N.Z. "OBSERVER."

Observer, Volume XXXIX, Issue 48, 2 August 1919, Page 19

N.Z. "OBSERVER."

A PHENOMENAL JUMP

THE New Zealand OBSERVER is in its fourth decade, and there are many examples of readers who have read each issue of it since it was born. Lately it took a phenomenal jump in circulation owing to the success it obtained in the personal narrative of Graaf yon Luckner, the Hun pirate- Public curiosity in the doings of the man who had operated in Pacific waters was naturally very great, and the exclusive rights of the narrative obtained by the "Observer" gave the paper an added interest in the minds of the public. The immediate demand for copies containing the opening portion of the narrative led to the necessity for other editions. The three issues containing portions of the thrilling narrative sold so readily that no agents returned a single copy. The point to be emphasised is that each of the three succeeding issues had to be larger than all others, and that the present editions are taxing the machinery of the office to the limit. The instalments of the story still to come surpass in interest those already published, so that the reader who desires to obtain the whole series should make early application for future copies. Following the Yon Luckner narrative there will be published a narrative equally thrilling, which will contain matters transcending in interest even those of the cruise of the "See Adier." Until new machinery is installed capable of still further increasing the circulation of the "OBSERVER," the number of copies now issued each week represent the maximum production. It has been found, since the publication of the marvellous story, that readers have discovered other virtues in the "OBSERVER," and have found that the paper deals fearlessly and fairly with many phases of New Zealand life. The cartoons and other drawings and photographs constitute a history of our own time, and even if they caricature persons and events they good-humouredly place a finger on vital phases of our progress. The writing in the paper, as very many new readers have found, is skilled, critical, and impartial. It is sincerely believed that these writings have had some good effect in calling attention to what appear to be abuses, in dealings with the fundamentals of social decency, in battling for the underdog, and in satirical jibes at the unworthy- Sustained by an appreciative public for so many years, the paper has entered upon a new era, speaking as it does now to a much larger public. It is recognised that when the public has been stimulated to buy by the excellence of the goods it purchases that the quality of the goods must not deteriorate below the standard which induced the customer to do business. The customer may be assured that the inducement to buy will remain. The function of a public print is to get the ear of as many people who can be persuaded to listen to it. It can only do this by telling the people what they best like to know, in reporting and commenting on their common pursuits, in voicing their grievances, and in exceeding in in-