The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1920-03-18
WASTE PAPER PROBLEM.
Elimination of Space Grafters Would
Help Solution.

Help SOlutlOn.
The chairman of the house post
office committee has written to news
paper publishers throughout the
country asking to reduce consumption
of news print ten per cent. because
of the acute paper shortage, and at
the same time reminding publishers
that the committee has before it va
rious bills to restrict the size of pub
lications because of the paper short
age.
All of this may be very we'll and
may result in some measure in re-
lieving the situation. But if the gov
ernment is going into the paper saw
ing business we would like to suggest
an additional field in which we be-
lieVe it could labor with very salts
factory result. That field lies in the
great avalanche of propaganda" of
almost ten thousand various hues,
which is constantly moving through
the channels of the post Office de-
partment, choking the mails and
hindering the handling of the import
ant matter. While it would not be
possible to prohibit the mailing of
such Junk" it does seem that some
sort of repressive measure might be
adopted which would discourage the
sending of all this Junk through
the mails, and when that had been
done there would naturally be less
white paper devoted to the printing
of this propaganda.
No one who has not worked about
newspaper office realizes the tremen-
dous volume of publicity matter
sent through the mails every day to
the newspapers throughout the coun-
try. In this connection the Charlotte
Observer has an interesting editorial
setting forth some interesting facts
regarding this same subject. 1t fol-
lows:
Major Conrad, chief of what is
known as the Recruiting Publicity
Bureau for the United States army, at
New York, recently had his curiosity
aroused over the fact that only
small fraction of the matter he was
sending out to the newspapers found
it's way in print. He originate a
questionnaire intended TO bring out a
line of information, and in reply he
heard from about 1000 papers. The
answers were convincing. Reduced
to composite form they indicated
that the newspaper offices were re-
ceiving "boxes, barrels and car
loads" of free publicity stuff, Of
which less than. one-half of one per
cent. was used; that 2.75 per cent. of
it was unfit for putting into print
unless rehashed; that as for news
value, now and then raisin is
found in it; and that there should be
"another Volstead act for suppress
sion of near and unpaid publicity"
Whereupon, the Major is moved to
throw up his hands and quit the
waste in paper and postage. after
turning in our dark lantern, our gum
galoshes, our false face and our
skeleton keys" he advises the edi-
tors, I'VE renounce membership IN
the Space Grabber's Union and will
hereafter endeavor to lead an hon
est, straight forward life" Major
Conrad's experience in gathering in
formation about the free advertising
scheme in it's various forms ought to
have general circulation for the bene-
fit of other publicity bureaus" The
newspaper Offices of the country sim
ply cast away tons of this sort OF
stuff during the course of year, and
yet the bureau seems hard to dis
| courage The Observer can recall
several agencies that persist in vast
ing paper and spending postage al
though not in any instance has any
| of their matter has been used in this
office. And if Major Conrad could
break into The Congressional Rec
ord with his QUESTIONABLE and the
answers, the enlightening effects
might result in national good.-An-
derson Daily Mail.