Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1914-02-19
shop Talk for Merchants.


statement closed speech delivered
with much oratorical effect by the
editor of daily newspaper in Ore
gon at recent banquet held by a
newly organized commercial club in
neighboring town. And to further
clinch his argument he repeated the
statement over again several times.
The emphasis he placed on the
word support" pretty we'll typifies
the attitude Of many publishers of
newspapers toward their local mer-
chants advertising, and it also well
typifies the feeling that many mer-
chants hold toward their local news
paper.
And this mutual feeling of sup
port is the very thing that combines
to make many small town back
ward and many a rural community
the chief source of dividends for the
mail order house in the distant city
It's sorry thing to relate, but a
fact, that the very man who is sup
posed to know the most about adver-
tising and modern merchandising
methods-the newspaper man--is in
too many cases the one person who
knows the least about these things.
A glance at his shop is all that is
necessary to prove the argument
Many things combine to cause this,
but when sifted to the bottom the
merchants themselves usually are the
real cause. They know full well that
by pitting the rival printing offices
against each other ii is possible to
get printing and advertising below
cost.
Now it's fine thing to pluck the
paper, but it has much the same eff
feet that results from the property
owner purchasing his merchandise
from the mail order house. He saves
a little money on the goods, but he
decreases the value of his property
by killing his town.
But we cant excuse the local pa
per for not having sufficient back
bone to better conditions.
The whole trouble is a lack of un-
derstanding on the part of both pub
Usher and merchants. Simmered
down, their problems are one. Ii is
pretty well-known fact that it's a
difficult thing for town to extend
its retail trade limits farther than
the circulation of the newspaper i'm
that town.
The publisher needs an extensive
circulation of his paper in the COM
munity in order to live and grow,
and the merchants in that same COM
munity need his circulation as an
economical method of increasing
their business.
A better understanding of this
problem on the part of merchant and
publisher will soon show an improve
ment in any rural community. When
the editor gets the idea Of support"
out of his head and meets his mer-
chants on this common ground of
modern business he will see the
standing cards" leave his newspaper
columns and in their place live ad-
vertisements OF store news that will
not only help his circulation, but will
help his town,
Fortunately there are several mod
ern influences at work that are
bound to bring about much better
ment in the next few years. The
country merchant need not think he
is alone in studying better merchan-
dising methods. If he will glance
into the dngy newspaper office some
night he will find Editor Jones por-
Cost Sheets" Mr.. Editor is dis
covering how he has been the goat"
for so long that he has less money
now than he started with a dozen
years before.
Another element perhaps of more
vital influence than all the others is
that the newspaper business, as well
as merchandising, is now profession
alized-lifted from the ranks of a
| trade to a par with banking, the
practice of medicine. law, engineer
ing, agriculture, if you please.
Coordinate with the schools OF
commerce where the future merchant
is to be trained has grown up in the
modern university the school of jour.
nalism
The word support" in its broadest
sense is not always understood. Sup.
port in local community is a splen.
did thing, but it too often happens
that this cry lack of support, comes
from local newspaper men, retail
merchants and others who do no
seem to fully appreciate the fact tha
often the lack of support of which
he complains exists only because h'