50 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



tion, I asked permission to publish it. 

 He replied that I mig-ht publish the 

 letter, if I would withold his name. I 

 won't g'ive the entire letter, but here is 

 an extract. 



WHY THE REVIEW IS HIGH IN PRICE. 



"I would like to take the Review, as 

 I can see that you are doing" your very 

 best to secure good writers, but I don't 

 feel that I can afford to pay $1.00 a 

 year for a fnotithly.''^ 



I have several times explained that 

 the Review, having- no connection with 

 a supply trade, or a queen trade, or a 

 honey trade, must be published at 

 such a price that there is a profit in 

 the paper itself — not only a profit but a 

 good profit. Still further, the Review 

 appeals especially to the business class 

 of bee-keepers; it might almost be called 

 the specialist's journal. Class-papers, 

 those devoted to the interests of some 

 one class of people, must, from neces- 

 sity, be limited in circulation, and, 

 consequently, higher in price. Many 

 papers of this class help out bj' dealing- 

 in supplies, when the papers, to a cer- 

 tain extent, become circulars, adver- 

 tising their supply trade. Such papers 

 are, to a certain degree, handicapped; 

 their readers feeling that they may be 

 biased by self-interest. The Review 

 prefers to be independent in this re- 

 spect, and to have no interests to serve 

 except those of its readers; and, as the 

 price must be high, I realize that the 

 only hope for success is in making a 

 paper so thoroughly adapted to the 

 needs of the class for which it is de- 

 signed, that it will be bought regard/ess 

 of the price. 



WHY LOW CLUBBING RATES ARE NOT 

 OFFERED. 



Continuing, m3' Canadian friend 

 says: — 



"I notice that you do not allow your 

 paper to be clubbed in any of the lists 

 that I have looked over, whereas, 

 almost every other paper, whether it is 

 a magazine, a political paper or an 

 apicultural, even including Gleanings, 

 is clubbed with other papers at a re- 

 duction that puts them within the 



reach of all. I have been looking, for 

 the last four years, to see your paper 

 falling into line, in this respect, with 

 all the popular papers of the day." 



What difference does it make whether 

 a man offers his journal direct, at half 

 price, or allows some other fellow to 

 do it for him? Did you ever stop to 

 think how this clubbing business 

 started ? Years ago papers began 

 offering low rates for clubs, the rate 

 varying according to the size of the 

 club. In those days there were no 

 club agents, as we now have them. 

 Instead, some subscriber went around 

 among his neighbors, presenting the 

 claims of his favorite paper, thus 

 securing subscribers that would, other- 

 wise, never have been secured. For 

 doing this work the publisher could 

 well-afford to pay the commissions 

 offered. Finally, some man saw in 

 this an opportunity for speculation. 

 He could, by advertising, secure many 

 subscribers, for all of the leading 

 papers, from all over the country. He 

 could thus secure enough of any one of 

 them to be able to send in a club that 

 would entitle him to the lowest club- 

 bing rate. He divided his commission 

 with his customers, in order to secure 

 their custom. From this sprang the 

 club agency business. Suppose a 

 journal, the Review, for instance, has 

 4,000 subscribers. These men have 

 read it until they know they can't 

 afford to do without it, it is invaluable 

 to them, they will send their dollar 

 for it year after year; now, what 

 earthly good is it to the publisher to 

 allow some subscription agent to offer 

 it for 75 cts. ? The few cents saved by 

 each subscriber does not cut much 

 figure, individually, but, collectively, 

 with the publisher, it makes all the 

 difference between success and failure. 

 One year ago I spent a day visiting 

 one of the largest club agents there 

 are in the country. I went there pur- 

 posly to talk over this matter of club- 

 bing the Review with other journals. 

 If there was any advantage in it, I 



