National Republican., 1883-07-27
CHEAP NEWSPAPERS.
A Chat with the Man Who Started the New
York "Sun'
Interesting "Reminiscences OF the Early
Days-The "Herald's" Early Success.
Ncip Iiorh TeLenram

sHld MIR. Beniamtn Ii. Day, OF NO. % EaSJ
Twonty-ffth street, "the New York Sun will
be fifty years old. was 20 years old when
] started it. That makes me pretty old
man, doesn't it2 But I'm comfortable and
enjoy good health. Sometimes | feel sorry
that sold the Sun to Moses Beach, but the
fact is | really did not realize how enormously
q cheap paper could be developed / made
new departure when | started the Stm. At
that time all the papers were sold to sub
scribers only. There were no newsstands
and no newsboys If man wanted paper
he had to subscribe, and the carrier brought
ii to him when it came out, whenever that
might be, for we were pretty easy going in
those days and took things as they came. In
1888 there were of morning papers the Courier
and Enquirer, the Mercantile Advertiser, the
Daily Advertiser, and the Journal of Commerce.
OF evening papers there were the ECening
Star, edited by Mai. Noah, the Egening Post,
edited by the two poets. Bryant and Leggitt,
and the Commercial AdUcrtiscr, edited by Col.
Stone.
DAYS NEW DEPARTURE
"When | started tho Sun l resolved not to
bother myself with hunting up subscriptions,
but to sell the paper for cash for one cent to
tho general public. At first l could not in
duce the street boys to take hold. Whom
proposed TO sell q nuHuIbu copies 10 Ju5lu IOE
sixty cents they wouldn't do it, They
wanted wages. So had to hire them at 81 a
week, which was pretty big wages in those
days, and they sold on my account instead of
their own, as they do nowadays. Every sun
down, except on Sundays, my boys came home
with their pennies and reported progress.
Those that were lazy | discharged at once.
Little by little the best of the boys were in
duced to sell for themselves, for they soon
found that they could make moro money so
than by taking wages. Then the carriers
that took around the subscription papers
began to nibble, as the saying Is, and
l made arrangements with them.
would give to each carrier that
wanted il n district, generally making it con-
exclusive sale there. The carriers made a
good thing of it, and some of them added to
their incomes from $l2 to $l5 week. The
boys hung about the ferries and the down.
town centers that were crowded. Between
them and the carriers in six months time the
circulation was up to 5000, which was consid-
cred prodigious. Webb, of the Courier and
Enquirer, who Dragged that he was at the head
of American journalism, only claimed 1000.
His price was $40 II year subscription, but
when you deduct from this the bad debts and
the cost of collection and of obtaining sub
scriptions the profits, apart from the advertis-
ing, could not have been very great
- MT. Day, DrOhe III inc reporter, Wudb
sort of paper was your Sn?"
THE SUNS DAwNINa.
at was half medium Sheet" answered
the old gentlemen. "a medium sheet is 10
by %, so that my paper was 10 by 12A inches
not very big, not as big, in fact as the
NewS. And, as for the paper itself, can
hardly make you comprehend the difference.
1t was intensely local, for there were no tele-
grams in those days had an assistant aud
partner by the name of Wisner, who made
the police reports, wrote paragraphs, and
dashed around the city for items. l scissored
and wrote leaders and answered correspond
ents, and did certain line OF reporting
which did not interfere with my job print
ing. You must know that | had u job print
ing office, being a compositor by trade, and
was established in 222 William street. Find
ing business dull 1 hit upon the idea of q
penny paper, seeing no reason why paper;
should not be sold like apples
and thinking besides that the journal
xDd x0do it did, dSp for my Mr. ] scndder. ''s of the
Anne rican museum, then at the corner of Ann
and Broadway, made contract with me for
his bills, and between that and other things
had my hands full. Wisner was with me
only one year. He came in as partner un-
der this arrangement: l guaranteed him 81
week, and we were to divide the profits,
He was to pay $3.50 to make him q full part
ner, as l valued the printing Office at 81, 800.
In six months time his share of the profits
enabled him to pay the $3.50, besides the $i a
week which he drew regularly. Six months
afterward he sold mo his half share for
5000. / was very sorry that he left me- for
we got on together very WELL but he was
wild to go west and grow up with the coun-
try, just as if a man could not have grown
up with the country here in New York. He
went to Michigan and became member OF
the legislature but he did not make old
bones"
'Who succeeded him?" Mr.. Day was asked
LOCKE, OF MOON HOAX CELEBRITY.
"Ohw answered the patriarch of penny
journals, first one man and then another.
Richard Adams Locke wrote for me and per-
petrated the moon hoax in 1880. | have
heard people insist that it was written by
Edward Poe, but that's nonsense. He did
write about the wonderful adventures OF
Hans Pfall, but that was different altogether,
except that it related TO the moon. i read
something in the Sun recently about meteor
in Texas, and | said to myself, That's in
Lockes vein. Well, tho success of my paper
set people thinking. Its circulation kept
mounting up, mounting up, until it was diff
cult to get it printed. Anderson & Smith
both young follows, printed the paper for me
on hand presses. i think they had three
They started to work at o'clock in the even
lup, Tdu dll plll q
next morning. Think of it, fourteen hours
taken up in printing alone! Ours was the
first paper printed by steam. All this hap
pened in 1885. The circulation went on in
creasing until it reached $1,000, and it would
have been considered phenomenal but the
Herald was then the bright particular star OF
journalism, and the Sun, though prosperous
and lucrative, was dimmed by it. That's the
truth.
THE SUN SOLD TO MOSES BEACH.
In 1885, after five years of great success, |
sold the paper to Moses II. Beach for S35, ,000
He gave il to his three sons, and Moses
Beach, jr, bought out the other two brothers.
This was in my opinion lucky thing, foI
Moses Beach, ST., had no notions at all about
journalism, aud Moses Beach, jr., took to il
very kindly, and raised the circulation ia
10000 copies daily. Then Mr., Dana and his
friends bought it, but in 1867 Mr.. Dana took
it out of the category of penny papers, for he
raised its price to two cents.
"What do you think, Mr.. Day, of our
penny papers of to-day" queried the re-
porter.
"Well, only know of Truth and the Morn
ing Journal" Mr.. Day answered. 6 like the
Journal very much, 1t is bright witty, full
of news and interesting matter. To me il
seems TO be edited by thorough journalists
who have definite field which they propose
to cover and which they do cover admirably.
Truth have not seen for some time, however
having given up buying it, but / am told
| that its new editor, eN- Mayor Hall, has i'm