PART THREE
PAGES 25 TO 3
VOL. XLIV.
- POBTLAMD, OBEGON, MONDAY, JANUARY 2, 1905.
NO. 13,749.
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I
The Oregonian Newspaper
The Field It Covers; Its Standing
as a Great Paper. By E. G. Jones.
THE OREGONIAN ivaa established 1
December 4, 1550. The success theu
paper has since attained Is cred-'!
lted to the efforts of two men, H. I,
Plttock and H. "W. Scott. The monument
of contemporary times to this success is
The Oreeonlan as It is today, and the
modern Oregonian building, one of 'the
finest and best-appointed buildings occu
pied by any paper In tho United States.
The monument that -will stand for. all
time to commemorate tho consummation
of the efforts of the builders of The
Oregonian property will be a place In tho
annals of the prominent factors that have
contributed tho most to the growth .and
the development of the promising part of
the United States that has been the seat
of their enterprise.
The irTy nistory or The Oregonian is '
a record of Intensity of struggle, and a
story of Inadequacy of compensation.
Prom the nucleus of a modest beginning
of tho smallest of Weekly newspaper
plants, Tho Oregonian has steadily grown
until today it commands a prominence
even beyond the claims of the city in
which It is published. It is here that
is found the keynote to Tho Oregonlan's
success. The paper at every stage of its
career has been kept abreast of the
times; Indeed, at all times Its progress
has been In advance of tho progress of
the community In which it is published.
Many cities of half a million population
or more do not support a paper of the
extent and range of Tho Oregonian. Pa
pers published in cities of the East, of
tho population and commercial promi
nence of Portland, are provincial in their
makeup, and they attain to no promi
nence outside of the immediate fields in
which they circulate. The Oregonian is
metropolitan in appearance. Its Influence
is felt over the entire field in which It
is read, a country that today contains a
population in excess of 1.M0.OO0. and its
utterances are of National Importance so
Xar that its opinions are made the sub
ject of regular comment by the greatest
papers of the country. Among thebest
Judges of newspaper properties The Ore
gonian occupies a place among the first
20 of the leading papers ox America,
All greatness Is approximate, just as all
goodness never reaches beyond the
bounds of approximate virtue. The limi
tations of human endeavor do not crown
tho efforts of man, or the institutions
founded by man. with more than an ap
proach to the Ideal. It is not claimed for
the men who have builded The Oregonian
that their courso in the conduct of The
Oregonlan's affairs has been entirely
free from error. The poople of Portland,
however, who are most familiar with the
causes which have made the prominence
of The Oregonlan's position today, will
admit without protest that tho course
of The Oregonlan's management, look
ing to the greatest benefit of the com
munity whose interests tho paper has so
ably served, has been consistently for
the right.
Tho Oregonlan's courso has not always
been free from popular criticism. It
may be well in this connection to reflect
that detraction sometimes not only offers
an incentive for continued effort In right
lines of thought or action, but unwitting
ly on the part of tho detractor, detrac
tion itself is reo.uently a commenda
tion of right effort In tho face of bias of
individual adverse opinion. . In no field
of endeavor does this apply with greater
force than it does to tho criticism of the"
policy of a great newspaper. Adverse
criticism is often founded on motives of
prejudice or on tho promptings .of self
interest. Occupying" as It does u position
foremost in the public's attention, no
leading paper may hope to escape the
annoyance and Incidental worry of fre
quent popular criticism. And yet the
Issue of every fight made by The Ore
gonian on matters of vital Importance to
the public's welfare must have convinced
the readers of this paper that tho utter
ances of The Oregonian are dictated by
the policy of right and justice. People
of Portland generally recognize that The
Oregonian under Its present management
will remain a mainstay for the higher
Intellectual development of the country
which has been the seat of the paper's
popularity.
