Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-02
STARS HALF CENTURY
IT'S GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY.
The Star One of the Most Valuable Of
Newspaper Properties.

NS"SpdpSA 4AOPSA SASSs
From Printers Ink.
On December 16 the Washington Star
completed it's fiftieth year of continuous
publication, and marked the event with
special issue of ia pages, which 1ncluoeo q
handsome magazine supplement In coioro-
type cover. This large edition was printed
on heavy paper, and was evidently pre-
pared with view to its preservation py
many of The Stars readers. History, rec
objections, a facsimile of the first number,
old plates and portraits, papers by the vari-
Gus members Of the staff, with other matter
pertaining to the city OF washington ana
The Stars half century of existence. made
this special issue exceedingly interesting to
the general reader, and it's interest for resi-
dents of the capital must have been four
fold.
The Star was established in 1852. the ini-
tial number appearing on December IL,
after small trial edition had been put out
week before. Its founder was Joseph B..
Tate, printer who aspired to be an editor,
and who believed that the times were ia
vorable to a newspaper that would be less
involved in political cabals than the jour
nails peculiar to the first half of the last
century. The start was made in small
way. One of the papers first composing
room apprentices was Stuart Robson, the
comedian. After two years Mr.. Tate be-
came. tired of his effort to build up sue
sold the little four-page sheet outright to
W. D. Wallach and w. H. Hope. The lat
ter withdrew year later. leaving the paper
In the sole possession of Mr.. Wallach. who
gradually abolished the stories poems and
miscellany that had formed half it's con-
tents, replacing them with news. built up
the circulation and soon made 1t thor
oughly substantial property. In 1867 It
was again sold for 100000 to Crosby S.
Moves, Samuel H. Kaufman, George w.
Adams, Alexander R. Shepherd and Clar-
ence B. Baker, and the Evening Star News
paper Company was incorporated. In 1869
Nv Dali rr,s%I ,11rr lS~
stock was bought by the remaining part
ners in 1874 Mr.. Adams subsequently died,
and his interest is now held by the execu-
tor of his estate. Mr.. Kaufman is pres
editor-in-chief Together with their sons
they have put The Star upon sound q
footing that it is now one of the most val
liable newspaper properties In the Unite
states. Housed in its own building on
pennsylvania avenue, after the usual wan
der1ng from home to home incident to the
growth of publication. 1t has been said
that there are not on the American CONT
nent SO many as twelve daily newspapers
whose net earnings will compare with those
OF the Washington Star. prominent ad-
vertiser recently said that, given his choice
OF all the things in the world, he would ask
for the ownership of either the New York
Herald, Baltimore Sun or Washington Star
Besides Its standing as gold mark" daily
in the American Newspaper Directory The
Star has always been represented by figure
ratings ana Its books are perpetually open
to investigators. Its publishers boast that
practically everybody in Washington with
intelligence enough to read a newspaper or
money enough to buy advertised goods is a
reader of The STAR Some years ago q
house-to-house canvass of the whole city
was made, with the result that the paper
was found to reach ninety-six per cent of
the houses occupied by the white popula-
ton Of the capital. A more recent canvass
OF four different sections of the city showed
that the paper still holds relatively the
same position revealed by the larger can
vass.