The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1921-09-20
SENTIMENT AS LEGAL TENDER.

friendship. In our last issue We made
bold to address to Bro. Aull of The
Herald and News, what he designates
in the Sept. 18th issue of that vener.
able paper lecture on those en-.
faItes terribles of journafism-delin'
qusnt subscribers. Bro. Aull's reply
sxudes a resentment that wounds US
sore.
Bro. AulI tells US that he finds a
tsgood deal of sentiment in the taking
End paying for and reading of the
home paper" Where these dealings
have extended over SIS years, as is
the case with Bro. Aull and his read.
ers, II can be easily understood why
This is so. Possibly Bro. AuA knows
half Of his subscribers by their first
names. Such a knowledge tends to
eliminate the impersonal attitude of
tie average publisher toward sub
scribers he has never seen and is,
Withal, very valuable.
A seemly amount of sentiment In
business, as Bro. Aull observes, is a
good thing. We would that it were
more general in the marts Of trade.
But the printers, jobbers and others
that we deal with are a mercenary
lot. They refuse to accept it as coin
Df the realm. Should we ask that a
bill be receipted because we enter
tained sincere regard for the cred
itor, tits extremely likely that we
would be informed instanter that we
had the wrong pig by the tail. How
ever, this is by way Of preamble.
What we started out to say is that
Bro. Aull holds our policy toward de-
Mnquents to be the right one. Com
ing from a veteran in the game his
words should carry conviction. He
says:
''The Standard editor is correct
from purely business point of view,
and if you are going to live in this
dge and make anything you will be
almost obliged to adopt the cold
bfooded business methods Of the age
or be run over."-Saluda Standard.
We are sorry if we wounded you,
because the sentiment that we preach
and that we endeavor to practice is
not the kind that wounds. And we
did not purpose to "exude" any re
sentiment" That is not our nature.
We are convinced more and more
each day that this old world would be
/ great deal better place in which to
i've, if there were more sentiment OF
the right sort, and that is what we
tried to impress. Sentiment may not
Be the right word, but we mean to
say that the world would be much
better place if we had more OF the
rright sort of feeling for and toward
our !fellowman. # each of US would
sndeavor in our dealings with our
9sIlownan to- make an effort to- put
oulsr.seH in the other fellows place
when we came to deal with him, and
Il I'VE would sometimes stand on the
corner and look at ourself go by.
But of course in the business world
Il is necessary to the success of the
business we are trying to run that we
apply at least some business methods,
Ind the trouble with the old time
country publisher and editor has al
ways been that he did not run his
business on any sort of business
methods. He never looked upon his
space, the only thing he had to sell, as
cf sany value, or at least not IN the
sense that the merchant views his
merchandise. He too often argued
With himself that he had to I'LL MS
space and if he could not get living
usrice he would take what he could get
It is true that space is different from
merchandise in at least one very ma
terial particular, if you do not sell 1t
for the current issue it does not re-
main on your shelves. 1t is important
in this age to apply some sort OF pet
Ter business methods than we have
been applying, or we will all go out
f business. And we repeat that the
standard is correct, the only business
method of handling the subsc1ptlor
list is to get the price in advance.
When the paper has been read 1t Is
sometimes difficult and much harder
to pay for it than before it IS read
And we are going to adopt ana foilo"
as closely as we can the cash IN ao-
vance system of handling the list.
We come pretty near having person
a acquaintance with all our county
subscribers, and the ones we DO not