Arizona State Miner

While others go to the seashore on summer vacations the average newspaper writers and publishers, especially those of the rural sections, must stay at home battling with the conditions that are caused by the decrease in population.

"In the good old summer time," the population hikes away, the merchants cut down their advertising, decrease their sales force, while the newspaper publisher has to keep up his circulation, printing the same number of papers that he does when business is normal, and finds additional responsibilities in mailing his publication to the subscribers who want the paper sent to them no matter if they go to Sweden or the Hawaiian Islands.

In lieu of the usual advertising, he must accept "outside advertising." Now, this outside advertising always draws money out of town and trade goes with it, for people nowadays are trained to buy where goods and merchandise are advertised. The local merchant does the same. If products he handles are not available while the population is gone, he must let his stock run down and become shelf-worn, or he must buy "outside where they are available." In any event he mostly cuts out his advertising to even things up.

While the merchants, hotels, professional men and trades craft all pinch out their ads, the newspaper man finds mad pleasure in assembling great advertisements from outside watering places and amusement resorts to fill up the blank in his publication—and that draws more people out of town, adding more discomfort and depreciation in trade. The alert circulation manager finds his sales going on the blink in summer time, so he and the business manager get their heads together and the result is that the size of the paper is cut down from 16 pages to 12.

All of these circumstances create what is known as "dull times," yet every one of the changes suggested above make the times more dull than ever. The remedy lies in the old Wanamaker method, who said "when business is dull, that's the time to advertise." Keeping up appearances inspires your banker, putting a tone to your credit, while cutting down expenses and going to outside resorts adds a drain that will take a long time to recover when you come back, making your creditors and even your banker anxious.

People who go away from town must have pleasure at any price. The intoxicating excitement of being away from home blinds them to the expenses of the future. Those who stay at home usually find that their efforts are stimulating to growth of business, vitalizes the mind and body, and arouses the ambition and enthusiasm of all observers, and breathes life into your neighbors.