Nor did he do that only. He told me the price of the “web press roll” and of “flat-print” papers into which the wood pulp is made, paper stock on which is printed all our periodicals--both newspapers and monthly and weekly periodicals. Next he told me of the price of composition, (typesetting, as we used to call it), by the most modern methods, the linotype and the monotype machines. Then he talked of ink and presswork costs, of color work, folding, stitching and covering or binding; of the cost of wrapping, addressing, cartage, rail haulage and distribution. The result of the expert’s showing of the _cost_ of raw material and of skilled and other labor in periodical publication, as the periodicals are printed and marketed today, was to the effect that the reader gets his daily, weekly or monthly publication, on an average, _at less than half what it costs the publisher to produce it_. Further, it was conclusively shown to me, that the publisher’s _net_ receipts for a newspaper, magazine or other periodical is often but a third, sometimes less than _a fourth_, of the net cost to him of its production and distribution. With this preliminary, we will now go back to our magazine of 650,000 monthly issue and Postmaster General Hitchcock’s estimate of its profits. Postmaster General Hitchcock’s talk of “gross” receipts of $6,000,000 a year is ill advised. Let us see what must be charged off from that $6,000,000 before the publisher can count his profits. First, we will figure the publisher’s loss on published copies. Taking only the flat cost of paper, ink and composition; of the cost of fine color and half-tone pages such as monthly periodicals must print; of cover designing, presswork, and binding, of wrapping and addressing, say 150,000 copies of the monthly issue to individual addresses, that being, approximately at least, the number of subscribed readers the publisher will have on a total issue of 650,000 copies. Next comes the cost of sacking his subscribed circulation and of bundling and wrapping, then of cartage to mail trains. The prominent periodical publisher not only delivers his subscribed list _sacked_ to the mail car, but he _routes_ the larger portion of it, the railway mail clerks having nothing to do with it save to dump it off at the designated stations. Then he must meet the carriage and delivery cost, about 1 cent a pound, or $20.00 a ton. All these I consider _flat_ costs of producing and delivering the publication. To this flat cost must be added the expenditures for contributing writers, for editors, proofreaders and special investigators (including travel and other expenses), stenographers, postage and stationery for a large correspondence, clerical, messenger and other administration service, rents, insurance, etc., etc. And, finally, the expenditures made in the way of commissions and premiums to work up a subscribed issue.