Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-04-05
RECOLLECTIONs OF JOURNALIST.
When Bonner Began to Push His
Paper Into Public Notice.

He was an old New Yorker, and he
talked with the precision of the printed
page.
'sWould you believe it? When the
Tribune was started it refused to publish
theatrical advertisements or to chronicle
the movements of players. Now it gives
much space to the stage. When Mr. Bon
ner was pushing the Ledger, he bought
page in the daily, semi-weekly and
weekly Tribune, agreeing to pay $4,000
for it. After the advertisement had ap-
peared in the daily, Mr.. Greeley raised
the objection that it would hurt the
weekly, which had a very large circula-
ton, to allow any man to occupy 80 much
space in it. Mr.. Bonner insisted that the
contract should be carried out in good
faith, but Mr.. Greeley was obstinate, and
the matter was compromised by no
charge being made for the page occupied
in the daily.
When MIR. Bennett, the founder of the
Herald, heard of the transaction, he said
to his trusted lieutenant Joe Elliott,
that the Tribune people were foolish; that
no advertiser could ask for too much
space at the regular rates in the Herald.
MIR. Elliott repeated this conversation to
Mr.: Bonner, and the proprietor OF the
Ledger quickly remarked, ''Tell Mr.. Ben
nett that will take eight pages of his
paper" AS the Herald was an eight |
page journal, the advertiser put in bid |
for its entire space. Mr.. Bennett was
equal to the emergency. He put on six
teen pages, three pages of the Ledger adj
vertisement going into one-half section
and five into the other half. This was
the first time the Herald ever issued a
sixteen-page paper, and the feat was
regarded as something wonderful. How
different at the present, when more than
thlrty-tWo pages are sometimes caught
and folded from the press
Sam Sinclair, the publisher of the
tribune, lived at that time in Twenty
eighth street, near Eighth avenue. The
morning that the sixteen-page Herald
came out, he took his seat in the street
car and bought copy of Mr.. Benefits
paper When he opened the first half
and saw three of the pages monopolized
by the Ledger, a scowl came over his
face and he tossed the sheet over his
shoulder through the open window. Mr..
Bonner, who had got into the same car
one block higher up, was amused bv
Sinclair's act, and he called out: you
nave thrown away the lesser part YOU
Will ind the greater in what you have
1ept: MIR. Sinclair colored to the roots
u his hair, and opened the sheet and
vas greatly surprised to see that five of
me pages were given up to the Ledqer. I
The fact then dawned on him that he
md Greeley had made mistake in re-
using to carry out the contract with Bon
Ter Tor one page in the Tribune. The r
lrst Sunday Herald was issued to get rid
u the leftover matter which encountered
ne galleys. 1t was an experiment; but
brought such good results as to lead to
ne ne. establishment of a regular Sunday
ditlon OF the paper. Mr.. Bennett was
ulck TO seize point and profit by it.
low al the morning journals, including
ne 11T,a6une, print a Sunday issue, and It
really the elaborate and most costly
aper OF the week. The changes in the
eWspaper world are marvellous to an old
mer like myself" 49, 0'' n
far-away look came into the ewes If =,
Re speaker as he uttered the last words "
II the faces of the elder Bennett K
Grace Greeley, Henry J. Raymond and D.
her journalistic stars rose before him
ON the mists of the past. Then he +
uttered something about time MOVING
with remorseless tread, Indifferent to Il
lange, and thrust his hands info his
'cke ct and walked away Turf, Field -
I'd Farm. '''"