The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JULY 31, 1883. THE BEST ADVERTISING MEDIUM.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1128, 31 July 1883, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JULY 31, 1883. THE BEST ADVERTISING MEDIUM.

There are gome people in this district who suffer from a hallucination that unless they advertise in the Tiraaru Herald, nobody will ever see what they want to make public. The extraordinary success which attended the Sacred Concert recently held in Geraldine, proves that this is altogether a mistaken idea. Notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, the darkness of the night, and the bad state of the roads, there never was seen assembled together so large •n audience in Geraldine. People from Raugitata, Peel Forest, Waihi Bush, Kakahu, Temuka, all the Valleys, and all the intervening districts were present, and yet not a single word of reference to it appeared in the Herald until two or three days after it was all over. The concert was only advertised in the Geraldine Guardian and the Temdka Leader, and its success shows that these papers are splendid advertising mediums. The result of this concert will, we hope, dispel the delusion, and enable people to realise that to obtain sufficient publicity for advertisments, etc., it is not absolutely necessary to advertise in the Herald. We do not begrudge the Herald its share, although the Herald begrudges that we should live at all. What we object to is that some people from this district should give the Herald, what in all conscience we ought to get. If these people only knew how limited is the circulation of the Timaru Herald in this district, they would not place such confidence in it. There are about 45 Heralds coming to Temuka, and about 35 to Geraldine ; and we venture to think that common sense will tell any one that to be able to keep up our present staff, and carry on as well as we have been doing, the combined circulation of the Temuka Leader and the Geraldine Guardian must be pretty close on ten times these numbers. Our circulation is certainly pretty close on ten times the circulation of the Herald everywhere between the Opihi and the Rangitata, and what is more than that: out of every ten subscribers the Herald has, nine of them get either the Temuka Leader or Guardian ; so that in fact advertisements inserted in these papers will go almost everywhere the Herald goes in the districts. As we insert advertisements in the two papers for the price of one, a great advantage is therefore gained in patronising the local papers. We do not wish it to he understood that we object to people giving the Herald advertisements. We do not ; we only place facts before our readers, and let them decide for them-

selves whether it is worth their while to pay clearly for advertising in the Herald or not. Messrs Davies and Murphy, undoubtedly the largest advertisers in Timaru, never advertise in the Herald, no doubt because they have found it would not pay them. If it is not worth Timaru people’s while to advertise is it worth the while of people in this district to do so. We are glad to say that the number of those who advertise with us is growing larger every day, and that any one who tried our columns as an advertising medium once, has done so a second time. For instance, it was only after much coaxing and canvassing that Messrs Gabites and Plante, of Timaru, gave us an advertisement; but when the first term was up they took the the same space for twelve months longer. In order to induce them to advertise in the first instance, we took their advertisement too cheap, and when we intimated that we could not continue for the same price any longer, they agreed to add 40 per cent to the original price. If any one will take the trouble to ask Mr Plante, he w'.ll tell him that the reason he did this was because he was surprised at the number of people that went into his shop and referred to his advertisement in these papers. Ho never believed until then that when he advertised in the Herald, it was necessary for him to advertise in this paper also. Our friends and those who wish us to succeed would do us a great service by making reference to advertisements in these papers, as in the case of Messrs Gabites and Plante, because by doing so they will induce tradespeople to advertise more liberally with us, and that will enable us to improve the paper. What we have done in the past is a guarantee that we shall improve in the future if the means at our disposal enable us to do so, and if we only got what is unnecessarily spent in Timaru we should be in a position to bring the paper out daily. And now, have we not more claim than the Timaru papers on the support of this locality ? In the first place we produce papeis that are a credit to (he place. There are no two towns in New Zealand of the same size that have such good local papers as Temuka and Geraldine. When we took possession of the Temuka Leadeb, about a year and a half ago, there were only three kept on the staff of it—now it gives employment to eight hands. Promoters of local industries would think they had done great service to the district if they established an industry that would employ eight people. We do that, and consequently as a local industry we submit we have a claim on support. During the last 12 months, notwithstanding that every attempt that had been previously made had failed, some very important industries have been started in the district. Nothing has failed since. The Dairy Factory, and the Linseed Company have been floated, and there_is a petition in the hands of the Governor to constitute Temuka a borough. The increase of the number of people employed in stores and the absence of the cry of ‘ hard times ’ induces us to believe that r2 e business of the town has improved. We claim that we have had a good deal to do with the improved state of affairs by using all our energies in pushing forward local industries, and by pointing out to the people that unless they supported local institutions bouse property in Temuka would become valueless. The Geraldine Guardian was only five weeks iu existence when it started a dairy factory on its own { hook.’ There was not one word submitted to the public meeting in Geraldine at trbich the Dairy Company was started except what was got out of the Guardian, and the deputation that went to Ashburton afterwards found every one of its statements correct. Can the Herald boast of having done so much after twenty years existence ? Why does Timaru languish for want of industries ? Simply because the Herald has been watching French politics instead of the interests of the district. If the Herald had only pointed out to the people of Timaru the advantages of local industries, they would have had factories at work there long ago. We claim therefore that not only are these papers local industries in themselves, but that they have helped to promote other industries also, and that they have in consequence more than ordinary claim on local support. We have done our best for the district, wo have left no opportunity for advancing its interests pass, and we think that in all fairness the district ought to do its best for us. We are glad to say that the local support is daily increasing, ani that we have little fear for the future. The men of progress support us, the indifferent do not,

We are glad tosio that the number of the latter is growing * small by degrees and beautifully less’ every day.

And now wo shall no doubt be accused of blowing our own trumpet. He who does not do so will find very few to blow it for him. The London Times, the Daily Telegraph and the New York Herald boast of their circulation, while such paragons of propriety as the Timaru Herald, the Christchurch Press and the Lyttelton Times have abused people for not advertising with them. Commercial men * blow* about their goods ; men of energy all over the world push their business as vigorously as they can, and with such examples before us we think we ought to be pardoned for putting ourselves in our true position before the public. It is men of push and enterprise that make countries great and prosperous, and therefore we shall not blush if we are accused of trying to push forward our own claims, All we have done is to boast ot having done good, and there is no crime in that. We ask for more support and what doss that mean but more improvement in the paper, and increased capacities for doing good. We feel we deserve support, and we consequently do not hesitate to lay before our readers the grounds on which we base our claim to it.