The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1922-10-19


can afford to take the time, if he had
the inclination, newspaper ability, to-
make a newspaper pay its way. It
seems almost foolish TO mention facts
that are so patent to real newspaper
workers, but the idea persists with
many people that a newspaper is
thrown together in a hap-hazard way,
that the investment is small, that the
income, outgo are considerable, that
the newspaper business is the one
business that is not a business at all,
but merely a happy event. All news
paper Offices are alike except that
some of them are more so. Every
day a food of letters pours into the
Office, an appropriate number of care
fully worded and carefully considered
replies has to pour out. Some of these
letters give quotations on advertising
or job printing that involve large
sums of money, others may have an
important bearing on the future of
the newspaper. Every waking min
ute must be devoted, consciously or
uncOnsciously, to looking out for the
news that must be published in that
particular newspaper, the other
classes Of news that are likely to
prove useful in holding, building cir
culation if they can be gathered and
presented. Then the advertising de-
partment of a newspaper must have
never tagging attention. Practically
every advertisement changes every
issue. Go over an issue of any good
newspaper, count the advertisements.
Think Of the work, preparing the
copy for them. Each one must be
exactly correct in size, must be pro-
perly placed in the paper. Many of
them contain prices, accuracy is
necessary. 1t. is not an easy task to
get all of the copy into Office long
enough before publication to get the
copy read, the type set, the proof
read, submitted, the forms made up
in time to begin the press work. Of
course, a number of people take part
in these activities, but suppose they
were all working at cross purposes,
without an absolute system of pro-
cedure carefully followed every hour
of every day. 1t is the business of
the publisher to spend his days, often
portions of his nights perfecting the
system, making its cogs function
properly with the intelligent assist
ance, cooperation of those associated
with him. Then there is the collec-
ton department. More than 5000
open accounts, pretty heavy Satur-
sional carload of paper, taxes, insur-
ance, light, heat, power bills, neces-
sity to buy very expensive piece of
machinery occasionally. If the right
hand side of the cash book gets too
far ahead of the left hand side the
sheriff is called in and a receiver ap-
pointed. Good night! The publisher
of newspaper is not the only person
in business who has important prob
lens to solve, sometimes tremendous
difficulties to overcome, but he has no
time to play around with any other
+ job. The measure of his success is
determined, if his newspaper is sit
uated in a field that offers opportun-
ity for success, by his health, his abil-
ity to work long hours, his common
sense, his ability to stick to a thing
until it is finished. This openmind-
edness. If he has the other qualifica-
tons he will get the education he
needs or change to some other line of
business. Frank Edgecomb, in Hia-
watha, Kansas, World.