The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-29
ENTERPRISE.
Shopping Condolences About Notable
Newspaper " Scoops"

Shopping Condolences About Notable
Newspaper " Scoops"
Talk about newspaper enterprise" said
the young man with soiled cuffs and a
briarwood pipe, Ibid l ever tell you about
the big thing we did on the Startler year
or two ago? No? Well, it was a great
drive and well worth the telling" notes
the Boston Transcript.
"There hadn't been murder for three
days, and not one of the mysterious disap-
pearances amounted to hill OF beans.
We'd got to have a sensation, but what it
was going to be was more than any of US
could guess.
"Tom Skipper, our local man, was so
much concerned about the matter that he
actually offered to commit suicide to help
the paper out, but old Cutter, one of the
desk editors, happened to think just in
time that if Skipper suicided there would
be nobody left to write the thing up in
Shippers inimitable style.
"Then somebody suggested that instead
of killing himself Skipper kill some other
fellow; but that wouldn't be much better,
for Skipper would be locked up beyond the
reach of his scissors; SO the whole bust
ness was dropped. But something must
be done.
FINALLY our literary editor got an idea.
Or course it was of no use to him; couldn t
use ideas IN his department, you know.
So he gave it to the city editor. The idea
was a novel one, as might have been ex-
pected from man who spends the heft of
his time reviewing the title pages of fic-
tional literature. 1t was to print few
chapters of the Bible under scare head
and with lots of cross lines.
"Well, sir, we did it and there never
probably was such an excitement among
our readers. 1t was brand new to nine
teen-twentieths of them, and the way they
besieged the office for copies and the way
they Dragged about the Starters enter
prise was caution, can tell you. Why,
sir, we sold more than 100000 copies of
that days issue, and even then we were
wholly unable to meet the demand"
mot so bad, said the young man with
the moth-eaten mustache, "but nothing
to the little stroke of enterprise we did
awhile ago on the Shark. Just as you had
done. SO we, too, had tried everything we
could think of for sensation, and every
body was at his wits ends. Nobody could
suggest anything that was worth trying.
cit began to look blue at the Shark
office 1t was the first time, you know,
that we had ever been strapped for an
idea We began to think we'd have to sus-
pend publication, for it was useless to
tAlilk OF issuing ouaIh Will no SENSATION
in it.
Luckily, however, our office-boy came
forward with tip. We get most of our
suggestions from our office-boy, you know.
What do you suppose his idea was? Youd
never guess in a thousand years. 1t was
simply this, that we issue number of the
Shark with not so much as single lie
in it!
"Well, sir, the thing was done; it was
wearisome work, but it was done. The
paper was printed, but it didn't take at
first; our readers couldn't understand it.
But after while few Of them got onto
it and then the news spread. Well. sir, to
make a long story short, we sold 1900, 600
copies OF that paper. We tried it again
the next week, but the folks wouldn't buy.
They said once would do for sensation, a
novelty. but for regular thing they pre-
ferred the Sharks regular vintage"