The Irish standard., 1914-07-04

There is a story which is none the
less good because it is old, of col
ored minister. whose early educa-
tional opportunities bad been neces-
sarily abbreviated, who found his
text in the utterance of st. Paul,
There are many adversaries." The
word "adversaries" contained more
syllables than he could easily nego-
tiate at sight, and he read it, There
are many advertisers"
have the impression that there
are some men who would say that
this was no serious mistake, and that
the two terms might be regarded as
practically synonymous. My purpose
in telling the story is not to moralize
on the possible appropriateness of
his rendering, but rather to relate
what he did with the text which he
had thus unintentionally misquoted.
He preached good sermon. of which
this was essentially the outline.
The gospel needs to be advertised.
1t is so great and good and desirable
thing that it ought to be advertised,
and the task of making it known to
all the world is SO important and so
large that it cannot be accomplished
unless many advertise it. He said
that it was the business of the
preacher to advertise the gospel, but
that it was in no sense his exclusive
business, that other men were under
just as much obligation to advertise
it as were the ministers and that the
gospel demanded for its progress
upon their activity and success as
advertisers.
Now, I submit to you that that was
good sermon; and it is one for
which many good texts could be
found. 1.-THE women who publish
the tidings are great host" and
the men whom the Lord has sent
forth into the world, go under the
impulse of new command, which
might be translated, go We into all
the world and advertise the gospel
to the whole creation"
Among the various devices for the
advertisement of the gospel is the
religious press; and to it come all the
problems which confront the adver-
tiser in general and some which be-
long peculiarly to this department of
journalism. Let me speak first of the
problems which belong to the relig-
ious newspaper as an advertising me-
dunn.
The first of these is the fact that
any UNCONVENTIONAL paper must be
an organ with relatively small cir
culation. Its 10000 or 10000 or
even $4,000 offer a painful contrast
to the popular magazines whose cir
culation is set forth in totals of six or
seven figures. The advertising agen-
cies inevitably seek for the large
things, and a paper which twenty
years ago was considered as having
a good, comfortable circulation now
seems to the advertising world as a
very feeble thing.
Further, there is an impression
that the religious papers keep up
their circulation by means of an ap-
peal to the UNCONVENTIONAL loyalty,
! and that the readers do not value
them as highly as they do those pa
pers which they pay for on their mer-
its. There is third criticism of the
religious press and one for which I
am sorry to say there has been some
ground, namely, that a good many
religious papers finding it difficult or
impossible to secure the higher
grades of advertising, and being I'M
der necessity Of securing some ad-
vertising in order to live, have &C
cepted advertising not of the higher
order. I am happy to say that this
last criticism cannot now be made of
many religious papers. believe that
many of them have cut out advertis-
ing of this kind at cost to them
selves which the superficial critic
cannot we'll estimate, and that there
is distinct and increasing tendency
on the part of all high class religious
papers to permit only such advertis-
ing as is thoroughly reliable and
worthy.
AS to the criticism that these pa
pers are not bought on their merits,
I have reason to believe concerning
some Of them that they renew an al
most incredible proportion Of their
subscribers who pay the full sub
scription price, or small reduction
in clubs. I chance to know of one
such paper whose subscription rate is
50 a year. or in clubs Of five or more.
$1.75. which renews about "a per
cent of its subscription list and re-
ceives in its office net return of
$3.50 subscriber after deoucting all
commissions to agents, I doubt If
there is any secular newspaper of
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