"TRUTH" IS MIGHTY AND WILL PREVAIL

NZ Truth, Issue 1178, 28 June 1928, Page 1

"TRUTH" IS MIGHTY AND WILL PREVAIL

TTHAT is why, of course, the auditors' 1 latest net sales certificate is allowed to tell its own romantic story. ! : For the five issues m May, the circulation of "New Zealand Truth" showed a certified average "of 94,513 per issue. Here is the auditors' certificate: "We have examined the books and records relating to the circulation of "N.Z. Truth" and certify that for the month of May, 1928, the total salesexclusive of frees and returns — amounted to 472,564 copies, a weekly average of 94,513 copies. . - "Watkins, Hull, Hunt and Wheeler, / "Public Accountants." , , This means that a generous free list, extras and those copies returned unsold are not included- Surely, that group of figures breathes a story of romantic progress? What are circulation figures, anyhow? A paper's worth. Its bona fides. Newspaper circulation, judged on the unassailable basis of statistical authority, constitutes the pulse of journalistic and commercial life. Its beats cannot be forced against-»natural conditions and m "Truth's" case, bodily health is not only retained, but is definitely progressive. ■ :

If ' Apology is neither necessary T\or tended with an an- 1} H nouncement that "N.Z. Truth" has passjed yet another mile- || 11 stone on Us road to Utopia. Indeed, the great public which jj !! has rallied round the banner of "Truth," building it steadily || II year by year, subscriber by subscriber, is justly entitled to || fl •' knowwhere they have' placed the national paper on the broad j| !! map of fearless independence, courageous advocacy and || II wholesome justice. Honesty with the public and 'with our- j| II selves really does pay. • IS 1= ■ "'■'-... s . « . . ■.. , ■ ... il = = „„„„„„ „„,„ „,,,,,T,iimii „„■„„,, iiiiimiiiiiiiiintiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiuiiniiiiiriiliiMiiiitiiiiKmi iiniimiimMiMMiMmiini.il mmmmmmmm.imi " IIIIMI " ll "" ll """""""!;"!!!!! m 5 llii mllllll MMMMMI MMMMMMIIM 111111111111111111111111/ 11111111111111111111111 Ilill llllljlllllll Illlllllllllilllll IINIH 1111111111111 1 II HHHtimilllltl UllillltltmiUllll 1 1 II Ir

"Truth has no gradations," said the immortal Dr. Johnson. "Nothing which admits . . of increase can' be so much what it is, as truth is truth. There may be a.- strange thing and a 'thing more strange. But if a prpposir tion be true, there can be none more true." , . • And that is a line of potted wisdom with more than a modicum of fact. Actually, it is the "brief" which goes into the Court of Public Opinion with the documentary proof of an auditor's net sales certificate as exhibit "A." "Truth" does— and will continue to— prevail. , But that is not all to be said- on circulation as a direct reflection ,of national approval. • •■■ It certainly indicates that there ;«,re ■X: , - : '. . ..■ . ..: . .

thousands upon thousands of readers m New Zealand (the figures to date fbr June promise to swing the pendulum of output to 100,600 per issue) who recognize the value of a paper that is national in' policy and national , m geographical distribution, a catchphrase too often idly adopted by struggling journals. Further, it is an indication of appreciation of the dividing line m the printed wTSrd between the stained-glass appearance of party" paint, with which some papers are obliged to besmear themselves, and just plain, simple honesty and independence. And to the public who have been pleased to- support- a -policy for > themselves of "the greatest good

for the greatest number,", the figures for May are, m themselves, a sterling tribute to, "Truth's" multifarious readers. '? . ■ . But the. blazing of a trail through the commercial forest has naturally its troublous moments and "Truth"' has been obliged Recently to look to even more modern facilities for coping- with the gigantic question of handling and distributing the National Paper. To this end, special , additional machinery has been imported, and, combining the very latest In utility ,and speed, will materially assist to meet . the 'great demands made upon the popular, weekly. It: may.; be interesting to mention, m passing, that a valuable section has been acquired m Kent Terrace, Wellington, as .the home of . "New . Zealand Truth" insthe very near future. Plans and , specifications have been completed for a\ fine building m this vortex of the rapidly growing capital city. . ■ , ■ There is no need to say more. True, this valuable portion of a front page might have been more satisfactorily devoted to a different "news" story, but the encroachment is not frequent and there are surely mitigating circumstances when the question involved is merely the passing on of useful intelligence to the very people who have given such a tremendous fillip to "Truth's" circulation. "Truth" is, mighty and will prevail.