Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1902-12-10

his managing editor.
Robert Van Horne was the mil
ionairc son of a departed million
aire father. His mother died in his
school years, and at the age of 26
he found himself the sole owner of the
immense Van Horne estate. roughly
estimated as having value of 500
100000. His cattle roamed on n thou
sand hills in New Mexico and Texas.
The drills of his mining machinery
were boring into the rocks in scores
of productive mines in Colorado, the
Dakotas and Montana. With the ira
ditional IVAN Horne luck" his agents
had been among the first to strike il
rich in the snow-swept valleys of the
Klondike. At an opportune moment
he had invested a small fortune in
Tennessee iron lands. and before this
story opens had smiled at the con
fusion of those friends who chided
him as the purchaser of a gold
brick"
Soon after the death of his father,
Van Horne bought the New York
Record; paper which had survived
a checkered career in the arena of
first issue under the Van Horne man
agement the Record was a publica-
ton which could not be ignored
Like Minerva it sprang into life full
grown, and panoplied in new and
startling armor. 1t commanded at
tcntion and received it. There was
no escape for the public. Unless one
were blind, deaf and dumb he could
not remain unaware of the fact that
the Record was being published.
Mr.. William Chalmers. his manag-
ing editor, was a tall. smooth-shaven.
cIear-cut young man, who had passed
his 35 summers. He had acquired no
gray hairs in the accumulation of
vast and varied fund of experience.
lie Wa possessed of an easy conf
dence; was handsome without know
ing it, and had that grasp of every
detail of the newspaper business
which made him invaluable as an ex-
ecutive. He had travelled in every
part of the globe; had interviewed
section hands on railroads and en-
peror> in palaces; knew the Ian
guagc of the Slums and the graces
of court; could report murder
case or dictate "A message for presi-
dent.
MIR. Van Horne thoroughly under
stood the great reading public to
which his paper made bid for sup
port. 1t wished 10 be amused. The
Record amused it. 1t wished to he
thrilled. The Record thrilled it. 1t
hungcrcd for sensations. The Rec
ord had never-ending supply Of sen
Stations. 1t clamored for pictures
The Record had them. 1t stood
ready to print instantly reproduc-
tions of photographs of past, pres
cnt or future events.
Mr.. Walter Il. HeStOr was friend
Of Robert Van Horne. He was a
young man with fortune and a
hobby His hobby was Journalism.
His fortune was conservatively esti-
mated at S3O,OOO,OOO. and he was in a
position to indulge in any fancy
which attracted him. The New York
Record under the Van Horne man
agement dazzled him. Its method
of handling great news events APP
pealed to Hestor At one time he
contemplated founding a rival pa
per, and surprising. if possible, the
bewildering strokes of enterprise
which were displayed i'm the pages
of that paper. On reflection he de-
cided il meant too much work. He
realized that the management of n
great newspaper entailed an enor-
nous amount of detail Though pos
SeSScd of much energy and persist
ence. Walter T.. Hestor was intro
spectiyc enough 10 realize that he
was not fitted for the task of SUI
pervising a metropolitan newspaper.
He therefore abandoned the idea.
he had no difficulty i'm forming a
close acquaintance with Robert Van
Horne. They were fcllow-members
of several clubs, and both were fitted
by wealth and educa ton to move in
the same social circles Hestor lost
no time in confding his ambitions to
Mr.. Van Horne. He wished TO make
his mark in the world as journalist.
Mr.. Van Horne readily perceived
that Hestor was genius i'm his line
OF thought and action. The ambi-
tious amateur would listen to no
proposition involving pay for his
services. All he asked was n chance
to plan and execute those journals
tic commissions which gave play to
his genius az an initiator and TO his
skill as a writer
Mr.. Van Horne was delighted 20
accept the volunteer services Of the
brilliant but erratic Walter y. Hes.
tor. ~ the time this story begins.
Hcstor was about - years old He
was member of New York fam
ily which traced its wealth and am
ccstry 20 the sixteenth century Ills
fortune was an independent one.
and. though his tastes were expen-
-ive, he did not live mp 10 his income.
II would take a volume 10 recount
the journalistic exploits of Walter
b. Hcstor he built the splendid