Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1904-01-22

HOnaire son OF & departed millions
aire father His mother died in his
school years, and at the age of 90
he found himself the sole owner of the
immense Van Horne estate, roughly
estimated as having value of $780,
600, 900. His cattle roamed on a 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 Evan Horne luck' his agents
had been among the first to strike it
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
checkered career in the arena OF
metropolitan journalism. From the
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. It commanded at
tention 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,
clear-cut young man, who had passed
his 35 summers. He had acquired no
gray hairs in the accumulation of a
vast and varied fund of experience.
He was 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 an ex-
ecutive. He had travelled in every
part of the globe; had interviewed
section hands on railroads and en-
perors in palaces; knew the Ian
guage of the slums and the graces
of court; could report a murder
case or dictate a message for q presi-
dent.
Mr.. Van Horne thoroughly under
stood the great reading public to
which his paper made a bid for sup
port. 1t wished to be amused. The
Record amused it. 1t wished to be
thrilled. The Record thrilled it. It
hungered for sensations. The Rec
| ord had a never-ending supply of SEN
sations. 1t clamored for pictures.
| The Record had them. 1t stood
ready to print instantly reproduc-
tions of photographs of past, pres
| ent or future events.
| Mr.. Walter B. Hestor was a friend
of Robert Van Horne. He was a
young man with fortune and
hobby. His hobby was journalism.
| His fortune was conservatively esti-
mated at $3O,OOO,0OO, 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. It's method
of handling great news events APP
pealed to Hestor. At one time he
contemplated founding rival pa
per, and surprising, if possible, the
bewildering strokes of enterprise
| which were displayed in the pages
of that paper. On reflection he de-
cided it meant too much work. He
realized that the management of a
great newspaper entailed an enor-
nous amount of detail. Though pos
sessed of much energy and persist
ence, Walter B. Hestor was intro
spective enough to realize that he
was not fitted for the task of SUI
pervising a metropolitan newspaper.
He therefore abandoned the idea.
He had no difficulty in forming a
close acquaintance with Robert Van
Horne. They were fellow-members
of several clubs, and both were fitted
by wealth and education to move in
the same social circles. Hestor lost
no time in confiding 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 a genius in his line
of thought and action. The ambi-
tious amateur would listen to no
proposition involving pay for his
services. All he asked was a chance
to plan and execute those journals
tic commissions which gave play to
his genius as an initiator and to his
skill as a writer.
Mr.. Van Horne was delighted to
accept the volunteer services of the
brilliant but cratic Walter B. Hes
tor At the time this story begins
Hestor was about 80 years old. He
was a member of New York fam
I lily which traced it's wealth and an
cestry to the sixteenth century. His
fortune was an independents one;
and. though his tastes were expen
siye, he did not live up to his income
1t would take a volume to recount
the journalistic exploits of Walter
B. Hestor. He built the splendit
steam yacht the SHARK" and EN-
| ployed it in his worldwide search fol
sensational news He took 200 mas