The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1884-05-28
Starting a Newspaper.

Did you ever start a daily paper ?
No2 Well you ought to try it.
Falling down stairs with a stove on
top OF YOU is nothing to be compared
to it in point of excitement. The
name Of that paper was The RsVlelc,
and it was started to fill long felt
want. Jerry Cochrane was my part
ner. There were several very COM
forting things about that paper.
For instance, Jerry and always
knew on Monday that we wouldn't
have enough money topay the hands
off on Saturday, and we never did.
The hands knew it, too, and
so their nerves were never
shocked by a disappointment.
We ran that way for while,
getting more deeply in debt all
the time. At last, one morning. L
entered the Office and found Jerry
looking rather solemn.
Jerry says |, ''you want part
ner."
"Yes, we need one, Bob he re-
joined.
"A business man." said /.
Zone with executive ability, said
he.
a financier," | observed.
"A man who can take hold of the
thing and turn it into money" he
concluded.
"Then I've got the man you want,
| said, and introduced Frank Hitch
cock. the sheriff. Jerry said Frank
was the very man he had been
thinking of, so we installed him at
once. Sir, he proved to be all we
had anticipated, and he ran the pa
per with the greatest success till he
had turned it entirely into money.
When we wound up the concern
there was nothing left but two pas
ses-one to Cincinnati and one to
Burlington. We divided them, and
went in different directions.
l got to Burlington feeling pretty
bad. l was about two hundred
Thousand miles in debt, having
managed to owe everybody | knew.
| would have owed the strangers,
too, only | had no way of making
their acquaintance. One day l re-
marked to Mrs. Burdette that be-
lieve I'd go over and see i'll couldn't
get a Job on the Ha1ckeye. | post
poned it for a while, and one day
the business manager came over to
offer mea place. could haye hug
ged the man, but didn't want to be
demonstrative, so held back rath-
er ceyly. He asked me if | had
in view, and | told him
| had. 1t was the truth, as | had
an idea of going out to the poor
house, if | could get to ride on the
cars | was too proud to walk.
Well, he urged me, and | finally
agreed to take the matter into CEN
sideration. l was to go in at six
O'Clock the next afternoon, and L
bid him chilly good day. For fear
I'd miss the train, | was down there
at a quarter to four, but, when | en-
tered the HdlUkeye office | walked IN
like a lord and called the business
manager Charley slapping him
on the back. l tell you
his offering me the place gave me'a
moral advantage, and used it, the
result being that | was allowed the
usual princely salary of a reper-
ter.
| worked along for a while, and
finally got an interest in the HalCk-
eyc, which then increased its circula-
ton. \ curious thing happened at
ter awhile, which caused me to laugh
many a time. There were four ofus
on the editorial page-Frank Hat
ton, John l.. Waite and John Bur
dette, my brother. Frank was the
first one taken from that glorious
band, and he became First Assistant
Postmaster General. John Waite
followed by becoming postmaster
of Burlington, and my brother was
than appainted collector in the First
Internal Revenue District of
Ohio, Frank was born in Cadiz,
Wait in Ravehna. and my brother
in Cincinnati, all in the same State.
| was from Pennsylvania and didn't
get anything. 1t takes Ohio men
for offices.