The Portland daily press., 1900-01-03
Portland.
40 437 AS 46l-l762
South Portland.
NEWSPAPERS PROPERTY.
(Fron, the Providsnoe Journal. J

(FrOm the Providence JournA.)
Two suggestive events happened last
week in the newspaper world. Mr..
James Gordon Bennett took out char
ter covering the New York Herald prop
erty and Comptroller Of the Currency
Dawes announced that the Philadelphia
Record Was to be sold to the highest bid
der. Mr.. Bennett capitalized the Herald
at 500. co., The comptroller states Il a.
the Record, which has the largest circu-
lation Of any paper In Philadelphia, Is
earning 5000, COO. net. annually. In all
human likelihood the former jourL al
earns more than the lattsr. Its regular
income probably amounts to 81 ,0f0, 900. Mr.
Bennett owns all but q few sharea In the
Herald corporation. The late MIR. Sin.
gsrly possessed an equally large interest
In the Record company.
Suoh data indicate with some de1nite-
ness the value Of a SUCCESSFUL modern
ne wspaper In o great city. 1t IL fair to
assume that there Is abundant curiosity
ON that point. Those who have read
biographical sketches relating to news
paper life will surely recall the extent TO
which men have speoulstsd regarding the
that MIR. Walter left one OF his children
whom he dearly loved, the earnings OF
certain portion of the advertising ool-
umns OF the paper. Granting that tbs
Times then earned 40 much as tbs New
York Herald earns now, IL Ia not doubt
fvl that this teQuest was as welcome as
would have been one OF more tangtbls
character. There can be little question
that the Herald has been as high source
Of Income to Its owner rs many OF Mr
Astor's English estates taken together
viii be TO him. II the amount OF its
earnings be figured no higher than
tn ose Of the Philadelphia Record he has
been drawing 4 per osnt. ;on si5. 0o0, OCO for
the greater part Of his adult life. Had he
ever exchanged this property for com mon
Investments, such as those OF the Wander
biit or Gould family he would have had
to acquire pretty nearly half OF some
grs sat railroad to secure an equal income.
Even then he might have bean 90 unfor-
tunate as TO runs short or cash at tfmee
Railroads sometimes do NOT pay divi-
dsnds and some OF them occasionally go
into the hands Of receivers.
There 10 another aud very different
way Of looking ut the value OF news
papers. 1t Ia suggested By the sad events
In Mr.. Singerly's latsr career and IL fur
The Philadelphis capitalist was not DON
tent with his 600. 900 income from this
Record. He engaged in business with
unfortunate results. Practically every
dollar of his property Is now to be paid
over to his creditors. Had he been c,n-
tent to spend his income from the paper
he might ct this time have been winning
fame by bsnefaotiona he could have
been the Mr.. Harmsworth OF America,
In which capacity he would have been
only less famous than Msssrs. Carnegie
and Rockefeller. Or. expecting him TO be
no more generous than Mr.. Bennett Is,
the world Of American admiration. with.
GUS calling the latter a person OF no .pu b.
lie spirit could have paid such tributs
a. 10 does TO the business head Of the
editor Of the Herald. Mr.. Bennett II
content to run his newspaper and live
on the profits Of 10. He knows the secfei
Of kssping the value Of bis property &c
himself.