The Carlisle independent., 1920-02-26
CONGRESS SHOULD CURE THE PRINT PAPER FAMINE IF THE BIG NEWSPAPERS
 DO NOT

on Congress, and Congress is under obligation to these smaller papers and tv lei elientele to consider their oa7e carefully and to a t judiciously but positively in their behalf.
 The large papers in the big cities have, to certain extent, the same difficulties as the small pape = throughout the country. But the |" e ct opolitan newspapers have the resources to overcome these diff ficultities and get paper at whatever 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 want, and very much more than they need, without regard to the hardships which their course imposes upon the smaller pa- pers throughout the country. The Hearst papers are, of course, the largest publishing institution in the country and use, because of their number and because of their domi- nant circulation, great deal of print 1 paper.
 But the Hearst papers have been very conservative in the use of this paper. They have drastically reduced the size of their daily issues and of l their Sunday issues, even when their metropolitan competitors were reck- l 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 met ropolitan dailies reckless in the use of print paper, and it is not even fair to those metropolitan dailies who are conservative in the use of print paper and anxious not to impose un- necessary difficulties on smaller pa- pers to have no restrictions upon these Coal Oil Johnnies" of journal ism who are burning up paper with out reason and, for that matter, with out result
 The Hearst papers, therefore. ad- wise the Congressional committee dealing with this subject to proceed boldly to put some proper limitation upon the size of the newspapers until this print paper shortage is over, pos sibly for the period of one year.
 Con@ress, of course. should proceed autiously, so as to not to iniure any newspapers, but it can ass :, 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 de- te,mine what goes into a newspaper. It should not decide whether the space that a newspaper is allowed should be devoted to advertising or to edito- rial or to news or to special features or to what.
 But it could very probably 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 twenty-four pages on week days and seventy two pages on Sun- day-giving them, as is right, three times as many pages for the Sunday periodical as they allowed for thei, newspaper.
 Congress should have no constitu- tional authority to limit the size oi 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 twenty-foul pages in the week day editions and seventy-two pages in the Sunday edi- tions; allowing the owners of the newspapers to devote those pages tc whatever matter they pleased-want advertisements, display advertise ments, news articles, pictures, special articles or what not, but restricting the papers to given number ot pages.
 This would undoubtedly reduce the consumption of print paper cOnsid- erably and relieve the stress on small CT papers throughout the country.
 But if it did not sufficiently relieve proceed later further to limit the number of pages.
 When we hear of papers suspend. ing all over the country, and wher there is possibly a railroad strike coming on and the. transportation oi everything, including excess paper will be difficult, there is no reasoT why Congress should not take tht situation boldly in hand and proceed very fairly, but very firmly, to solve it.
 William Randolph Hearst