Tho readers of The Oregonian will dis
tinctly recall the memorable events pre
ceding the first election of aJoKijktey &&j
President of the United States. It was a
time when men's minds wer vexed by
the perplexing issues that had brought the
entire country to the verge of financial
disaster and ruin. In seeking a remedy
for conditions that were unbearable, the
people, whose passions were fed Into
flame by tho exhortations of charlatans
and political fakers generally, arose prac
tically en masse, -with the demand that
our monetary standards be readjusted on
the basis of free and unlimited coinage
ot silver, all silver coins by statutory
enactment to be on a par with gold coins
of the same stamped value. It was at
this point that, single-handed among the
editors of the Pacific Coast, H. TV. Scott,
of The Oregonian, took up the memo
rable fight against free silver, a fight that
made the nine of Mr. Scott and The Ore
gonian famous throughout the 'United
States. And people do not ask today,
"What was the result of this fight? The re
sult is a matter of record, not only in the
history of Oregon Journalism, but in the
history of Journalism of America. And
this result was an honorable one. Just as
the result of every great fight of The
Oregonian on National Issues has paved
the way for the higher advancement of
tho people whose interests the paper has
served during the more than half-century
of its existence.
So much may be said for the course of
The Oregonian 'that is a matter of public
record. In the conduct of Its affairs as a
business institution and It must not be
forgotten that primarily every great news
paper plant is a business enterprise the
most signal ability has been shown by the
management in forecasting results that
have contributed directly, not only to the
success of the paper Itself, but equally in
as direct a manner to the benefit of the
people of tho Pacific Northwest, who have
looked to The Oregonian for an efficient
and a full news service of the world's
events. The management has recognized
the wisdom of the aphorism that, the In
terests of the buyer and seller are at all
times founded on a reciprocal basis. No
business is last'ng that rests oh any other
corner-stone than the one of reciprocal
benefits. It Is the problem of efficient
service to the readers of The Oregonian
jj" KBft ' ' '
3CATN ENTRANCE OREGONIAN BUILDING.
that the management of the paper has
given the most serious consideration.
I remember distinctly discussing with
Mr. Scott and with Mr. Plttock at a time
immediately following the panic of 1S93 the
Issue that confronted the paper In the
threatened loss of advertising. The adver
tising patronage of The Oregonian during
the latter part of 1S93 and all of 1S34 fell
off more than one-half from the volume
of advertising carried during the pros
perous year of 1S92, and durinp the early
part of 1SS3. Tho advisability of reducing
rates, of cutting down the sizo of the
paper and of other expedients were dis
cussed freely by Mr. Plttock and Mr.
Scott. In the end the management de
cided neither to reduce rates nor to cut
down the size of the paper. As Mr. Scott
put it forcibly: "I consider tho space ot
The Oregonian at this crisis worth more
for news than I consider this space worth
for advertising." At a time when The
Oregonian was on the verge of financial
tion that the greatest skill of the ancient
regime was developed by advertisers who
possibly did not show the strictest adher
ence to the tenets of modern business, as
'business methods are analyzed today. A
glance at Tho Oregonlan's advertising col
umns in any current issue will attest the
truth that the bulk of advertising now
carried by representative papers is of
articles of staple consumption and of
legitimate use.
Among the people who today are making
heavy appropriations for newspaper ad
vertising are the Remington Typewriter
Company, of New York; the Singer Sew
ing Machine Company, the leading East
ern magazines, the great railroad com
panies, manufacturers of food products
of the highest quality, and manufacturers
generally. A recent convert to the
efficacy of newspaper advertising Is the
Hamilton-Brown Shoe Company, of Stl
Louis, possibly the largest manufacturer
of shoes in the world. xTh'e extent to
which this firm is handling Its advertis
ing appropriation 13 shown by the state-
Estimated Population of The Oregonian's Field,
January i, 1905
OREGON -
WASHINGTON - -IDAHO
- -WESTERN
MONTANA
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Total -
525,000
780,000
240,000
200,00,0
225,000
1,970.000
extremity. Just as many of the most
prominent and reliable business houses of
the country were In deep water, the news
service of the paper was practically
doubled. In addition to the complete ser
vice of the Associated Press, The Orego
nian added the full service of the United
Press Association. The results of this
wise policy did not show themselves clear
ly for three or four years following. In
the meantime, however, the fortunes of
The Oregonian steadily mended. "With the
commencement of 1837 the business of the
paper was once more on a firm footing,
and the advancement of The Oregonian
since that time has been so rapid that he
who runs may read the story.
