The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1907-07-04
What Others Say.
For Higher Price.


its price to $1.5O?. Yes, its owner
is to make paper ne can be proud
of and that will yield him fair
profit for his investment of money
and brains.
The most cogent argument for
this rise is the advance in the cost
of production. The Monotypit
makes the startling statement that
the cost of both body and job type
has advanced 100 per cent. since
1899, giving prices then and now to
support its assertion. That is to
say that if you or were to equip
an office today and put in as much
type now as had cost $500 then it
would cost us 1000 now. And
who could equip an Office of much
size with any less?
One cannot pick up any of the
trade journals which we all get with
out reading an article telling of the
advance in print, book, writing, en-
velopes, ETC., and telling of the fur
Their denuding OF the spruce forests.
Even the government is awakening
to the diminishing wood pulp sup
ply, and a recent bulletin makes the
startling statement that we are US
ing our supply of timber three times
as fast as it is growing. We are
facing the future of this condition
as we'll as the mere present.
The increased cost of all the labor
that goes into the making of news
paper has been consid cradle. Not
only the cost, but the scarcity, is a
serious situation to be met. Some
have solved it by the introduction of
labor saving machinery, but that has
involved increased Investment and
should have its profit.
AS rule, newspapers are sold for
too little money. A six column
quarto prints some 100000 words
in year. Compared with the aver
age $3.50 book of 100000 words
the newspaper should bring $13 so.
There are reasons why the newspa
per should sell much cheaper, but is
there sufficient reason for such a
wide divergence }? We depend up
on advertising receipts to make up
the difference, and that is always a
variable resource and usually below
our expectations, while subscription
is steady, dependable income on
which we count year out and year
in, summer and holiday season alike
The handicap of low subscription
price in case of a sale is serious
one, too, and should not be over
looked.
AS a rule, believe the public APP
preciate the fact that the newspaper
Is sold too near cost, and i think
they are reasona BILE enough, in view
of the known increased cost of pro-
duction, to pay more for it, provid-
ed-and here is where we have a
field for ability the paper be worth
the increase. A good many of us
are printing more news and setting
more type than our fields warrant.
[ know that [ am. But I delight
in keeping the people talking about
the Era and giving them more for
their money than they can get any
where else, and I believe the reader
will cheerfully pay a little more for
that service if he is sure of getting
it. For myself [ feel that first
class country paper cannot be print
ed for less than 81 SO per year un-
less the field be an unusually good
one for advertising. The paper
ought to pay its own way and not
draw on the profits from the job |
part of the business.
The price for subscription was
fixed when the cost of production
was erySmaterially less than now
and when much less was expected of
the newspaper, and but for the in
crease in the volume of business that
has come in recent years to even the
smaller country sheets this low sub
scription price could never have
been maintained at the low rates
prevailing. But with increased bus
mess has come increaaed response
bility to the buyer, and we must
give him more for his money than
ever before
A live, progressive, up-to-date
newspaper in community that cor
responds with it has reason to be
proud of its opportunity, but it can
not live up to the growing demands
upon it without corresponding in
crease IN enue-Caledonia IN.
Y Era.