Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1873-08-27

genuine Russian peculiarly, room Tor
the officer OF police. TO whom all editor
ais, previous 10 their publication, haye
10 be submitted, composing ro0m NJ.
most as elegant as reception hall, aud
gigantic presses imported from New
York
"Mr. Katkofl, when | entered his
sanetum. rose from his easy chair, and
upon learning who was, cordially shook
hands with me.
go Your paper has often denounced
me very bitterly, he said, smilingly,
but like il very much after all You
see, | said, you are the most conspicu'
Gus adversary Of the German party in
Russia and 80 you must stand the blows
leveled at your whole party. You do
me too much honor, replied Mr.. Kat
koh, ! do not know that deserve Il. !
am nothing but a Journalist. He then
alluded to the difficulties with which he
had 10 contend when establishing bus
great journal, and said TO me:
You will hardly believe me when i
tell you that at first It was almost i'm
possible for me, no matter how hard !
tri9d, 10 write anything fl 10 be printed
We published in 1862 our first weekly
issue II contained two brief editorials
and ! believe, before | sent the manu-
scripts TO the printer, rewrote the ar.
ticles a dozen times; aud ! awaited
with painful anxiety the appearance Of
the paper. Our success was at first lit
tie better than failure. OF our FIRST issue
we sold only three hundred copies. This
discouraging result ascribed TO my own
incapacity for the journalistic profes
sion, aud hence felt strongly tempted
to abandon the whole undertaking.
But my young wife urged me to try
again. She assured me my articles were
by no means bad and so, perhaps more
to crafty her than because / cared my
self to write, ! did try again. / wrote
an article on the treacherous and imbe-
cie foreign policy Of the Austrian En-
peror. | abused him roundly in terse
Russian; aud we actually sold in conse-
quence eight thousand copies OF the Ga.
zette. Had our printing facilities been
little better, we might have disposed Of
twice that number Of copies. Unfortu
nately, three days after the appearance
Of that issue the Imperial government
seized our presses, and | myself, as the
editor Of the paper, was thrown into
prison, on the pretext that the Gazette
had insulted friendly monarch.
"Mr. Katkof paused moment and
then continued:
"a friendly monarch AS if we had
a more malignant enemy than the Haps-
burg Emperor That is what have al.
ways tried to beat into the heads OF our
politicians. So long as Austria exists,
Russia cannot fulfill her true destiny
Nicholas never made more fatal mis-
take than when he saved the Austrian
monarchy from utter ruin in lS49. We
Russians would be great deal further
but for that lamentable blunder," .-..
HE then returned to the subject OF
his paper:
80 My Imprisonment, he said, was
almost a God.send to us, | was so poor
when | established the Gazette that |
frequently did not know where to get
money enough to pay of my workmen.
But after got out of jail subscriptions
poured in at a rapid rate, and in 1868
we had 10000 regular subscribers. That
was very remunerative, and / had
money enough to estAblsha daily paper
Writing newspaper articles became a
necessity for me, and entirely over
came my original difiidenee. Our daily
issue was popular from the start At
first we bad some $4,000 subscribers,
which yielded ne what ] then considered
an enormous revenue. The govern
ment. however, interfered with us very
often, and seven times since 1869 our
paper was suspended for two months,
which entailed a heavy loss upon us.
But. whenever We resumed publication,
we received thousands Of new sub
scribers until, In 1871, We reached cir.
culation of $4,000 copies. We employ
upward of 800 persons, and we are
proud, not only Of our success, but also
Of the assurances which we receive from
all sides Of the appreciation with which
our efforts for making Russia what she
ought to be. meet at the hands OF all
true Russians
Mr.. Katkoff then showed me through
his vast establishment. Elegance and
neatness, two things so rarely found in
Russia, meet the visitors eye every
where. Mr.. KatkoG, who, ten years ago,
was very poor, is now millionaire, and
the Imperial government at st, Peters
burg respects and fears him.