Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-12-01
DEADHEADlNG BUSINESS

Lying on the EDITORS desk Is a communication from
one OF the numerous government boards. which conveys
the interesting Information that on December 10. there
will be opened at the boards office in Boston bids for the
purchase Of certain government material, to-wit: Several
thousand pounds Of strip brass, width, thickness. place
Of manufacture and SO forth all designated, and that all
bids must be in accordance with regulations which are
set forth III several hundred. words.
This communication. Is similar to others which arc
received every day. sometimes several in-one day, invit-
Ing bids on surplus government property which has beer
accumulated at stations all over. the country, and which
the sovernment is trying to turn into cash. The ma
teriai Is Of many kinds, strip brass, empty shells, xun
metal, and miscellaneous. The government has the stuff.
left on its hands when the fighting was over, and Its
efforts to dispose Of It for what it can get are entirely
.praiseworthy.<
Presumably every daily paper in the United states
receives bushels OF such notices, and we know Of no
reason why the. weekltes should not be equally honored.
Perhaps thsy arc. And we have no doubt that the same
thing happens to them in practically all casss-they arc
dumped into the waste basket
We take It that whoever IL in charge Of this branch
Of government publicity does not expect that thesnews-
papers. themselves Will be large purchasers Of the bulk
metals which the government has. accumulated. The
average newspaper might ind iuee for a couple sfi empty
ssshelAlA.S OF. even a dssnnounted canyon or two. but is pur-
chasss would DO no great relief to the government. In
I'll probability the information ts supplied to the news
papers in the sxpectauon that they wifi pass. It on 60
their readers They don't do It III
II The Herald were to use all OF the material Of this
kind which comes to 1t from government sources. it
would have to increase the size Of each issue by several
pages. a matter Of some consequence in the present state
Of the. paper market. And those pages would>lae filled
with stuff which would not<b Of the remotest interest to
one in q thousand Of its readers. Its publication would
be an utter waste, 1pd its distribution under the present
methods is equally . waste.
Tons of paper and thousands of envelopes are used
up in the process. clerks ar. Kept busy preparing the
copy and mailing the circulars. Postage is not charged
on the circulation. but the circulation costs money, never
theless. And all this expense. whatever it amounts to.
gets right back to the fellows who pays the taxes.
A reputable private business concern does not do
business that way. II 1t has goods to sell it advertises
them directly in publications which circulate among pos
sible and probable purchasers, and 1t pays its postage
and advertising bills and charges the cost up Is q legi-
innate and necessary business expense. If the govern
ment were to devote a small fraction Of the money which
it squanders on futile efforts to get free advertising where
the advertising could do 1t no possible good. to business
like advertising placed in a bustness-like way It would
get results which It does not get now, and would have
scads Of money left
- -E EAEtT&&