Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-06-21
THE "couNTY PAPER" BUSINESS.
A Kind Contemporary Says Pleasant
Thinos of The Enquirer.

Thnas of The Enquirer.
,rhe paper of Mr.. w. D. Grist read
at he meeting of the Press association
at he Isle of Palms last week anu
nrin ed in the News and Courier, we
wish might be read by business men
everywhere in the state. woulu
give them some idea Of the failure Oh
some of the newspapers to be as gooo
as they should be.
Mr. Grist and two of his brothers.
own and conduct The Yorkviile En-
uuirer and IT was owned by thei[ lall-
er, and we believe, their grandfather,
before them. We suppose that county
newspapers elsewhere are just as goou'
hnt we have never seen them. The
Enuuirer is known in newspaper cir
cles as a model not only in South Gar
olina, and in the south, but through
out the country. 1t Is pubhsheu Twice
a week; though We fancy mistake
was made when it was changed from
a weekly some years ago. we uo lo'
believe in semi-weekly county neWspa-
pers. 1t is better to spend the aool-
tional money in improving the Weekly.
The reason that The Yorkville En-
uuirer is so good a newspaper is tnat
| it has been run on business principles
for half q century. No subscriber gets
II who does not pay cash in advance
for II. and 1t demands and receives TOT
advertising what advertising space Is
worth. We do not know its rates eN
actly but we fancy ii receives ABOUT
twice those that the Advertiser re-
ceives.
The ENQUIRER is not sold for dollar
wear. We have often said that the
advertiser is not the best paper in the
world, but it is remarkably good pa
per for the price-which We still MAIN
tain. But not until the newspaper
buying population of this, section IN
creases immensely will it be possible 10
produce such a newspaper as the peo-
nile ought to have for that price. Long
experience has taught US that only
about one half the white people OF
Iaurens county are willing to SUP
scribe and pay for newspaper at any
price and at present more than naiI ol
| that number are taking the Advertiser,
but the production of such paper as
| The Enquirer at our rates 1or SUI
scription and space would soon put
this paper in bankruptcy. York coun-
| ty is much the same sort or county
that Laurens is, its white population
being somewhat greater
1t is strange that a large number OF
serious minded. earnest young business
men do not go into the publication OF
county newspapers. Managed as II
should be, a county newspaper is a
good property and will yield better
income than will the practice OF law
or medicine in the same town. Prac-
ticing law or medicine, however, is a
much easier business, neither calling
for so many kinds of intelligence. NO
mans hardships are greater than those
Of the conscientious physicians, the
newspaper mans life does not call for
such sacrifices as does his, but success
Is harder to achieve in that kind OF
Journalism where the editor should
know how to write fairly well and at
the same time should be firm and
accurate business man and must De
diligent, both as a writer and news
gatherer and as business getter and
business director.
Many newspapers fail and many
worthless newspapers exist and the eX-
Iplanation is that the business OF pub
Fishing them and Of running printing
and stationery business in connection
with them does not attract as efficient
linen as does the banking business
While we have never heard what their
incomes are, we would risk the guess
that each of the Grist brothers In
YOrkville earns more than does each
Of the bank presidents or than the
average doctor or lawyer in the same
Itown earnS.-LaurenS Advertiser