The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1913-02-07

est. ln6y MAY nave DeSH JuSIlheu vi
the ground of circulation or the char
acter of the papers bidding, it being
possible that the one bidding lowest
represented little or nothing in the
way of circulation and means of SER
vice.
Lawyers Must Pay Cash.
A hill has been drawn providing
for publication of commissioners
proceedings in pamphlet form. This
will have to bet set in type and print
ed then it will be of no use unless
it is mailed out to the voters, and it
will be more expensive than publish
ing. The same bill proposes reduc-
ing the rate one half for legal no.
tees in newspapers making the price
only half as much as they pay in
good old Kansas which is accounted
the cheapest state in the union for
pringting. If such change is made il
will probably have the effect Of
bringing such work to cash basis
at once, for publishers knowing that
this work paid little or noth;n%
would refuse to print that class Of
notices until the money was ten 'er-
ed, and the present disagreeable Gus
tom of carrying the accounts for
from one month to two or thee
years would cease the day the new
price goes into effect.
A Legislative BIunder.
When the special session of the
legislature in 1912 changed the rev.
enue law so the assessors discarded
the alphabetic system for the num-
berical, they increased the revenue
of the printer without adding to the
work of his office in a corresponding
measure. 1t takes more printed
forms to supply the assessor, it takes
more stamped envelopes by several
fold, and it increases the number of
descriptions of property and shortens
the descriptions. AS the price of
publication of the delinquent list re-
mains at 25 cents per description,
the publisher who does the work at
the old rate finds it easier and more
profitable. If the legislature wants
to curtail the printer it can be done
by reducing the rate per description.
If they really want to save the county
money they can do so by causing the
assessors to go back to the good old
alphabetical system.
A Waste of Publishing.
The publicity idea has been car
ried to extreme in advertising for
bids for supplies for state institutions.
One publication is sufficient, and the
second and third are entirely super
lluOuS. 1 TIC ucetltl W HO uOSo hOI oCC
the first publication is too far be-
hind in his methods to offer COM
petitive bid and it is useless to dou-
BILE the expense of publication to
reach him. Publishers are willing
to keep such notices inserted all the
year if the public wants them, but
this article is designed to point out
the waste energy and useless expense.
If the state is willing to spend the
same amount of money they have
been spending for publicity, and re-
ceive more service, let the state
boards publish brief statements of
what is done with institutions under
their charge, and pay for such publ
city out of moneys heretofore was
ted in lines indicated in this article.
Newspapers Live Their Time Out.
It is sometimes suggested that re-
ducing the rate for, legal advertising
will put some of the smaller news
papers out of business, but the small
er newspapers exist because their re-
spective communities are ambitious
to have a newspaper of their own,
and they will have it, They may
have to pay more on subscription or
on special donations to maintain the
press, but the little newspaper will
live and prosper. The more substan-
tial newspapers may have to retrench
little and print less matter about
the movable school less about modern
methods in agriculture less about the
normal schools and the university
and experiment farms, less about the
local schools and work Of the com
mercial clubs and fraternal, orders
and the city councils, but the press
of every kind will live on, and serve
the public according to its ability to
serve, and the men who pay the bills
and those who Stick the type" will
be found adapting themseles to the
situation as they find it