Morning journal and courier., 1889-05-30
ALLEN THORNDIKE E RICE.
How and Why he Bought the North
 American ReY1aW.

How and Why he Bought the North
 American Review.
 W. A. Croffut gives an interesting account of conversation he had with the late Allen Thorndike Rice not long before his death.
 "How came to buy the North American Review2' said Mir. Rice. "Well, 1t may amuse you to know that bought it to print my book notices inl Before that I had printed little save these book reviews, and was developing strong passion that way. The paper was writing for sent back one of my contributions. That made me angry; for was young thsn-only 22.
 'I heard that the North American Review was for sale, and saw that it couldn't pay as it wss then run. The next time I was in Boston called on MT. James R. Osgood, to whom I was 8 stranger, and asked about it.
 "'Yes,' he candidly told me, it is for sale; it doesn't pay; it is expensive property what will you gives' I told him I didn't know anything about the condition of the Review, but if he would put price on it, I would consider it.
 "'Give me s5, 900 and you can have ii, The said.
 "I will think about it, I answered. The price seems reasonable. and I will let you know in a week or tWo.'
 GA week or twol' exclaimed he. T can't put 1t off. You must tell me at once'
 "'Very well,' I said, i will go back to New York and let you know the day after to .worrow.'
 "'No, can't wait,' he persisted It isn't of importance enough. You must try it now or not at all.'
 "'Can you wait while I go across the street and get cheek casheda' I asked.
 s'He laughed and said he could wait for that. did it. The big Review was mine. I went back to New York wondering what I lem that worried me. The periodical found had just about 1900 subscribers. The first newspaper notice of my purchase al- luded to me derisiYely as 'rattling around in the chair of James Russell Lowell
 ''I soon found that had something to do besides writing book notices. I made up my mind to combine breezy topics with well known writers and tried for months to catch the public eye. And here bear in mind that the North American does not rely on con- tributions, though it uses them. The arti- cles which have attracted most attention have been directly invited and personally solicited by me. The trenchant philipic of Jerry Black on The Great Conspiracy (Hayes's eleotion) and the discussion it ex-
  called his article The Great Fraud, but I fiatly refused to print it under that title, and David Dudley Finally induced him to change it. John Sherman's article on Resumption also gave us boom, and the Ingersoll- Glad stone controversy brought us 400 subscribers Gladstone to take hand, and had a de- lightful reception at his country home. I'll tell you about it sometime"
 ''I have often wondered" I said, "how you managed to pay these big fellows for their services. Do they take money like smaller fry?"
 ''Most of them tell me plumply how much they want for their contribution, and that suits me exactly, for then know what is expected. Now and then one refuses to stipulate, but says pay whatever you wish to. That is embarrassing, for it leaves me no alternative to sending plump check on conjecture. Still more seldom, one absolute ly declines to take anything; this is doubly embarrassing, but send him piano or a painting, ,or geteven with him somehow some- time. shall get some presents in Paris this summer"
 "You must have some lively ohases after copy" suggested.
 "Yes, have. Perhaps the liveliest was after Tom Scott. The Pennsylvania rail- road strike was in progress and he had promised me au article on Strikes It was publication day and the article had moi come. started on the cars to hunt him up. He was not in Philadelphia. He was not at home. followed him to Pittsburg. The depot was on fire and the blazing town was in the hands of a mob. I found him in the lobby of the hotel, with crowd bowling in front and around him. I went up to him and asked for that article. He laughed and said he was otherwise temporarily engaged, and he added with seriousness, Rice, if you want to avoid being hurt, stay right by mel' I laughed back at the absurdity of it, and told him his vicinity seemed the unsafest place in the United States. But I didn't lose sight of him. came back East in the car with him next day, went to his home with him, haunted him till he wrote the ar ticle, and then seized it and escaped to New York not much to01ate. It made hit"
 I inquired if the North American had many protest on account of Ingersoll's arti- cles.
 "No," he said ''Now and then a few regularly protest, and a few stop their sub scriptions and then buy it. But the people love fair play, and our orthodox friends don't abject to a discussion if their side has full hearing"
 I asked who was going to edit the North American in his absence.
 I am," he said. "I shall edit 1t from St. Petersburg by eable-ths first time that such thing was ever attempted, I suppose. l have made first rate arrangements with 8 cable company and shall be in constant communication. Cable me at any time. Before leaving I shall give you full particu- lars. believe that the Review can not only be kept up, but can actually be improved by having the editor 4000 miles from the 10000 small worries of the business off, fee.