The principal commodity that a news
paper has to sell to the public is Its adver
tising space. The growth of modem
advertising Is covered by the history of
advertising during the past 15 years.
Advertising never savored of the illegiti
mate in business, and yet certain abuses
of advertising methods prior to a period
of, say, 20 years tigo, warrant the asser-
' T
ZHE OKEGONIAVS NEW SEXTUPLE HOE EEESS. "HTTH A CAPACITY OJF 48.9M X2-PAGE PAPERS PEK HOCK.
mcnt that the company recently placed
an order with The Oregonian for a full
page advertisement. '
The growth and development of depart
ment storo trade dates from the time
when the circulation and fhe widespread
Influence of tho great papers of the coun
try made it possible to reach the public
effectively through newspaper advertising.
No woman In Portland today will ques
tion the good faith of any statement made
In tho advertising columns of The Ore
gonian by tho management of either of
the three big stores of Portland, tho
Meier & Frank Company: Olds. Wortman,
Sc. King, and JLJpman, "Wolfe & Co. It
may be added here that legitimate meth
ods are the only methods adopted by
advertising men of experience in their
efforts to claim the recognition of the
buying public
It is the axiom among" advertisers gen
erally that the cheapest medium is the
fullest and best paper. In fixing rates
for advertising space the publisher has
to take many different things info ac-1
count. The problem in some respects la
as difficult as the arrangement of a satis-,
factory railroad schedule. There la per
haps no field In the United States of equal;
commercial Importance, and of such prom
ise for future rapld development, where
so much can bo accomplished by the uso
of a single paper, as advertisers have
found they can accomplish in the fleld
of the Pacific Northwest, through The
Oregonian. And yet, with Its widespread
influence, the rates ot The Oregonian, a
all experienced advertising men know, are
exceedingly low.
In every field where competition be
tween newspapers Is strong, advertising;
rates steadily advance. The one cause for
this heavy advance in "rates is found iiv.
the large deficit publishers In these fields
are called upon to meet In the circulation
of papers.- In many cases where compe
tition between papers is strong advertis
ing rates ultimately reach a point where
they are virtually prohibitive to the gen
eral advertiser. No advertiser In the
United Stales today, for instance, at
tempts to cqyer New York City. Another
instance ot an Intensity of, rivalry be--tween
big papers of somewhat similar
scope is afforded In the San Francisco,
field. The rates of the two leading paper
of San Francisco for display space run
from twd to three times the rates charged
for display by Tho Oregonian, and yet
The Oregonian Is on a par with these
papers In the extent and range ot its news
service. The Oregonian Is one "of the few:
big papers of the country that makes a
profit on its circulation. Its 'circulation
Is handled on the basis of a reasonable
profit for efficient service rendered. Its
advertising space la sold on the same
basis. It is this policy that commends
the paper the most to the attention ot
advertisers generally.
I have seen The Oregonian grow from
"a modest dally Issue of four pages to tho
representative regular lesue of today. I
have seen the advertising of The Sunday;
Oregonian Increase from an average ot
eight and nine columns -to an average
advertising space of from 100 to 120 col
umns. With this Increase In advertising:
space has followed an increase in the
working plant of the paper, until today
The Oregonian has one of the best
equipped newspaper plants In tho United
States. In the completeness ot its newa
service, the paper occupies a place amon?
the greatest papers of the country. In
accuracy of statement, as the antithesis
of the sensational and more or less ques
tionable methods of sensational journal
Ism, The Oregonian ranks with the lead
ing newspapers of recognized character;
papers whose utterances are accepted la
good faith. were?er--$hese papers max
circulate