New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-10
THE NEW TRIBUNE.

THE FINEST NEWSPAPER OFFICES IN AMERICA.
PRMyNG-TUn DESCRIPTION OF THE EsTAD-
LIsHMKNr
To-day, on the saith anniversary Of its establish
ment. THE TRIBUNE is issued from its new building.
1t was Saturday the 10th of April, 1s41 that the
first number of "A New Morning Journal of Politics,
Literature, and General Intelligence was published
by Horace Greeley, at No. 80 Ann street The |
building in which the birth Of the paper took |
place is still standing between Nassau and William
streets and forms part of the paint warehouse of F.
". Devoe & Co.. being now numbered A. Winches- |
ter, the publisher of The New Forld, occupied one |
or two floors of it, and the quarters reserved for
THE TRIBUNE were modest and narrow, though de- |
cent enough in that day of small things Two |
fat presses each capable Of taking 5000 impressions
IN hour suiced for beginning Newspapers then |
used to go to press at midnight, and keep the ma
chinery running till o'clock in the morning, and if
they were then prepared to issue edition of 10000
copies, they were well satisfied with the nights |
work.
The first task which Mr. Greeley set himself was |
to print mail advices from Washington only one
day old-that was long before the invention OF the
telegraph-and when he accomplished 1t he boosted
joyfully over his competitors. He has left In
his Recollections of Busy Life" curious
record of the anxieties of the eventful night
when he watched the launching of his en-
terprise, and the misgivings with which he
put il upon the streets the severest morn
ing of the year. 1.-THE sleety atmosphere,
the leaden sky the unreasonable wintriness the
general gloom of that stormy day, which witnessed
the grand though mournful pageant whereby our
city commemorated the blighting of a nations
hopes in the most untimelv death of President
Harrison, were not inaptly mniatured in my
own prospects and fortunes" The entire capital
embarked in the venture only thousand dol
lars-of borrowed money-but to Horace Greeley at
that time a thousand dollars a great sum. Five
hundred subscribers had been obtained in advance.
OF the first edition 5000 copies were printed and
I nearly succeeded says Mr.. Greeley, in giving
sway all of them that would not SELL 1t was
little paper of four pages containing altogether no
matter than is put upon single leaf OF The
TRIBUNE of to-day, and il sold for one cent.
The entire receipts of the first week were only so,
and the current expenses were $500
In the early days almost all the work of
collecting news-was done by Mr., Greeley and his
assistant, Henry J. Raymond, the late George NJ.
Snow taking charge of the financial column. OfOthers
who shared in the preparation of the first number of
THE TRIBUNE two survive and render it valuable
and faithful service to-day-Thomas n Rocker the
foreman ofthe composing room and Patrick O'Rourke,
the head engineer. We shall not repeat the oft-od
story of the early life of THE TRIBUNE. The as
tonishing industry and courageous enthusiasm of its
a.. fha
cues which beset the first years of all new journals,
and though il often poor and the editor and his
assistants compelled to perform enormous
amount of work. it's success was never doubtful
after the first two three days In six weeks its
circulation rose from 500 to l 900; and then it
was announced with air of complacency at
which the modern printer will be tempted to
smile, that the editor found it necessary to buy
new press capable of printing $500 copies
hour. Well might Mr.. Greeley say that THE
TRIBUNE of 1871 was only the germ of what
he meant 10 make it; for the paper this morn
ing is eight times large its first
Der, and the newest of it's four presses is capable
of printing 10000 copies hour on both sides of
the sheet simultaneously is to say, of taking
$4,000 impressions.
Though it genera ly fought with the minority
and often at war with a prejudiced and
vicious public opinion, the upward course of
the paper seriously impeded, and
the first determined attempt 10 break it down
was one of the first incidents that gave an impetus
10 its circulation. When it was only few days old,
the of it, chief rival The Sum- entered into
conspiracy with heir sbOys to fog any uTchin
found selling The TRIBUNE in the streets-a despe-
and bloody resolve, in the fulfllment of which
the editorial fists of the late Moses Beach hun
self said TO have played vigorous part. Pre-
poserous such conflict at this distance of
time. it event of public interest in 1S41,
and il brought The TRIBUNE great many sub
scribers Perhaps at some future day generation
still wscr than will look back with equal anuse-
ment upon the greater dangers of 1912, when the !
office put in state of defense to repe threat
ened attack from Sixth Ward rufians, and of 1868
when il was captured and set ON fire by furious
mob during the anti-draft riots
The TRIBUNE moved from Ann street to its present
cOrnern S42 taking possession of building erected
by Mr. Thompson Price the fsther-n-aw of Mr. |
Greeley's business partner. Thomas McElrath. On |
the 9th of February, 1s45 that building was totally
destroyedby fire. and THE TRIBUNE returned for few
months to it's old quarters in Ann street. appearing
promptly the morning after the catastrophe The
fve-stOry brick building which from the ruins |
in the course of the Spring a marvel of con- |
venence for its day, aud when freproof structure
90 feet square added TO it the Spruce street
side, in S57, people to look at il with almost
as much curiosity as they now manifest i'll the i'm
posing pile of which take possession to-day. For
two-thirds Of century The Tribune Building !
was one of the most notable landmarks Of |
NewYsrk; and 1t not without pang of
regret that the conductors and old friends of
the paper at last watched its disappearance |
The noblest and most valuable part of Horace Gree
leys work was done under its roof, and it figured