The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1920-04-30
ANSWER THIS
Shall a Labor Paper Accept
Advertising?

What is successful weekly news
paper?
Is it a paper that merely comes out
every week because it has a treasury
to meet the printers bills and gives its
promoters and editorial staff the pleas
ure of reading what they write; or is it
a paper that, through its able manage
ment, is able to get the proper circu-
lation and through that, get its quota
of advertising, which furnishes the
money to pay the printing Of same
A weekly paper to have any influ-
ence at all, MUST have a fairly good
circulation. 1t MUST reach the rank
and file of Labor and it MUST keep
getting new readers or its influence
is naught
Anyone having any experience in
the newspaper game, knows that cir
culation, at the best, is a losing prop
osition, and the more circulation
paper gets the more money it loses
unless it sells a certain amount of
advertising space, which enables it to
make up the loss on its circulation
and pay the many other items neees
sary to make a modern weekly news
paper a success.
Some Of the theoretical sentimental
lists believe that a newspaper which
accepts advertising cannot be true to
the principles it represents; especially
is this true Of some laboring men who
believe that q labor paper which ac-
cepts advertising cannot truly cham
pion the cause of trade unionism As
matter Of fact, these theoretical
sentimentalists have no facts with
which to back up their theory, while
we have many instances to prove
where some of the best journals, labor
papers and magazines, accepting any
and all advertising, yet at the same
time remain true to the principles they
represent, and thoroughly champion
their cause.
For illustration, The Appeal to Rea-
son. published at Girard, Kas., with a
circulation of more than 100000, ac-
cepts advertising, medical ads, fair or
unfair ads, and we believe that any
reader of The Appeal to Reason win
agree with us that it is one of the
most radical Socialist papers in Amer
lea, and no one can accuse that paper
Of changing its editorial policy on ac-
count of its advertising matter.
The Seattle Union Record, daily
labor paper, published at Seattle
Washington, with a reputation of be
ing one of the most militant labor pa
pers in America, accepts advertising
and in one of its late issues it accepted
an advertisement from the Tailors
Employers Association Of Seattle
whose employees were on strike. This
advertisement gave the employers
side of the story as to why the strike
was on, and when the strikers protest
ed against this ad, appearing in a
labor paper, owned and controlled by
Organized Labor, the editor of this
paper, in his defense replied editor
ially that he believed in a free press
and in his opinion the trust press
ought to be willing to accept any adj
vertisement that Organized Labor
would be willing to pay for, and when
the trust press refuses to accept an
advertisement that pleads in behalf Of
Labor. it proves its unfairness, there
fore it is proper and fair for a labor
paper to accept an advertisement
from the employers, in which they
give their side of the story. Any
reader of the Seattle Union Record
will agree with US that because the
Seattle Union Record accepts adver-
tising, as stated by it's editor, the edi-
torial policy Of the paper has never
changed one iota.
The Philadelphia Trade Unionist is
the biggest weekly labor paper pub
ished in America sixteen pages
every week. This paper is owned by
Organized Labor of that city, and il
accepts all advertising, Bull Durham
or anything else. Anyone that reads
this paper will agree with US that i
is a good labor paper, and is trae
champion Of real trade unionism.
The American Federationist, the
only real official organ Of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor, and edited
by Samuel Gompers, accepts advertis-
ing, and by glancing through its