The Topeka state journal., 1919-10-27
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU =
FREDERIC J. HAaKIN. Dirscssr.
wAzhingtn. .. G.
MEET OUR EDITOR AND PUB
Usher

magazine. Some businesses, like the
movie industry, have several. New
ones are constantly springing into
existence, and old ones are constantly
growing tatter and wealthier, like
American business.
A trade magazine usually consists
of a detailed account of some past
or forthcoming Industrial convention,
an eloquent denunciation of the most
recent strikes, and several flattering
of industry, sandwiched in between
extensive sections of advertising.
Month after month, this program
varies but slightly, SO that to the aver
age citizen there is nothing more
deadly uninteresting than a trade
maj agazine-unless it represents his
own trade.
But the newspaper business is un-
usual in this respect We have a very
exceptional magazine, full of pertinent
cartoons and comments, known as the
Editor and Publisher" We try to be
modest about it, bat sometimes our
| admiration gets tho best of us, and
we simply have to talk about it. For
our magazine not only encourages us
and writes sympathetic notices about
u.s. 1t does big things.
Its most recent undertaking, for in
stance, has been to prove by the la
borious collection of nation-wid data
that 1t is better to advertise in news
zines. For long time, most manu-
facturerS had the idea that it was not
that they got more for their money
from the weeklies and monthIies-
and you could not convince them that
they were wrong. With the magazine
people doing all that could be done
to encourage this superstition, it was
hard to argue people out of it. Then
the Editor and Publisher people had
an inspiration.
the whole country" they announced
doggedly, "and prove the truth of the
situation
This survey. begun with this one
idea IN view, has turned out to be q
tremendous help to American business
not only in showing it how to obtain
the most efficient advertising for it's
money, but in showing it how to dis
tribute its products most systematical-
ly. In this way, a valuable service has
also been rendered to the consumer.
because the less it costs a manufac-
turer to market his product. the less it
costs the consumer to buy it.
To illustrate: the Editor and Pub.
Usher has just completed a survey of
the state of Connecticut. 1t sent its
men all thru the state. collecting data
and canvassing business opportunities.
and this information is compiled into
a chart, which is a veritable dictionary
business in Connecticut. A brief pc
rusal of this chart, for instance, will
tell you all about the states manufac-r
turing resources. You see that, while
it is the smallest state but two in the
Union, only four other states exceed it
in density of population; that it has
fifty-two different industries; employ
ing hundreds of thousands of people;
that the income from these industries
is over five hundred million dollars a
fxxyn hun Hrnd nf
which is profit; that the leading in
dustries of the state are metal prod
ucts and textiles; that it has a large
toy industry and a firearms and am
munition industry, which in peace
time employs more than ten thousand
men.
This chart also contains all the
names of the gentlemen connected
with the various chambers of COM
merce, from l.hom you can obtain ad-
ditional information. 1t tellS\you how
many merchants, druggists and school
teachers the state has: what its trans
portation facilities are, and even the
state of industrial unrest within its
boundaries.
Now suppose you are a business
man, the manufacturer, say, of new
kind of soap. If you went over this
chart you could tell at once what the
opportunities would be for selling soap
in Connecticut. You would deduce
LndI, D01nB d SOIIlSWIldl SIlIlly
trial state. Connecticut would take
very kindly to any kind of soap. You
would know the number of drug
stores which could probably handle it.
But there is the remote possibility
that Connecticut already has enough
soap. The chart, of course, cannot tell
you that but you can write to the
chambers of commerce. and get their
individual opinions as to the soap sit
uation there.
Suppose, then. that after consider
ing all these facts, you decide that
Connecticut is a. good market for your
product. You must next consider the
problem of advertising it. Here again
the chart helps you out. 1t gives you
the names of all the daily newspapers
of the state, together with their space
rates.
Before charting New England,
state by state, the Editor and Pub
Usher made it's survey of the advertfs-
ing situation and found the following
facts: In New England there are
eighty-five newspapers with 5000 or
more of circulation. making a COM
bined circulation of over two million.
The advertiser can buy one line of
space in any of these newspapers on
10.000-line contract basis Of 1926
per line In the same territory there
are twenty-one ma agazines. having
combined circulation of one million,
charging a joint rate per line of S6.29.
In other words. the newspapers offer
the advertiser a million more circula-
/ L.