Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1900-03-13

press at about 3 o'clock this morning.
At about 10 o'clock he had conference
with the correspondents for Eastern
papers, and promised to meet them each
evening at 7:30 o'clock and give Out Ger.
tain information concerning his work.
At about II O'Clock he had met the local
force of the paper and gave out the
assignments for the day.
A page was devoted to local news and
the leading features in today's issue
were reports of a temperance revival
and an anti-cigarette meeting. Mr..
Sheldon instructed the police reporter
that in case of murder or other crime
to write bare statement of the facts.
If he had the space to spare, instead Of
filling up with the usual details he
would 20 into discussion of the causes
leading up to the crime.
During the conference the sporting
editor remarked that there would be a
contest at the Y. NJ G. A. rooms to-
night.
Il think" said Mr.. Sheldon, "that
that is a good clean sport. You may
print il"
The dramatic editor asked instruc
tions about theatres.
"We shall not want anything Of that
kind Mr.. Sheldon said
One page was reserved for telegraphic
news which ordinarily occupies about
three times that space. The Associated
Press report was necessarily "blue pen
ciled" with a vengeance.
The market reports Were cut from
four columns to one. All quotations on
stocks and bonds, giving options and
other matter involving transactions in
futures, were consigned to the waste
basket, and only the actual cash prices
Of grain, produce, etc, We're quoted.
A notable feature OF the paper was the
method of handling advertisements.
They were banished from the news and
editorial pages and were punched in
places reserved for them. The censor
ship here was even more rigorous than
in the news columns, and a large guam
tity of this class of matter was cut out,
including all relating to patent medi-
cines. The familiar corset advertise
ments of the magazines, unaccompanied
by cuts, sought in vain for space. No
retail advertisements from Kansas City
or other out-of-town tradesmen were ac-
cepted, Mr.. Sheldon holding that this
would be All injustice to home mer-
chants.
The $40 suit Of clothes for Sl4.15 style
of advertising was also barred.
The Capital appeared with radical
change in style and makeup. Practi-
cally the only feature that was familiar
to its regular readers was the title head.
line.
The first page, for instance ordinarily
devoted exclusively to telegraph news,
did not have line Of the current news
of the day. Instead, the page was given
up to discussions on what Mr.. Sheldon
considers the most important questions
now before the world. There were four
leading articles on this page, the first
being devoted 10 the famine in India,
under these headlines and the following
introduction:
Starving India"
Fifty Million People Affected by the
Famine"
"Oonditions Growing Worse Instead
of Better. The Urgent Need of Aid
from Christian America"
"The Capital knows of no more i'm
portant matter of news the world over
this morning than the pitiable condition
of famine. stricken India. We give the
latest available information of the pro.
gress Of the story in the following arti-
cle."
Here follow statements from the Rev.
j. f. Abbott, of the Bombay mission,
and Lord Curzon, viceroy of India:
"Militarisln" was discussed to the ex.
tont of about 1900 words, the leading
article under this heading Eeing ex-
tracts from a pamphlet ON militmism by
Baltimore physician, DR.. Richard II.
Thomas, who treated the war evil as a
"disease epidemic in all lntitudes.' He
discussed its causes, dangers and cure,
and urged the religion of Christ as the
only remedy.
The third first-page story was q col
umn and half symposium on the Kan.
sas prohibitory law and was made up OF
brief statements from leading politicians
and educators of the state, all maintain
ing that the law had proved great sue.
cess.
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