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Newspaper Page Text
'NINE STATE STREET STORES MAKE OR BREAKS CHICAGO DAILY NEWSPAPERS" paper. In this city that morning paper is the Tribune and the after noon paper is the News. Either .of these papers would be killed if the State street stores should take out all their advertising for a number of years. "The Tribune, for instance, has1 a mass of Advertising outside of de partment stores. But the Big Nine contribute only about 25 per cent of the Tribune's total of advertising. J 5Tet this 25 per cent is the backbone Df the Tribune's income. "The little fellows want their ads in alongside the big fellows. The big ' department store ads are surrounded by the ads of little fellows. And the little fellows specify that this shall be done. Sometimes they are will ing even to pay extra for such space. So the newspaper that doesn't carry the ads of the Big Nine has a hard time getfing the little fellows. "Foreign advertisers ask how you stand with your home folks. They say: 'We advertise with the news papers that stands strongest at home.' This condition throws still I more power into the hands of the Big Nine. ' "For some reason or other, there ' are not in 'Chicago the special inter- ' ests or the individuals who want J newspaper power as is the case in New York. There the morning and-3 evening Sun is kept up by financial ' interests as a weapon to strike back ' at those who harass them. "The Press is maintained by Frank Munsey. He has a string of maga-J zines, several trust companies and a : chain of 70 grocery stores.- He finds a newspaper in New York useful to his business. He doesn't make, any money out of it. But indirectly it ' does pay him. " t "The New York Tribune is a play- thing for the son of Whitelaw Reid. The Reid family is worth about thirty , A veteran Chicago publisher who doesn't want his name used said to a Day Book reporter: "The nine State street stores con trol the newspaper situation in Chi cago. They make or break a paper. "It is their withholding of adver tising that is responsible for the pres ent financial troubles of the Record Herald and Inter-Ocean. The situa tion is a logical development follow ng the purposes of business. "So far as the State street stores are concerned, I don't believe they have ever organized and discriminat ed against any daily newspaper. They are doing the same thing in Chicago which is done by department siures iii uuier ciues. luey are teu teriner their annronriations on one morning paper and one afternoonti c-r forty millions and can easily stand'' Is the deficit each year. "in Chicago no special interests or j enthusiastic individuals wno nice me power that goes with ownership of " an established newspaper have come forward to get the Inter-Ocean or ' t Record-Herald. "If the business men let the" R.-H. " and the l.-O. die it will leaye the '' morning ffeld controlled by the' Tribune and Andy Lawrence. I am hoping that the business men of the " city will recognize that there ought to be a third paper -which can cojsn- bat the Tribune and Examiner in case fj) those two should join on something" that business doesn't want. , "There is an association of State street department stores, but they-" have never joined in any attempt to influence newspapers by the joint in- sertion or withdrawal of advertising. w They do join together in fighting such ' guerilla attacks as those of Ban-atf " O'Hara. But in actual business they ' are wolves fighting among each other - for the business along the street " -. "They act 'jointly on their spring ' openings, for instance. They get Xar ig ja