Evening star., 1899-03-25


Hope. Five days later IL was issued in en-
larged form. At this time its editorial,
composing and press rooms occupied a
single apartment The four or five COM
posttors worked at their cases only a few
feet from the hand press upon which the
paper was printed. One OF the compositorS
was Stuart Robson, the American actor;
another was MIR. Charles A. LeVes. Mr..
Lcves is still a compcsitor on The Star.
engaged i'm setting up advertisements, and
has been a daily witness for nearly half n
century of the growth Of the paper and the
city it has been such a factor In making
grow There IS another man on The Star.
however, whos| term of service is even
longer than that of Mr.. Leves. This is Mr..
Crosby :. Noyes. the editor in-chief, who
became connected with the paper In 1888.
Changes of Ownership.
Under the new management the success
of The Evening Star Increased and it be-
came necessary TO enlarge its facilities. In
September. 1854, accordingly, the paper was
moved To the hui ding at the southwest
corner of llth street and Pennsylvania
avenue, immed ately opposite its present
location ana the site OF its permanent home.
Here it remained tor twenty -seven years.
In March, lNd5. Mr.. WaIlarh purchased
the interest Of Mr.. Hope and became sole
proprietor % the paper Mr.. Wallach
perceived the advantages OF giving the pub
lie all the news. and. under his direction
The Star made steady strides forward in
public estima tion. The entire editorial and
reportorial stan of The Star at that time
comprised but two or three men. The pres
ent editOr-in-chief Of the paper was assist
ant editor, reporter and general utility man.
His duties at that time might embrace the
entire range of newspaper work, from re-
porting a police case to writing a Leading
editorial. HIS regular routine required him
10 get early morning reports at the old
Central Guard House. write editorials,
make tour Of the public departments in
search OF news, clip exchanges and, at
night, to report meetings and finish up by
making the round of the hotels. In those
days a reporter had to depend on his legs
for peregrnation. There were no tele-
phones. no street cars, as the printers devil
once remarked sententiously, mo nawth-
in" Mr.. Wallach was also indefatigabe In
the interests Of The Star. and every depart.
ment Of the paper presented to him a field
for personal usefulness. The small force
inspired it was to do what was before IL
as well 1t could be done, made a bright,
readable paper, whose saucy piquancy and
CHEEKY gossip caught and held public atten.
ton and favor.
1t was a revelation to that public. accus.
toned. as it had been, to the heavy, if re.
spectable ponderousness of the National
Intelligencer, the Union and the Sentinel,
which gained their support largely from
government or party favor, to realize that
The Star devoting itself to the inter-
ests OF the people, and the support received
illustrated the wisdom of the policy ever
since maintained-unswerying devotion TO
the best local interests.
The Present Company.
For thirteen years Mr.. Wallach success
fully conducted the management OF The
Star, and desiring to retire and give his
time to the management of the farms he
had purchased. he sold The Star October 81,
1867, to Messrs. Crosby S. Noyes, Samuel
H. Kaufman. George w. Adams, Alexan-
der r. Shepherd and Clarence b. Baker.
Mr.. Noyes. who had been practically in
editorial control the ma fpr har
of years shaping and directing its policy.
became editor-in-chief of The Star and the
paper continued along the lines ii had SO
loyalty and faithfully maintained.
The confidence felt in the future of the
paper conducted in pursuance of that pol
icy was illustrated with something like
prophetic power in the announcement OF
the change of ownership and the purposes
Of the new management. 1t said:
we mean that The Star shall be inde-
pendent, outspoken, honest, expressing it.
self freely upon all questions of public in
terest, but always, We trust. with fairness
and good temper. The time has come when
Washington city can, by right of her popu-
lation and business, demand a paper de-
voted essentially to her interests. Hereto
fore il has been deemed impossible to sus-
tain journal here divorced from politics
and relying for its support from the people
and business of Washington. But the
Washington of today is something more
than a political center with all its interests
merged in national politics.
There is a mission here for a paper de-
voted largely to the announcement OF the
hopeful new business career entered upon
by the District cities. The Star by its re-
sources, its commanding circulation and the
liberal advertising support it receives, is
favorably situated 10 undertake that mis-
sion, and We shall enter upon the expert
ment without a shadow OF misgiving.
The Star now visits almost every house.
hold in the District, and the universally
of its circulation causes Ii to present great
attractions for advertisers. We shall not
rest until its large circulation is made yet
larger, increasing steadily hereafter with
the growth Of the city. As a newspaper We
mean that The Star shall occupy the front
rank. Our columns will show the complete
ness of our arrangements TO secure the
freshest and most authentic news Neither
labor nor expense will be spared to this
end. As a local paper The Star has been
Gnrfvaled, and We shah take due care that
its universal reputation as the best local
paper in the District will he fully MAIN
tanned. While its contents will be thorough
ly newsy, varied. fresh. sprightly and read
able, mean at the same time that they
shall be uneNceptionable in character.
we know what The Star has done in the
past and our ideal of its future career is
a high one. How nearly We shall succeed
in realizing that ideal remains to be seen"
Every intelligent person in Washington
can testify to the tremendous reality of this
ideal of third of century ago. Mr.. Wal
ZACH was paid 100000 for The Star, and it
was the prevalent public opinion that he
had made a shrewd bargain. Immediate