Jasper County Democrat, Volume 23, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 June 1920 — WHAT WE ARE UP AGAINST [ARTICLE]

WHAT WE ARE UP AGAINST

Increase In • Subscription Rates of The Democrat Is Inevitable. 1 It now seems almost inevitable that The Democrat will have to increase both Its subscription and ao vertising rates again in the very near future. This move will probably be necessary in order to make both ends of the business meet. The print paper situation is worse now than it was a few weeks ago even, and the following leder received Thursday froim the paper house from whom we have been buying our print paper for the past few years will show the reader just what the newspaper publisher is up against at this time: Indianapolis, Ind., June 23, 1920. F. E. Babcock, Jasper County Democrat, Rensselaer, Ind. Dear Sir—ln repiy to your inquiry would say that we have a car of sheet news wnieh left the mill June 11th, from which we could supply you at . , 15%c per lb. f. o. b. Ind pls. The car will be in within the nexc few days and we would ask you to advise by return mail in case you wish to place your order, as most of the car is already sold. When -one considers that three years ago we were buying our print paper at 2.45 per cwt., and less than a year ago bought 10 tons at $4.25, the meaning of $15.50 per cwt. now, almost four times the price one year ago, will begin to “sink in.” • Of the supply received last fall, when we still 'had a few tons on hand, we have about enough left to last until Sept. 1 to 15. The next supply will cost us about 16 cents per pound laid down in Rensselaer, or $320 per ton. We use about one ton per month, which means $3,840 per year, or almost precisely the amount we receive from all subscriptions, not counting anything for labor, postage or delivery. It is obvious that we cannot long survive in business on any such “break” as this, and there is no prospect of prices of paper coming down. In fact it is going higher all the time and may reach 20 to 25 cents a pound. City papers have raised their subscription prices several times, more than< doubling th&lr old rates and in most cases tripling them. The country papers have not done this, none that we know of having raised more than 50 cents to $1 per year, and The* Democrat has raised but 50 cents in the past four years. It is now being sent twice-ar-week for the same money that all the other papers published once a week are charging. The same situation confronts the printer on all sides— type, Inks, job papers, etc., are “oht of sight in price and are continually climbing. Heavy purchases of both news and job inks and job paper stocks enable us to continue this branch of the business with little advance in prices over one year ago, although the wholesale prices on all this line has advanced tremendously during the past few months. It is our' desire to keep prices down as low as we possibly can, until business adjusts itself to a settled standard, and to this end we ask our patrons to be prompt in paying their bills —either for subscription, job printing or advertising. We shall not advance Uie subscription price of The Democrat until Sept. 1 at least, but unless renewals are made promptly the names of an subscribers not paying win be

dropped from our list. We aim to send notice of expiration of subscription to all subscribers, and unless a prompt remittance is made the paper will be discontinued to their address. Watch the date on the label of your paper, and if your subscription is about to expire, send in a renewal without waiting for a reminder from us.