The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-02-14
Diversity in Advertising Con-
tracts Under New Regime. 5
Some Lines Exchange = Others
Pay Cash for Space.
EXERCISE ECONOMY.
Use Newspapers on Business
Basis-No SlipshOd Methods.
Gossip and Matters of Interest
in Railroad Circles.

In the method of paying for adver'
Using, great diversity has arisen among
the various lines under varying inter
| pretations of the Hepburn law and un-
der the views taken by the lines Of
their peculiar conditions and needs
says the Railway Age. There is q
striking absence of any concerted ac-
! ton. The plans vary all the way from
a strictly cash basis, where the rail-
way company pays for it's advertising
in money based on the idea of value
received and makes no effort to dis
cover how much transportation the
| other party buys, to the old ar
rangement of exchanging transporta-
| ton for advertising Many of the lines
/ have not settled the question one way
| or the other. About the only point
upon which there is any uniformity OF
action is the refusal of the lines to pay
for the insertion of timetables except
| in the dailies of the large terminal
cities. Some papers are inserting time
tables free of charge, and others are
| refusing to do so.
The strictly cash basis has made
some progress within the last year,
perhaps all that could be expected. A
little over a year ago, the Pennsylvan-
ia system and the Baltimore & Ohio
adopted this plan and have found 1t
eminently satisfactory. The railway
advertising of 1907 will be paid for in
cash. not only by the Pennsylvania
system and the Baltimore & Ohio, but
by the New York Central lines, the
Chicago Burlington & Quincy. the Chi
caeo Rock Island & Pacific, the Ch1ca-
go & Northwestern, the chicago Mil
waukee & st. Paul and, the Atchison
Topeka & Santa Fe. These roads have
no bookkeeping or other plan by
means of which to determine how
much transportation each publisher
buys, nor do they exchange any intra-
state transportation for advertising.
They make no effort to equalize the
value of the advertising given paper
with the value of the tickets purchased
by the paper. The Burlington has
closed practically all of its contracts
with both dailies and weeklies IN
friendly way. The contracts OF the
Santa Fe Northwestern, Rock Island
and ST. Paul are being rapidly and sat
isfactorily made.
OF the bookkeeping methods, the
Hartman lines, the Erie and the Mis-
souri, Kansas & Texas are examples.
The Hartman lines make contracts
for a specified amount of advertising
at the regular rates and the puo1sher
contracts to take specified amount OF
Transportation at the regular rates, the
endeavor being to arrange between the
two parties to have the accounts Dali
ance The Hartman lines Will make
no exchange of intraState transporta-
understood, issues to the newspapers
a kind of check book, on which orders
for transportation may be made which
may be used the same as cash at the
ticket window. These checks when
collected enable the railway to deter
mine the amount of transportation
which the newspaper has had, the pur-
pose being to equaliZe the value or
the transportation with that or the ad-
vertising. Balances, when they exist,
,-I
OF the working OF the missouri,
Kansas & Texas plan, by which the
publisher in return for a spec1f1ed
amount of advertising at the regular
rates agrees to route over the Mis-
souri,. Kansas & Texas. when possible,
his employees or members of his fam
lily, balances being paid in cash, w. S.
ST. George, general passenger and
ticket agent, says:
Our experience has been most sat
isfactory and I would dislike very |
much to return to old methods. Pre- |
vious to the passage of the act it was
our custom to honor any request for
transportation made by the publisher |
and there was very little, II any,
record kept of the advertising space |
occupied or the value of same. In |
other words, it was a good-natured |
reciprocal arrangement under which
the editor had the freedom of the |
road and in return gave us friendly |
ter when his columns were not other |
wise engaged. In some instances we |
got many times the value of the trans |
portation furnished and the benefit of
advertising which could not have been |
purchased but in some cases it was
The other way, and in all cases most |
for the reason that no |
were rendered and we
never knew exactly where we stood.
Under the new methods we get the |
best advertising rates we can and in
sist upon a monthly statement show
ng the space occupied and the value |
at contract rate. To say that we pay
,or this in transportation Is mislead-
ng What we do is to honor requestsJ
Tor tickets to be used exclusively by
hose connected with the publication
md these are charged for at tariff
ate. At expiration of the contract
balance Is drawn and cash settlement
8 made by either party. While the
publisher may not obligate himself to
accept any transportation in settle
nent of the account, the fact that he
ioes so would naturally induce US to
ADVERTISE more freely than we other
wise would; but when the publisher is
n a position to determine from past
ion he will require in order to prop
period, it simplifles the matter very |
1.-The arrangement is new and it |
nay be that conditions may be discov-