APPENDIX


PRICES CURRENT.

In all ordinary lines Prices were well maintained and rising at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. They rose sharply thenceforward till the second week of the war in South Africa, since which date they have been sagging, touching bed rock in the spring of this year (March, 1903). There has been a slight reaction since the beginning of the season, but it is not supported, and the market is still extremely dull. Patriotic Poems have fallen out of sight, and Criticism is going begging: in some offices books are no longer given to their reviewers: sub-editors have latterly been asked to bring their own suppers. The pinch is being felt everywhere. Police reports are on piece-work and the Religious Column is shut down to half shifts. Leader writers have broken from 1100 a year to 300. Editors have suffered an all-round cut in wages of 25 per cent. Publishers’ carrying-over days are more anxious than ever. Several first-class houses were hammered on the last contango, and the Banks are calling in loans. Private capital can hardly be obtained save for day-to-day transactions, and even so at very high rates of interest. The only lines that are well maintained are City Articles and Special Prose. Snippets are steady.

The following list is taken from Hunter’s Handbook, and represents Prices at the close of May:—

PROSE.

(Prices in shillings per thousand words).

Rise or Fall.
Special Prose30/-35/-Unchanged.
Street Accidents10/-12/-–5/-
Reviews7/610/-–20/-
Police Court Notices15/-18/-–5/-
Guaranteed Libels25/-30/-–3/-
Unguaranteed ditto5/-7/-+2/-
Deferred ditto14/-16/-+4/-
Pompous Leaders8/-10/-–25/-!
Smart Leaders9/-11/6+3/-
Ten-line Leaderettes10/-12/-Unchanged.
Political Appeals15/-17/-–30/-
Attacks on Foreign Nations3/-3/6–48/-!!
Dramatic Criticism20/-25/-Unchanged.
Historical Work—6d.?(Practically
no demand).
Religious Notes12/-18/-–8/-
Attacks upon Christianity4/-4/6–5/- (A
very heavy fall for this
kind of matter).