The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1897-10-07

read, and then he printed it. Sometimes
he made q wrong guess, but he speedily
discovered his error and rectihed it, He
had no time to waste in trying to force
reading matter on an unappreciative pub
lie. He introduced hundreds of new ideas
new at least TO British readers. If they
liked them, the ideas were permanently
adopted. If they didn't, they had to go.
Before he was go he was printing and
selling 1,O00 600 papers n week. He had
taken four Of his brothers into partnership
with him, and four years ago he formed
Answers and several minor papers into
stock company, selling u minority of the
stock for 81, 500, 900, but still retaining a
controlling interest. This operation he
repeated only month or two ago, when
HaImsworth Bros, limited, was reorgan-
lied, stock to the amount of 81, 100000
being issued. OF this sum Mr.. Harms
worth himself pOcketed the lions share
and still retained the majority of the stock.
One of his earlier ventures was the purchase
Of The Evening News and Post, London
hal1penny paper which had been for years
an improbable property, He put new
life into it, introduced novel methods and
doomed it in true American style. Within
wonderfully short time the paper was
success, and early last spring he sold
small part of his interest in it for large
sum. With the daillcs which he started
in Glasgow and Portsmouth he was equal.
ly successful.
Finally, in May of last year, he bought
the London Daily Mail At the time when
he took possession The Mail was plodding
along in the old lines. As skillful jockey
lifts a race horse out of the ruck, so he
jumped The Mail to the front, took the
rail and now leads the bunch with daily
circulation Of something like 400, ,000 He
has shaken Fleet street to its very suboel-
lars. The journalistic customs and tradi-
tions Of half century he has swept
aside and replaced with ideas which have
brilliancy, snap and go about them. He
was the first editor to startle Londoners
with American headlines-bold, black,
half column headlines which caught the
attention and evoked the unwilling ha'-
penny.
Mr.. Harmsworth had to stand first the
silent contempt of his elder rivals; then
their sarcastic sneers and after that round
abuse Now he has the satisfaction of see
ing these same rivals making a frantic
effort to adopt methods similar to his or
else viewing with calm despair their former
prosperity slipping away. He has prodded
the British press with sharp stick. 1t
must either go ahead or get hurt
The united circulations Of the papers
and magazines which Mr.. Harmsworth
controls amount to z, 900, 900 copies week
In every one of his thirty odd publica-
tions he takes personal interest, being in
constant communication with the editors
and occasionally having them come to his
home for long consultations. Most Of the
new ideas which are tried are of his own
suggestion. In order to carry on such an
immense amount of work he must be con.
stantly in touch with all Of his widely sep
arated sanctums. At his country home in
Kent he has telephone in almost every
room In the house and even at dinner may
stop between the soup and the fish to ad-
wise his London editor in chief upon the
handling of IA big piece Of news.
Personally Mr. Harmsworth is very
modest in talking about himself and his
achievements. He would rather show his
visitors his fish pond and pet alligators
than tell them how he built up The Mail.
One of the great ambitions of his life is TO
be instrumental in planting the British
flag at the north pole and to this end he
has backed Explorer jackson in two expe-
ditions S. Il. MACDONALD