Newspaper Page Text
rate, but get more advertising than it gets now and cut off the loss on!
print paper.
My own newspaper judgment is that there is a field for just such aJ
daily in Chicago, and that Schaffer will be more independent than he is
now, with a good chance to make the Post financially successful. It would
at once take the Post out-of competition with the News, Journal and Amer
ican, and Schaffer could sit on the sidelines and wath the three others
scrap to a finish. For it wouldn't make any difference to Schaffer then
whether Lawson kept the News at 1 cent or raised his price to 2 cents.
If Schaffer manes the Post an up
per-class organ and gets as readers
all who are interested in music, liter
aturej art. theatricals, finance and
society, he ought to-be .able to hold
40,000 circulation at least, and ad
vertising appealing to that class of
purchasers would be worth every
cent the Post charges now. I think,
too, that this class has a right to
have an organ of its own, as well as
the working class has and some of
the working class is interested in
music, art, literature and the drama.
The real music lovers generally sit
in the gallery at grand opera any
how. Besides there isn't much chance
for the Post to compete successfully
with the' News 'and American unless
Schaffer spends a barrel of money. ,
For the six months ending Sept
30 last the sworn circulation of the'
evening loop dailies was as follows:
News, 431,189; American, 400,031;
Journal, 122,447; Post, 61,879. The
Post has spent a lot of money and
got ont a pretty good newspaper
since it abandoned its exclusive field,
but it made a mistake in jumping
into the general field, and the in
creased cost of white paper may be
a blessing to the Post instead of a
calamity.
If the Post makes this move there
will be then two Chicago dailies fill
ing exclusive fields, 'The Day Book
and the Post and there is little
danger at present of any competition
in the adless fields I'm not afraid
that either Lawson, Hearst or East
man will decide to refuse advertis
ing; and I wouldn't sl a. .page in
The Day Book for twfcfe What Law
son charges in'the News. -i
Lawson is sitting tight in Chicago,
but he has been busy for months' on
the outside, trying to solve the paper
problem by getting newspapers all
over the country to put down paper
consumption. Early last summer
Lawson called a hurry-up meeting of
the New York publishers together in
New Yerk city, arid on Aug. 1 got
them to send the following telegram
to publishers all over the country:
"At an emergency meeting of rep
resentatives of New York newsDa-
pers, in this city today, called at the
suggestion of Victor F. Lawson of
Chicago, to devise some means to re
duce the consumption of white paper,
since a number of daily newspapers
in every part of the country whose
contracts are about to expire are ac
tually threatened with suspension of
publication because of the inability
of mills anywhere to supply paper,
we unite in urging you to join with
us in the most drastic efforts to cur
tall consumption and, to that.end, to
cut off all returns of unsold copies,
country (or city, so that production
will be reduced to the actual needs of
the public. This we have done. Please
wire reply to L. B. Palmer, American
-Newspaper Publishers' association,
World Building, New York City."
Since that time hundreds of news
papers have cut off returns, ex
changes and free copies, "and many
have increased the price. In New
York city alone Consumption has
been cut several hundred tons a
week. An effort is being made also
to get the big Sunday papers tp put
down the number of pages.
Publishers also started a .war fund
to protect themselves oti. white -d
