Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-04-05
RECOLLECTIONs OF JOURNALISM
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.
"Would 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 a
page in the daily, semi-weekly and
weekly Tribune, agreeing to pay. $4,000
for it. After the advertisement had APP
peared in the daily, Mr.. Greeley raised
the objection that it would hurt the
weekly, which had very large circula-
ton, to allow any man to occupy so 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 Mr.. 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.
Mr.. 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 n
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 a copy of Mr.. BENEFITS
paper. When he opened the first half
and saw three OF the pages monopolized
by the Ledger, 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 by
Sinclair's act, and he called out: you
have thrown away the lesser part; you
will find the greater in what you have
kept Mr.. Sinclair colored to the roots
OF his hair, and opened the sheet and
was greatly surprised to see that five of
the pages were given up to the Ledger.
The fact then dawned on him that he
and Greeley had made a mistake in re-
fusing to carry out the contract with Bon
ner for one page in the Tribune. The
first Sunday Herald was issued to get rid
OF the leftover matter which encountered
the galleys, 1t was an experiment; but
it brought such good results as to lead to
the establishment of regular Sunday
edition OF the paper. Mr.. Bennett was
quick to seize a point and profit by it.
Now all the morning journals, including
the Tribune, print Sunday issue, and il
is really the elaborate and most costly
paper OF the week. The changes in the
newspaper world are marvellous to an old.
timer like myself"
A far-away look came into the ewes oil
the speaker as he uttered the last words
as if the faces OF the elder Bennett
Horace Greeley, Henry j. Raymond and
other journalistic stars rose before him
from the mists OF the past. Then he
muttered something about time moving
on with rcmorseless tread, Indifferent 10
change, and thrust his hands into his
pockets and walked away.-Turf, Field
| and Farm