Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-05-03
TAX ON HEWSPR|NT
OPPOSED ANDURGED
At SENATE HEARING
One Sees Any Laws as fu-
tiIe-Another Sure Levy
i Would End Shortage.

I, Suggestions of Chairman Reed OF
the Senate committee Investigating
the print paper shortage that an ex-
else tax be levied on newspapers pub
fishing more than so pages were op-
posed today by F. st. Johns Richards
manager of the New York business
Office of the st. Louis Globe-Democraf
Il do not believe such tax would
work." said Mr.. Richards. 1T would
drive out of business many large
newspapers that have to publish over
fifty pages before they can show a
profit and would not affect the paper
making profit on forty-eight pa ges.
"Wouldn't the larger paper simply
have to reorganize to operate under
the new system: asked Senator
Reed.
They couldn't do it, They would
have to quit" the witness replied.
No laws Congress could pass could
remedy the situation" MIR. Richards
declared. He said the newspapers
salvation by cooperative agreements.
The Giobe-pemocrat already had
raised minimum advertising rates
from ILL., to 3a cents. daily issue
price from to ? cents. Sunday rates
from > to 10 cents and mail price sub
stantially. besides cutting the size Of
issues substantially. Mr.. Richards de-
clared
Favors Regulation by Tax.
Jason Rogers. publisher of the New
York Globe. expressed approval of
the idea of government regulation
OF print paper consumption by tax.
and suggested an additional tax on
advertisements above stipulated
size. suggesting quarter page as
the basis. He scored the large city
newspapers of the country. declaring
that they were responsible for the
paper situation and were refusing TO
cooperate in the face of Il threatened
crisis. The result was. he asserted
that the small new spapers were
facing extinction.
The remedy is to get inside of the
production" Mr.. Rogers said. 'I.egis-
1ation is needed to limit the size of
the big papers. the MASTERS and
profiteers. for that is all they are
They are using all the paper they
can get their hands on. with their
immense resources. because they can
get all the advertising they can print
and thus make money on any amount
of print paper. even at the present
prices.
THE little fellows. forced into the
open market. cannot break even"
Points to the Offenders.
There were only IS or 30 such Of
Tenders. Mr.. Rogers testified. adding
that in IS cities of the country Ill
daily papers printed 12.0OO.00O copies.
or a. per cent Of the total newspaper
circulation of the country. and "a sun
day papers sold 10000. 900 copies. Or
30 per cent of the ceuntrys total sun
day circulation.
A recent QUESTIONABLE he sent 70
all of the 400 newspapers of the
country had brought responses show
ing that so or 60 papers were entirely
without news print stock. Mr.. RoFers
said. and about the same number had
contracts for only small per cent
of this years estimated needs
To clinch his argument for drastic
reduction in size of issues. particu-
larly the Sunday additions. Mr.. Rogers
declared that an advertisement of the
Chicago Tribune last winter showed
that one Sunday edition 81 that paper
used more print paper than all the
papers in Canada used in two daily
editions.
Urges Waste by Newspapers.
r. j. McCone of the Buffalo On. Y,
Commercial. declared great quantities
OF paper we're wasted by newspapers
that deliberately threw thousands Of
copies away in order to keep circula-
ton up. He advocated the auditing Of
all circulation statements by the Post
Office Department. the. limitation of
the number Of editions ANY newspaper
could issue in one day and suitable
taxes to regulate the size or editions