Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-05-30
New Newspapers as a Luxury.

The Chicago Republican has changed
hands. The "editor-in-chief" has sub
sided. 1t is currently rumored that q good
deal of money with which the enterprise
was inaugurated has also subsidized.
1t was the witty Sidney Smith, we be-
lieve, who said there were three things
every man thought he could do better
than anyone else, and one of them was
the conducting of a newspaper. The
founders of the Chicago Republican were,
9 year ago, most firm in this belief. They
came to Chicago to illustrate to the people
of this city, and of the whole West what
a newspaper should be. Their project
was q tremendous one. It was heralded
with a flourish of trumpets that was quite
deafening to hear. The sheet wa to SUI
persede all other similar enterprises-to
gobble up ali other newspapers. 1t was
based upon a capital of half q million dol
lars-on paper. Its actual basis was near
one-tenth of q millions sum amply suf-
fcient, in the hands of trained journalists,
to have established a frst-clsss paper on q
"paying" basis in half the time it has
taken these novices to learn that they are
not the journalists they supposed them
selves to be.
Their first measure in teaching the w est
what 8 newspaper ought to be was to en-
gage for "editor-in-chief," q man who had
attained some reputation sitting on a high
stool in the New York Tribune office
and spelling the etymology and syntax of
other mems writings. The bare name of
this person was deemed sufficient to cause
all men in the West to rush precipitately
and subscribe for the new paper; but
when to the name was added the cor
poreal part in all its stalwart and ire
sistible portions-and not only that, but
an entire corps of this tremendous "edi-
to~r-in-chiefs" metropolitan associates
what man, woman or child would not
surrender to the aw~e-inspIring combina-
toni 3
The public, taught to expect great
things, was, Of course, disappointed. The
"editor-in-chief not only fell below popu-.
lar expectation, but turned out to be q
failure. The journal that was to astonish
the people and eclipse all its older CO.
temporaries, displayed neither vigor nor
tact and possessed neither news nor origi-
nality but speedily fell into q rut at the
rear of the Tribune and ever afterward
presented the pIteous spectacle OF q small
tail to a large kite.
The stockholders ofthe Chicago Repn5-
licdn have probably discovered that the
reputation Of a man will not make the
reputation of a newspaper, and that big
salaries paid on account of individual
famousness are exactly equivalent to mon
ey thrown away. This at any rate is a
truth which all true journalists understand
thoroughly. It is a matter of small con-
sequence to the public what the Honorable
Shocks, Heditor-in-chief, " of the Bunq-
to1cn BisMderbnss thinks Of public ques-
If the BEngtoica BLHndeTbHsS is a
paper that interests them they Will buy it
and read ii, though the Hon. Shocks may
never have ornamented its columns with
bis classical q couldn't" "shouldn MT " and
{ would MT" style Of composition. Journ-
alism is a science, and this is one of its
primary lessons. If men having no
of the business, yet thinking
know better how to make s newspa-
per than any n else, insist upon learning
his lesson in the costly school of expert
snee, no body has the right to blame them
provided they pay only their OWE money
for the information.