The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-04-25
rwo GREAT CHANGES.

Among the many changes and I'M
prevements which the passage Of
years has brought 10 journalism, per-
haps the most conspicuous ar. Illus
trations and advertising. Those who
can remember the newspapers Of nifty
or sixty years ago in this country know
that pictures were conspicuous by their
absence. Sometimes an Important oc-
casion. or some great disaster. or the
visit Of a peculiarly noted foreigner
would call for a wood-cur or two. but
as general thing. the pages of even
the large dailies we're a< bare of pic
tees as the white papsr was
: 1t is wonderfully different now. as we
all know, An issue Of a daily of any
note without pictures is an exception.
while many OF the larger ones carry
numbers OF Illustrations each day and
in Sundays they become regular pic
Iture galleries. The arts of taking pic
lures. of preparing them for the press,
and of printing them in handsome style
have advanced and grown and been
simpliied to such an extent that pic
torial embeliishment adds but little to
the cost or time OF getting out good
newspaper, and all OF them employ
that method Of Establishment. In fact,
the city daily which does not keep its
own artists and engravers is apt to fall
behind.
And II pays. beyond . doubt, or 1t
would not be so general. It may be
that competition has something to do
with II. A newspaper OF ambition and
desire to be "in the SWIM" as one
might say. does not wish to be left
behind in any of the improvements of
the age. and SO all OF them go more
or less for pictures. And II is good
way of building up and sustaining po-
sition and influence. Most people like
to hook at good pictures. and some will
refuse to buy a paper that carries no
Illustrations. Besides IL we'll designed
and executed. they are instructive.
More can often be learned from look
ing at a picture than from reading
over several times as much space. 1t
is not the young people alone who like
to look at pictures.
And In the matter of advertising the
change has been fully as notable. II
one looks over the files of the average
newspapers of half q century ago he
will be surprised at the limited amount
of advertising they carried and the
miserly method of most business men
of those days. Most OF them actually
seemed to think that the amount paid
the newspaper man for advertising
their business was a waste of money.
days occupied an inch OF two of adver-
Using space in the daily paper, the
modern one will take column. and
where a merchant then took half
column to herald his business, the up
to-date merchant will now use a page
of the newspaper.
Does extensive advertising pay?
Well. It would be a serious reflection
on the Intelligence ana business sense
of the merchant Of today to suppose
that he would pay out the large sums
that many OF them do unless there was
profit in 1t. IL all of them without ex-
ception should refuse to advertise. we
suppose all would fare alike, but as
that cannot be expected, they all find
profit in liberal use Of printers ink.
In short, the spread of newspaper IL
Illustrating and newspaper advertising
have been wonderful. and both pay. or
they would be discontinued.