Year: 1876

/ men, 'snews agencies" so called, who really


seem to imagine that the newspapers exist


for their benefit and by their toleration, and


that the reading public has no rights which


these monopolists are bound to respect In


their present opposition to the HERALD tney
assume TO dictate not only the price at which
| newspaper shall be sold to them, but
| also what additional price the retail
dealers and the readers shall be COM
| PEELED to pay to them, the middle


men. They are very willing to get
| their papers at reduced rate from us,


but they refuse to make reduction to their
| customers and to the public. They insist
on exacting four cents for paper which we
| sell them at two and a half cents, and thus
they aim by combining together, to force
every reader of the HERALD who buys OF
| them to pay them one and half cents profit
| on each paper. Fortunately for the reading
public it does not depend upon these mid
dlemen what the readers Of the HERALD shall
pay for it. A great metropolitan journal is
too powerful to be controlled in that way.
1t cannot afford to live under such q menace


as is implied in the present attitude of these
news agencies.


The great news agencies started from very


humble beginnings but in the course of
years, and by swallowing up rivals, crushing


out small dealers and forming combinations


SO as to occupy the whole market they have


become wealthy and powerful corporations.


The reading public is scarcely aware OF their


existence; and yet it is forced to pay tribute


to them with every purchase of daily,


weekly or monthly journal. Originally very


useful and harmless persons these corpora
tions have for some years SO enlarged their
enterprises that they are now foolishly am
bilious to control the whole periodical market.
They undertake the distribution of whole
editions of important weekly Journals; we
believe we are not mistaken in saying that


the larger part of the editions Of most Of the
illustrated papers now reach the small deal


ers and the readers through the hands of
these monopolist middlemen. For some
years past whenever it was proposed to
establish new weekly paper here, it has


been thought necessary, first of all, to propi-


tiate the news agencies; aud to propitiate


them means to allow them temptingly large


margin of profit as against the readers and


buyers-that is to say, the public. 1t is natu-


raj, under the circumstances, that this power,


which has become monopoly, should be


abused. At one of their meetings they went


so far as to offer to dictate on what day Mr..


Bonner should issue his widely circulated


Ledger Some years ago they actually de-


IaI hot fha trih huttO of <ho yv,o1


metropolitan morning press should be


placed in their hands; and it is very we'll


known that there are now weekly journals


which exist by their tolerance, because they


are the distributors, and which they could


ruin if they wished. They have even inter-


fered with postal legislation in Congress.


Mr.. Jewell had to meet their demands when


he undertook to frame new and more liberal


regulations for the distribution Of printed


matter.


This is not an entirely new phenomenon.


Some time ago Smith 4 Co., English news


agents, made an extravagant demand upon


the London Times, an attempt similar to


that now made against the HERALD, to inter-


fere with its business but the great English





the arrogant pretensions. 1t could not


afford to do otherwise, and the HERALD will
do no less. It is resisting these monopolists
not only in the interest of the reading
public, for whose benefit it has made the re-
duction in its price, but in the interest Of
the retail dealers and of the whole metro
politan press--in fact, of the press Of the
country at large, which has been made
to feel the oppression and dictatorial spirit
of these fat middlemen. In its fight with
these corporations and combinations of
| newsdealers it has the sympathy, prudently


unexpressed, of multitude of newspapers
daily and weekly--who have become so far


subject to this monopoly that open resist
ance is to them very inconvenient, and in
many cases dangerous We have the open
| sympathy also of a multitude of honest, in
dustrious and expert newsdealers, who have
been brought into subjection to this un-


scrupulous monopoly, and many of whom
see themselves threatened with ruin if
they refuse to submit to exactions


which are scandalously unjust The news
agent monopolists have crushed out snnll
and useful industries by their tyranny;
they have taken the bread from the mouths
| of many industrious distributors of newspa-
pers, and either entirely destroyed their
! business or compelled them to become
| agents of the monopoly.


We do not interfere in anybodys bus-
| ness, but we do not mean to submit to
| interference in our own. 1t is preposterous
that little knot of monopolists should
persume to dictate to us at what price we


shall sell the HERALD to the public, or at


what price the public shall buy it.


AN APPEAL FROM MEXICAN JAn-we


have received, by telegraph from Browns