The times., 1897-06-27
THE NEW JOURNALISM.

New York, June 1O-After a week OF
hard work and constant endeavor, the
newspaper publishers Of this place have
failed to secure the services OF your cor
respondent, and l think the interest they
displayed should receive some official no.
tce-for instance, in the way of an in
erease-but Of that more later. The dis
patches l had sent in from the seat OF
war in Cuba to your paper attracted the
attention OF Mr.. Hearst, OF the New York
Journal, and Mr.. Pulitzer, of the World,
and Mr.. Dana, OF the Sun. Consequently,
the three editors seat joint note to your
correspondent. as the admirais of the
powers have been doing in Crete, asking
me TO come on to New York and talk over
business propositions. 1 left at once on
receiving transportation and arrived here
earlyin the week.
The Journal is prntedin yellow building
in Park Row, near the postoffiee. In the
Journal building | got in the elevator, and
a yellow kidtookme upstairs to Mr. Hearst's
private office. The stairways are COW
cred with yellow carpets, and t he windows
have yellow curtains. In fact, there seems
to be streak of yellow about the " hole
thing
81 have observed your correspondence for
certain Western papers with considerable
interest said the editor, land 1 would
like to engage your services. You would
be required to report at noon every day, go
to luncheon at O'Clock, write few
words on the yellow kids apron, and then
go to the Waldorf at nay expense until the
next day. For this would pay you $3.50
week and $50 an hour extra for over
time
This appeared to be fair proposition,
and your correspondent was inclined to
think it over. Before giving an answer,
however, Mr.. Hearst invited me to look
through the establishment
I'VE will first go TO the local room,'
said he, and we were whisked upstairs in
a private elevator, which no one else uses
There is an ele vator In the building for
each reporter.
This is where we keep the reporters
said he, throwing open the door. In the
room were 27s bright young men writing
copy Fifty six copyreaders at long desks
were taking the stuff, building heads on
it, and then piling it carefully in waste
baskets. which eighteen janitors were
furnace in the basement
why DO you employ SO many men when
you cannot get their stuff into an eighty
eight page paper?" asked your corre-
spondent.
Well said Mr.. Hearst, for one rea-
son they need the money. Then, again,
If did not hire them the World W ouId, and.
of course, that would not do. You see,
nay plan is to hire all the newspaper men
in the country and thus cripple my rivals.
am getting them, slowly but surely andin
a short time Dana and Jim ordon Bennett
viii have to go out and do night police
themselves, read their own copy, and
carry routes in the morning il they want
to get out newspapers.
Downstairs wc nava one handrHti ~nd
forty-eight artists. Few of them draw
anything except salary, butthey can stand
1t as long as can. / havethe satisfaction
OF knowing they are not. next door making
pictures of the Cretan revolution for
Pulitzer. The only artist W no persistently
refuses to Join our merry throng is weaken
ing, and I am now after him. The World
gives him S25e a week and no work
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays / am
going 70 make him an offer OF $500 a
week and no work at all. l think can
land him "
Where is the mathematical department
where the circulation is figured out?" asked
your correspondent.
''on the floor below" said Mr. Hearst;
'iet us go down there for a minute
In a long room, filled with desks, we
found thirty-four men hard at work COW
ering blocks Of paper with figures. The
editor approached one and asked:
''what will the circulation be tomorrow,
Mr.. Gesen2''
The lightning calculator placed lot of
figures on a paper, addedthem up, and said:
Eight million five hundred and forty-ffye
thousand eight hundred and eighty-one"
How do you compute it?'' asked the edi-
tor.
Well, / usually add million a day, but
on dull days / make the figures odd. 1t
looks better,' said the accountant. THE
boys are hard at work, and do not doubt
that by Sunday they wfiIhave thecirculat ton
beyond the ten-millicn mark
Weleft the room and on the way own the
hall / asked the great editor how he man
aged to get the papers printed In time on
the ordinary newspaper press, which does
not print more than million an hour or
so in any other city save New York.
''Weli, you see, we have seyenty-five
presses" said he, land they print about
500 900 papers an hour. think be-
iieve that is what one of the boys told me-
If that is not enough presses, we VIII bug
a hundred more.''
After viewing the building throughout,
told Mr.. Hearst / would Iook around a
little before giving him an answer. Across
the way, at Lipton's barroon, your CORE
spondent found Mr.. Pulitzer seated on a
high stool at the oyster counter, eating
crackers, and waiting for a dry stew.
He recognized ME Instantly. and, moving
over little, made room for me beside him
ON the stool
''I suppose them journal fellows have
been trying to hire you,'' said he Now,
l don't know what they have offered you,
but will give you $500 a week, 500
an hour for overtime, and steam yacht
in the bay to spend the summer with proper
ease and dignity. We have restaurant on
the top floor Of the building, and will fix
you up with TRANSFORMATION there, wlcb
can he renewed every week All our. re-
porters live at the Fifth Avenue Hotel and
send their bills to the office Your DAYS
will be full OF delight and ease. and you