Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-07-25
Page Six
BUSINESS Side OF IT
COST OF OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

Notnin9p FaVe LedIHeh '"ae NS"
Machinery Cannot Be Fiad On That
Basis.
Lancaster News.
At the South CAROLINA Press associ-
alton which met in July, 1921, w. L.
Washburn, editor of the Journal and
Review of Aiken, S. c., read a good
article on this very important subject,
but one little. appreciated and under
stood by the public. He said:
1t took the great war to kick the
country newspaper UP on a business
basis. 1t is useless to go into par
ticulars as to how it was done. We
can. see now, with clever hindsight,
that our papers were formerly priced
too low; that we sold advertising
work was practically given away, and
that all we ever got out of our bust
ness besides our mere bread and but
ter was the chance to ride on free"
pass. or walk into circus or show
without stopping at the box office.
True, some-'think" they made
profit in those days. but who among
such could show substantial depre-
citation fund for replacement Of worm
out type and machinery.
The war gave a good start toward
making business men of US; but the
war is now over, thank God, and the
question before us is: Shall we con-
tinue the good work or drop back into
the, old easy-going ruts2
To my mind the country newspaper
has glorious future. Properly run it
fills want no daily can ever supply.
1t is distinctly a home paper and is
now recognized by national advertis-
reaching their ultimate consumers. All
we have to do is to keep n stiff upper
lip, show by facts and figures that we
have the same right to live and pros
per as any business, and that no one
has any more right to tell us what we
shall charge for our goods than we
have to tell them what they shall
charge for theirs.
First we must know our cost and
then add a fair profit. Competition is
now on a fairer basis. The dead wood
has been weeded out. 1t used to be
easy to start a paper. Fifty dollars
and shoe string 'ould do it. But to-
day it is different. The complicated
machines that are necessary require
capital; and expert labor is needed to
?. operate them. These machines grad
ually wear out and our charges must
take care Of their tlpkeep and replace
ment. Our labor must be paid a hv-
ing wage-and then some, or it will
seek better fields; cheap labor is dear
at any price.
Next to labor our big item of ex-
pense is print paper. That has great
ly increased in price and is not likely
to come down to any extent. Instead
of basing our business on paper at $50
a ton we may expect it to remain
around 800 q ton for some time to
come. All this proportion of increased
expense holds good in everything that
enters into the production of our pa
pers: machinery, repairs and parts,
inks, labor and type
Now as to the subscription price:
The dollar weekly has about disap-
peared from the face of the earth. It
should not be revived. Two dollars
seems an ideal price for the average
$3.50 a year to break even. Anything
less than $500 for a semi weekly is
suicide.
AS for advertising rates, up to 1000
circulation at least 25c an inch should
be charged, and soc up to 1000.
& A solid front should be presented
against printing free advertising That
we are still begged to do so is in part
( our fault. AS long as portion of the
country press of this state accept and
print free any of the advertising sent
in the guise of reading matter, so long
will we be classed as ea3y-marks by
lHe SSuOOiS anu COlltBtS, the IllONleS,
the rich automobile and tire manufac-
turcrs, the various benevolent
So ives" the civil service and govern
mental agencies and the thousand and
one other propaganda manufacturers.
For the same matter many of these
= pay the city papers full rates, and it
seems to be a fact that no other bus
iness is asked by them to give up their
bread and butter but the country
newspaper.
-. There are two ways of charging for
advertising, the sliding scale and the
fiat rate. l use the latter. 1t is not
complicated. Any customer can esti-
mate for himself the exact cost of
running an ad. 1t is fallacy that you
should give 4 reduction to the man
fhat uses a thousand inches. That
thousand inches of white space costs
you just as much per inch to produce
as ten inches, for instance. The mo-
ment you commence to give discounts
you no longer have f1at rate and
complications cnsue. Oftimes you are
left holding the bag on uncompleted