Arizona republican., 1908-11-20
.BOASTFULNESS OF WAGS
 ON AN EARLIER OCCASION
WHEN IT HAD THE MOST COM. PLETE TELEGRAPH SER.
 VICE IN ARIZONA"
Its Preposterous Claim Then Was Just as We'll Based as Any It Has Since Made.

It is not likely that anybody in this
 wide world is interested in the cir
 culation claims of Wags or even in the circulation itself, whatever that
 may be. But it is a recognized fact
 that there is nothing on this earth
 more fictitious than the circulation
 claims of a dishonest, weak and strug-
 gling newspaper and there is no criminal
 less conscientious than the circulation
 liar. His padded circulation list is
 not Illuminating and his oath is not convincing. The determination of a
 newspapers circulation has never
 been reduced to an exact science. The
 great advertising agencies have taken some steps in that direction by the employment of experts to ascertain as nearly as possible the circulations of the papers on their lists. Wags has consistently refused to make a state ment to an agency which might go to the trouble of proving it to be false
 Concerning the caution of Wags in this respect, the American Newspaper Directory, the highest authority in such matters, says in its issue for 1908 that Wags had had at one time credit for issuing 1000 copies regu- larly. But the Directory adds that the Arizona Gazette has not since set up any definite or satisfactory claim for issuing so many"
 As has been said, however, nobody is interested in the circulation of Wags. but one cannot help observing that a circulation liar need not be a fool also. Wags' prepOsterous claim to having any extensive circulation is an insult to the intelligence of the community. Wags has nothing which could attract a circulation worth con- sidering.
 A daily newspaper must have some preteXt for existence. A daily news paper without a telegraph report in this day and age has no preteXt at all and a newspaper with a 50O-word report, such as Wags has, has little more pretext than none at all. Ways cannot make anybody believe that there are enough people in Phoenix and the surrounding country who would take a paper of that sort, to make up a respectable circulation. If that were so one might expect to se- cure a large circulation for a hand bill.
 It is true Wags blunderiRgly seeks to conceal the meagerness of it's tele- graph service by the use of week old special telegrams to outside papers, and Associated Press dispatches which have appeared in the coast papers or The Republican days before. Three of these dispatches" under yester- days date, embracing more than OO0 words. were presented by Wags last night for the entertainment of it's circulation" One of these was "Quentin Nineteen Years of Age;" another Want More Money For Pearl Harbor," and a third. Retiring Ger tain U. s. Treasury Certificates" The last two were read by The Republi- cans subscribers a week ago. The first was of that sort variOusly known as advance" freight" or 'pickled' telegraph.
 No sensible business or other man needs testimony that a paper which fraudulently displays on it's front page such rot under the guise of telegraph, can have or hold a circulation worth having. While on the subject of tel egraph, less than six months ago Ways, as loudly boastful of its press service as it is of it's circulation now, brazenly advertised the most com plete telegraph service in the terri tory At that time Wags had in ad- dition to it's present measly 500wOrd service, 1500 words of special from the early afternoon Associated Press service which carried little of the worlds happenings later than noon. Even that service was dropped by Ways the day following the republi- can national convention, but it had lasted as long as Wags could stand it. It served the purpose of forming the basis of Wags' claim to the largest telegraph service in the ter ritory," when as a matter of fact, saying nothing of The Republicans complete service, three other Arizona papers, the Arizona Silver Belt of Globe, the Bisbee Review and the Arizona Star of Tucson, then, as long before and as they are now, were each handling more than twice as much genuine telegraph as Wags re- ceived in those palmiest days of it's telegraph service.
 In the midst of the political excite ment which was raging at the time of the abandonment of the 'spe- cial service" Ways neglected to apprise it's readers that they were about to be "doped" again with em- oalmed and decomposed telegraph. The headlines of Wags contained no hint that Wags had begun to save money on telegraph.
 Wags must have a low opinion of he intelligence of its readers if 1t ;upposes they will not daily detect his transparent fraud. It must also lold the business men in contempt f it imagines that they can imagine t has a circulation without anything O offer for it.
 There is a saying in law, in rela- ion to the testimony of witnesses,