Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-02-25
PAPER AND THE BIG DAILIEs

PAPER AND THE BIG DAILIES
 The smaller papers throughout the country are in dire distress because of the scarcity of print paper and the high prices that are charged them for such print paper as they Ncan get, says ". R. Hearst in the New York American.
 These smaller papers are calling upon congress, and congress is under obligation to these smaller papers and to their clientele to consider their ease carefully and to act iudiciously but positively in their behalf.
 The large papers in the big cities have, to certain extent, the same difficulties as the small papers throughout the country. But the large metropolitan newspapers have the resources to overcome these dit- faculties and to get paper at what ever price may be asked.
 Unfortunately, it may be said of most of these large metropolitan newspapers that they are in no way concerned at the difficulties of their smaller country brethren. and that they go ahead recklessly using all the print paper they wantA and very much more than they need, without regard tos the hardships which their course imposes upon the smaller pap CTS throughout the country.
 The Hearst papers are, of course, the largest publishing institution m the country and use, because of their number and because of their domic- ant circulation, great deal of print paper.
 But the Hearst papers have been very conservative in the use of thls paper. They have drastically reduced the size of their daily issues and. of their Sunday issues, even when their metropolitan competitors were recS- lessly using all the paper they could get their hands on.
 It is not just and fair, then, to the country papers to have certain metropolitan dailies reckless in the use. of print paper, and it not even fair to those metropolitan dailies whc are conservative in the use of print paper and anxious not to impose un- necessary difficulties on smaller papers to have no restrictions upon these "Coal Oil Johnnies" of journal. ism who are burning up paper with out reason and, for that matter without result.
 The Hearst papers, therefore, ad- wise the congressional committed dealing with this subject to proceed boldly to put some proper limitation upon the size of newspapers until this print paper shortage is ovsr possibly for the period of one year.
 Congress, of course, should proceed cautiously, so as not to injure any newspapers, but it can rest assured that what some metropolitan news papers have done in the way of con serving print paper other metropoli- tan newspapers can easily do.
 Congress should not attempt to determine what goes into news paper. It should not decide whether the space that newspaper is allow ed should be devoted to advertising or to editorial or to news or to spec ial features or to what.
 But it could very properly decide what size of paper should be sent through the mails-in other words, how many pages should be permitted in each issue.
 It would be no hardship at all upon metropolitan newspapers to confine them to "A pages on weekdays and S72 pages on Sunday giving them. as is right, three times as many pages l0k Ine GuH0dy IEh1ODiSAL dS tNSy are allowed for their daily NEWS PAPER.
 Congress should have no constitu- tionsl authority to limit the size of newspapers except in so far as they are carried through the mails.
 But the post office department un- doubtedly could refuse to accept newspapers whose regular editions contained more than "A pages in the weekday editions and 72 pages in tbe Sunday editions; allowing the owners of the newspapers to dcvots tbQse pages to whatever matter thes Il9Sied want alyertisments, displsa 31Vertiscments, new articles, pic < fSes, special articles or what not bilt festricting the papers to giver 1albber of pages.
 < xhis would undoubtedly reduce th' 2 Snlpptien of print paper consider