The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-05-28
The Growth OF the Herald tn Growth Of
New York.

New xOrks
The extraordinary growth of the New York
press is exciting the attention If he journals Of
Europe. As our readers may have seen by some
extracts we published few days ago
from Partisan papers, the progress of the
HERALD afforded them theme for comment.
and called forth expressions of astonishnlent
and surprise. Yet it is easily explained the
progress of the HERALD Is q part of the pro-
cress of New York, and that is without prece.
dent in the history Of the world. The HERALD
is an institution of the city and Of the country,
and its growth is u measure of the growth of
both 1t is their organ, giving utterance to their
wants, their wishes, their ideas, and recording
their events and the events Of the world. II
grows with their growth and strengthens with
their strength, just as the tongue of the infant
becomes enlarged as its body advances through
the various stages of childhood and youth, till
il attains the full measure of o mans stature
The growth of the United States is that of
giant, and its press necessarily partakes of it's
character.
The amount of matter we published during
this last week of the anniversaries, in which we
had triple sheet almost every day, would as
found some Rip Van Wrinkle fallen into trance
in a Sleepy Hollow twenty years ago, and
suddenly awakened up by the sound of the
steam whistle, or the hoarze voice Of the
newsboy calling the HERALD in the streets
with the news Of the war or other stirring events
in Europe, by telegraph from Quebec or Halifax
or st. Johns. We think, indeed, the amount of
matter we published will astonish even our
readers when we calculate it for them, and
present it in a tangible shape. During the week
ending Saturday, May IA, we published in our
seven daily issues 3,443,17l ems. In the techni
cal language Of printers an en- is unit of space
to measure printed matter. In a volume Of Or
binary size, containing three hundred pages,
there are 1900 of these ems. The contents of
the paper for a week would therefore make up
wards of thirteen volumes of three hundred pages
each-an average of two volumes for each of the
six working days and one for Sunday. Taking
such books to be worth, on an average, about
seventy-fve cents each, they would cost nearly
ten dollars in all; and get ace gipe the reader the
hole Of our week's matter, an equal quantity and far
more interesting, for fourteen cents
In this progress Of the press Of New York the
HERALD has taken the lead of all other journals,
and still keeps days march ahead. In every
step it has been first, and then been followed and
initiated by other newspapers. The HERALD was
the first to publish money articles and to unfold
the financial operations of Wall street. The
HERALD was the first journal to report the debates
in Congress, and it organized corps of reporters
for that purpose. The HERALD was the first to
report the political party meetings verbatim, for
which it was then much censured and abused by
the wirepullers, who did everything in secret
Now they want to have all their meetings re-
ported in the HERALD except the caucuses, aud
these we manage to publish without the permits
sion of the politicians. TWAS the first to publish
full and verbatim reports of trials and Of all
matters Of public interest. 1t was the first
to publish reports Of the anniversaries
some twenty years ago, which set the
managers almost frantic with rage. Now they
desire above all things to have their proceedings
fully published in the HERALD, which we do for
them gratuitously. The HERALD was the first
journal to run expresses with European news
from Boston 1t was the first New York
journal to run the famous Mexican war ex-
presses, in which it anticipated the news of
the government, and gave it the first intima-
ton of the victories of its troops. Abe
HERALD was the first illustrated journal in this
countryside first to throw light on events by
pictures and maps. For instance, we published
an illustration of the great fire in New York in
1885. The HERALD was the first journal to
publish q double sheet; the first to publish a
triple sheet; the only journal in America that
has ever published quadruple sheet. OF late
we have published triple sheets three or four
times week price two cents per copy. The
time will probably soon arrive when we shall
have to publish triple sheets every day.
In these various improvements, and in all
this progress the HERALD has been initiated by
some Of its enterprising contemporaries who
generally wake up to the necessity Of adopting
something that is old with us when we are about
to enter upon something new, and to take an
other step in advance. Our lightning presses, the
form of the paper, its arrangement even
its style, have been copied. They are COM
PEELED to follow us in order to keep even at the
heels Of progress or be "nowhere" in the
race. The HERALD, as we have said, is an
institution of New York-an institution of news
advertising and public opinion, and it has grown
up with this great commercial metropolis, the
Empire City Of the United States; and has
at this moment, the largest daily circulation Of
any newspaper in the civilized world. And as
neither the metropolis nor the country have
ceased to grow, 80 neither has the HERALD. I.
is healthy limb of the great American tree
racy Of the SOIL" and must continue to grow
as long as the tree itself grows as long as Its
roots extend their fbres and draw up nutriment
from the earth, as long as the vital sap circu.
lates in the bark, and as long as the leaves