Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-02-09
EdItorialP~a from
the Elmer Times
By S. P. FOSTER

fishers would have much preferred to
keep the price at n cent. A reason
for this is that advertising rates are lar
gely based on the number of papers
printed and distributed, SC that the
larger the circulation the greater the adj
vertising receipts. Even at the old
price the big city daily at a penny a
copy retail, did not as a rule yield the
publishers at wholesale, enough to pay
for the blank paper on which the daily
was printed, the operating
coming chiefly from ad vertising. This
enabled the subscriber to buy a paper
at less than 1t cost 10 produce; the ad-
vertiser and not the subscribers paying
the major part of the cost of production.
When the price of blank paper began
TO rise from various causes, the
of the big dailies began to be curtailed,
and when it was made plain that a low
price for blank paper was q thing of he
past, a move was made to advance sub
scription prices, as advertising rates
were believed to have reached the limit.
South of Mason and Dixie line, penny
dailies and weeklies for a dollar a year
have always been an exception.
Throughout out the west with few ex-
!ceptions' daily papers have always sold
at two or three cents pes copy, while
the fierce competition in the east has
made penny dailies possible for more
than thirty years.
The advancing price of wood and
diminishing forests influences the cost
of paper production, but that is only
one of many causes. Formerly the big
paper mills which operated night and
day, used only two shifts of men, of
twelve hours each. Labor combina-
tlons put a stop to that and three shifts
of eight hours each followed. This at
once resulted in a tremendous increase
in cost of production. The European
war caused q big advance in certain
chemicals Indispensable in the man.
~ufacture of paper which caused another
added expense. Then came a demand
greater than the supply which gave
opportunity for manufacturers to adj
vance prices.
MMa
Statementsl showing the advance In
price of blank newspaper have been
misleading. The big daily
papers have been able to obtain a far
less price than the small weeklies, be-
cause the former buy In carload lots,
Ia rolls, while the weeklies buy Ia lots
Of ten reams up to two or three tons,
In sheets, and as weeklies do o all
ssorrrzs0 Of sheet the cost Of
is greater than in rolls.
For the year 1916 the cost to weekly
newspapers for blank stock was from
90 per cent, to 200 per cent greater
han In the year 1915.
The Elmef Times buys in In two to
ihree ton lots and paid out In cash for
plank newspaper about 125 percent,
in 1916 than during the year 1915
receiving AMI additional penny
advance in subscriptions.
There have been advances in subscrip-
rates all over this country and in
Europe, while in foreign fields hun
dreds of newspapers have suspended
publication entirely.
The newspaper will continue to he
the cheapest commodity on the
market, but it is doubtful whether the
penny daily and the weekly for a dol
lar will ever lead the van of publications
again. Many who may attempt pub
Iicalion at the old price, will gradually
reach the point where they must quit.
The com pensating feature in the rise
in subscription rates will be found in
the circulating of fewer papers and the
vel of the weaker publications,
and thus co assumption may be reduced
to a point which will call a halt in fur
ther advances In prices.
Lie hoNduCC III ~ PAASS VIM 0AA0o
of blank paper has kept step with the
advance in prices of practically all
other commodities, although 1t is
greater than in some other lines. The
advance in farm produce, meats, grocer-
les, dry goods, etc has as everybody
knows, been large, but in many instan-
ooc only Il rOe enouph to cover increas-
ed cost of production. Large manu-
f~acturers have In many instances made
excessive profits, while the middle
class of manufacturers aud merchants
have moi benefited. After the war
many commodities will doubtless drop
in price and there will be depreciation
to face on many stocks carried, and
consequent losses. Where prices are