of all the other geographic divisions
combined: although decidedly greater In 1880. the
division practically maintained in 1875 the
proportion contributed in 1890 and also in 1890 The
prominence of the North Atlantic division in the
circulation of daily newspapers is probably due
princpaIIy to the presence of numerous large
cities density of population and of commu-
n,cation Such national general circulation
ds,lies of New York. Boston and Philadelphia
chicago being the only large city in another geo.
rraphic group securing similar patronage to any
extent.
An attempt made at this census to report
senarateiys the Sunday Issue OF daily papers, but