The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-08-24
From Other
Editorial Pages
WHERE WILL 1T END?


morning the Examiner received a fac
simile Of the presidents endorsement
Of the campaign being waged by the
National Board Of Fire Underwriters
against fire losses in Industrial plants,
storage warehouses and other prevent
able fire waste.
The literature that will be sent the
newspapers to back up the movement
will be good stuff. The movement is
timely. 1t is of value. The promoters
realize that there is no other medium
as essential to the success Of the move.
ment as the publicity given it through
the press.
The point in the matter is just this:
The fire underwriters board represents
great business interests. The under.
writers have vast sums invested and
the sum total Of the premiums paid by
the business interests of the United
States for fire protection Is very large.
The fire underwriters are in business
for the money they make out Of it,
| Newspapers must make money out Of
the newspaper business or they will
have to quit business. Every day some
new problem relating to the success of
the war and the conservation of the ma.
tions resources makes an appeal to the
newspapers for free publicity The
newspapers are anxious to help, but ii
is about time an understanding of some
sort is reached by the publishers in re-
gard to free publicity for propaganda
by business interests that are in busi-
ness, for the money there is in it, 1t
is about time the publishers found some
way to enlarge their papers to make
room for the urgent demands of the
county, state and national councils of
defense, for the food propaganda pub.
licity of Hoover, for the Liberty loan
propaganda Of McAdoo, for the conser.
walton of the youth dope by the depart
ment Of education, for the vast amount
Of publicity demanded by Crowder and
Secretary Baker, for the navy publicity
asked for by Daniels, for the Indian
publicity asked for by Sells, for the
relief publicity asked for by the Red
Cross and the thousand other relief or.
CARNATIONS, for the war work of the Y.
NJ. c. A., for the bureau of mines and
so on to the end of very long chapter
of free publicity demands that come in
on every mail from official and semi.
official organizations-al asking for
free publicity and complete cooperation
in propaganda publicity to put across
some program. The newspapers must
draw the line somewhere. No plan the
government or its agents are making
for the conduct Of the war is made
without it being contingent upon a full
program of publicity TO be given free
of charge by the newspapers OF the ma.
ton. There is nothing that is presented
to the public that the government cares
to even undertake to put through with.
out using practically every newspaper
in the United States. II has grown TO
be a most serious matter. Business is
so closely allied with the war that much
Of the publicity carried by the news.
papers as a patriotic duty cuts off ad.
vertising revenue that the newspapers
cannot afford to lose.
Two solutions are offered. One is for
the newspapers TO charge the govern.
ment and the business firms for space
just as the men who work for the gov.
ernment charge for their services and
business houses charge for their prod.
ucts. The second is to ask the readers
to pay a greatly increased price for the
paper and the local business men %
buy more space at higher rates so that
the most important demands OF the gov.
ernment can be met. II must be one
or the other or the greater part Of the
publicity cannot be given. The Exam
iner should run at least a full page
extra day TO take care Of part Of the
demands upon IL. The Examiner would
like TO increase its standard minimum
size from six pages TO eight pages, and
donate thousands Of dollars Of free space
in addition 10 the thousands OF dollars
II has donated and will donate. The
| difficulty is that the war publicity in
oreases expenses and reduces the in
come. The problem the publisher faces
is real. Where win the demand end
Where will the publisher be IL he is
patriotic and continues TO give unstint
| ingly, while the other business interest.
are charging for their product and theii
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