Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-08-19

with him at the start we're A. d. Miller as
business manager and Mr.. Martin as
editor. Mr.. Miller, whose energy and
fine business qualities contributed largely
toward making Life a valuable newspaper
property, has since then found his reward,
and is now partner in the business. Mr..
Martin was succeeded by Henry Guy
Carleton, whose "Thompson-street Poker
Club proved an instant and enduring sue
cess. The next editor was j. K Bangs,
who is now editor of Munseys Weekly and
a member of the editorial staff of Halper's.
His successor on Life was Frank White, a
bright New York journalist, who had pre-
viously contributed to the different comic
weellies with fair degree of success. Mr..
White resigned his position last spring to
go to London, and was succeeded by james
Metcaife, the present incumbent.
Lies earlier years We're passed in Mr..
MitchelTs studio on Broadway, near
Twenty street, but some time ago
it moved to the offices which it now occu-
pies on West Twenty-third street, near
Fifth avenue. The paper is very profit
able one, and as it does not use colors nor
maintain an extensive plant, il is con-
Quoted with a comparatively small amount
of trouble.
IId-Bits, which was started as sort of
fye-cent imitationof Lije, has since changed
its name to Time, and raised its price to
ten cents. 1t has not yet succeeded in
making much of noise in the world,
though its witticisms are widely quoted.
Texas SJtiags started In an unobtrusiye
way in Austin, Texas, and leaped into i'm
mediate popularity by sheer force of ORR
ginality and cleyerness. 1t soon outgrew
the narrow limits of its native town and
opened an office in New York, where it is
now published by its founders, Messrs.
Sweet and Knox. 1t has very large cir
lation and makes a great deal of money,
although Its humor is largely of the old
fashioned stoyepipe and goat variety.
That there are people who still delight in
these primitive jokes is proved by the
continued prosperity of the SyJtiags.
Humor has now become part of the
daily food of the American reading public;
for besides the sources of supply already
named nearly every paper of Importance
has its own funny man" or humorous de-
partment, and in some cases, as, for in
stance, the Detroit Free Press, the funny
man has given his journal national repu-
tation.
Bailey, of the Danbury Ne1rs, was one of
the first of these funny" and for time
his paper enjoyed a wide circulation
throughout the country, chiefly because of
Bailey's account of the putting up of
stoyepipes. the slipping on banana peels.
and the many hayward coquetries of the
American goat.
Bob Burdette made reputation first
for the Burlington Hapkcye and afterward
for himself He is still an active worker
in the field of humor.
Bill Nye first came before the public as
a Western humorist, but removed to New
York few years ago, and is now one of
the most successful men in his craft in the
United States. His weekly letter is dupli-
crted IN about fifty papers and his income.
from writing and lecturing is said to ex-
coed SO, 1000 per annum. Bill Nye resides
on Staten Island, and in spite of the enor-
nous quantity of work that he turns out.
manages to maintain high standard of
excellence from one years end to the
other. In that particular he is the envy
of his brothers of the press.
The superb buildings which are now
occupied by Puck and judge show more
plainly than words the wonderful growth
of business which ten years ago was
looked upon as hopeless one The amount
of money earned by successful comic ar
fists and writer's is also an illustration of
what comic journalism has become in this
country, and it is not improbable that the
beginning of the next century will find
the emoluments of the professional humor-
list even greater than they are to-day.