Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-03

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ences." the sale Of which Mr.. Childs push
ed to 100000 copies and had 1t placed In the
list Of studies in many schools. where 1t
still is retained.
some edition Of DR.. Elisha Kent Kane's
Arctic Explorations" which had an enor-
nous sale. The number Of copies sold can
be Imagined when 1t Is stated that the firm
paid DR.. Kane nearly $4,000 as royalties.
Shortly after this the civil war broke out,
ana the suffering Of the southern loyalists
excited much attention, the most notable
case being that Of Parson B. Brownlow of
Tennessee. Childs and Peterson took sd
vantage Of the sensation and issued q de-
| scription Of the cruelties practiced In the
south. written by Parson Brownlow. Fifty
thousand copies were disposed Of In a short
time, and Mr.. Childs handed over to the
southern parson $4,000 This was the only
sensational book ever published by the firm.
but the interest manifested in the subject
was the cause of this exception to Mr..
Child's invariable rule.
Among the other successful books pub
lsned by the nrm. many OF them by his ad-
vice. were Anebones Dictionary Of Au-
thors." Bouvier's Law Dictionary and
institutes Of American Law" Sharswood's
Blackstone" and Lossing's History Of the
Civil War"
Public Ledger Enterprise.
All this time Mr.. Childs had one object In
view. Nearly ten years before he had said
to friend In his little ONCE at Sd and
Chestnut streets that IL he lived he would
become owner Of the Public Ledger. The
gentleman to whom he spoke. DR.. r. Shelton
Mackenzie. was deeply impressed at the
time and years afterward recalled them in
| a letter to Mr.. Childs, when the latter had
become proprietor Of what long has been
one Of the most prominent and widely read
newspapers in Philadelphia. In 1896, three
tourneyman printers-Messrs. Swain, Abel
and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS to start a penny
L.
was in the Arcade. which extended from
Chestnut to Jayne street between 9th and
tn, and Its editor was Russell Jarvis, h bold
and dashing writer. The Daily Transcript
another penny paper, was afterwafd con3ol-
tdated with the Ledger. and Its title has
ever since appeared OH the paper. The Led
ger at once gained the sympathy and sup
port of the respectable portion of the com
munity and was compelled several times to
enlarge Its size ard remove to more COM
modious offices.
After the war broke out the price Of white
paper, and other articles necessary for its
production. advanced to very high figures.
Labor and material doubled in price, and
In 1864 the publishers of the Ledger were
losing money daily. Every issue cost $3.50
more than they received for 1t, the annual
loss being $4,000. Mr.. Childs learning that
the publishers were anxious to dispose of
the paper looked carefully into the matter.
He made a close calculation Of the expense
Of publishing 1t, and despite the advice of
so many OF his friends. who thought he
was throwing his money away, purchased
the whole property on December 5, 1864, for
loss.
Mr.. Childs Immediately showed how the
paper could be published at a profit He
doubled it's prices and Increased the adver-
Using rates. The change was at once felt
and subscribers and advertisers dropped
of in considerable numbers. Then Mr.
Childs conceded a point and reduced the
a week.
This brought the old subscribers back. the
| circulation and advertising gradually in
creased and In short time the paper was
| firmly established on a substantial and
paying footing.
In the meantime Mr.. Childs worked earn
estly and indefa tigably. He superintendent
every department and for several years did
| not leave the editorial rooms until mid
night. He began by making various changes
In the character Of the paper. He made
the rule that no advertisements having the
slightest faint Of bad morals should appear
In 1t and though In this respect he lost
! thousands Of dollars, he was more thar,
compensated by creating a class Of ad-
vertisements for which the Ledger has
long been noted.
Conservative Management
| While exercising this careful supervision
Of the advertising columns, Mr. Childs die
not neglect the news and editorial depart-
| ments. Nothing was allowed to appear In the
paper that would wound the feelings Of any
one. and any attempt at sensation was care
fully avoided. The effect of these rules was
seen In the constantly increasing business
and circulation of the paper The BUILDING
| at the corner Of Sd and Chestnut streets be-
came too contracted. and In 1885 the hand
some brown stone building at 9Th ana
Chestnut streets was purchased and on ia,
site the present Ledger building was erect
ed.
In December, 1892. fire in the building
doo pxradt ha eli
posing rooms. but these were shortly after
ward restored. and Mr.. Childs built in addi-
ton large and commodious annex on
Samson street. above 9Th, which is COM
can be awaited Of at once should fire gain
visit the building on Chestnut street
LiberaIity and Charity.
Amid the cares OF business Mr. Childs al
ways found an opportunity to do good with
the wealth he had accumulated. His Hber-
ality was proverbial, and there were few
public movements to which he was NOT a
contributor. window Of stained glass was
put up in Westminster Abbey in memory of
George Herbert and William Cowper. at
Mr. Chllds expense, merely from a sugges-
ton made by the late Dean Stanley He al
80 contributed handsomely to the monu-
ment to Leigh Hunt and the window In
memory Of Thomas Moore at Bronham. Te
ms muniiieenee was also due the Shakes
peare drinking fountain at Stratford-on-
Avon. He also. In conjunction with his
friend. the late Anthony j. Drexal gave
the $4,000 which formed the nucleus of
the fund used in establishing the Printers
Home at Denver, Col
His liberality to his employees and his
constant and unremitting generosity To
those in distress have become a household
word In Philadelphia. He was a patron of
almost every charity In the city, and to
each he gave freely and cheerfully
Friend Of the Great
Mr.. Childs' social qualities attracted to
his home the leading people Of almost
every nation as his guests. Among those
who were glad to call him their friend
were the late Emperor of Brazil. the Duke
Of Buckingham, the Marquis Of Dufferin.
Dean Stanley, Canon Kingsley, Charles
Dickens, Longfellow, Holmes, Bancroft.
Gen. Grant and George Peabody. In
the vast array Of friends with whom he
corresponded were Washington Irving, VIM
H. Prescott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edward
Everett, Horace Greeley, William c. Bry-
ant, Thurlow Weed and a host of other
prominent men.
In the summer Of 1887 Mr. Cleveland ap
pointed Mr.. Childs one of the board of
visitors to West Point, and he was unan-
imously elected chairman by its members
He signalized his visit to the academy by
having the portraits Of Grant. Sherman
and Sheridan painted and placed in the
guest hall, and also by having headstones
and tablets placed on the graves in the
cemetery. Mr.. Childs was frequently So
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