The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1902-12-25
FRANK A. MUHsEY.

Il
The address Of Frank A. Munsey be-
fore the Merchants Club of Boston
last week should interest our readers,
for Mr.. Munsey was born and bred in
the Pine Tree State. A few years ago,
rich in ambition and mentalequipment,
but lean in purse. he went to the great
city of New York to engage in the pub
fishing business. 1t seemed then a
Quixotic undertaking; and it seems
now almost miracle-in view of the
obstacles that he had to surmount, not
the least of which was lack of capital
that he should have succeeded. But
to-day Munsey's Magazine is credited
with circulation more than double
that of The Century or Harper's, both
long established and with ample capital
behind them. This is only one Of Mr..
Munsey's magazines, and he is said to
be millionaire several times over.
Having succeeded in this line of pub
fishing he embarked in journalism by
the purchase of the New York Daily
News. Then he bought the Washing
ton Times, daily newspaper published
at the National Capital, and more re-
Gently the Boston Journal, the leading
Republican daily and the favorite fam
lily paper of New England. This was
the occasion of his presence in Boston
and OF his address before the Mer-
chants Club. His forecast of the news
paper of the future-the near future
is striking He said:
In my judgment it will not be many
years-five or ten, perhaps-before the
publishing business Of this country will
be done by a few concerns, three or four
at most. There will be line of news
papers representing each of the two
great political parties, and another
chain Independent in politics. When
this stage is reached, gentlemen, you
may expect to find on your breakfast
table in the morning, and on your
drawing room table in the evening,
newspapers of a grade of excellence of
which the most sanguine mind has
never yet dreamed. 1t will all be pos
sible then; it is not possible now, with
the merciless competition that con-
fronts newspaper publisher.
Then, when competition is reduced
to minimum, ''The advertisers will
no longer dictate to publishers, and dis
honest and disreputable advertising
will disappear forever from our news
papers,
Then genius of the highest order will
shape and mould both our news and our
editorial columns, and hundred thOus-
and dollar men will fill the places of the
two and three thousand dollar men of
today Organizations of such scope can
command the learning and culture and
cleverness of all the world. They can
place masters at the head Of every
branch. And with such staff, your
newspaper, gentlemen, will be a daily
treasure box of news and intellectual
expression, of literature and art and re-
search and knowledge. 1t will in fact
be veritable university for the people.
1t is some such idea as this that has
tempted me into daily journalism.
Mr. Munsey's purchase of three daily
papers, it appears, is but the prelimin-
airy steps in scheme which is intended
to embrace thousand newspapers in a
thousand towns, and which would make
possible the payment of large salaries
to the general staff. In concluding this
part of his address Mr.. Munsey said:
| realize that it is possible may not
go very far with this undertaking, but
| know that if l fall by the wayside
some one more worthy than myself will
take up the work and carry it on to the
ultimate possibilities | have indicated.
Meanwhile | shall have the matchless
pleasure and the supreme delight that
come only to him who is working out
great problems. There is nothing in all
the world so fascinating, so dramatic.
On the subject of trusts Mr.. Munsey
had something new to say, and it was
prompted by personal investigation and
experience. Hedeclared that "the trust,
however bad it is today, however crude
and untamed, has in it the true princi-
pie of doing business" This brings us
to another field of enterprise in which
Mr. .Munsey has engaged He said
have now in operation a chain OF 20
or more provision stores, under the
name of The Mohican Company. All
but two of these have been established
within the last 10 months, and the re-
suit of this experiment makes it certain
that the people can be fed, and fed
precisely as they a1e now fed, at not
over 60 cents on the dollar of the pres
ent cost. A hundred thousand people
in New England alone are now buying
bread from The Mohican Company at 5
cents loaf-bread of the same size and
quality as that which cost them cents
before The Mohican Company hammer
ed down the price.
With an organization broad enough
to encompass 10000 stores, the outlet
would be SO stupendous that the average
price OF all provisions would not exceed
this same 60 cents on dollar.
Such an organization would refine its
own sugar, grind it's own flour, import
it's own cotfees and teas and spices. 1t
would slaughter its own meats, produce
its own butter and cheese, and would
manufacture all the other products that
60 to complete perfect provision store.
There would be no middlemen here, no
dividends on watered stock, no tribute
to any one, no waste anywhere.
Now, to return to the newspaper,
mpntiOn nav hp ma6a of uhot Mr.