University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1909-09-29
FROM CAB DRIVER TO
MILLIONAIRE EDITOR
The Career Of Joseph Pulitzer, Now Owner of
New York World Who Landed in America
With 20 Cents in His Pocket.

was member OF the Missouri Constr
tutional convention. One day he had
quarrel with political boss, who
called him vile name. Pulitzer rush
ed to his room and got his revolver.
Yelling to a reporter to look out for
some news, he rushed out and shot the
politician in the leg. He was arrested
and had to pay small fine. A few
years later he received an inheritance
from Germany and bought an interest
in the Westliche Post. In two years
he sold his stock and went to Wash
ington as correspondent for the New
York Sun. Then he went to Europe
and wrote special articles for the Sun.
Beginning of the Post Dispatch.
In 1878 he returned to St. Louis and
bought for $4,000 the Evening Post and
the evening Dispatch, two struggling
afternoon newspapers. He combined
them into the st. Louis Post-Dispatch
and at the end of the first year cleared
$4,000. This paper is now making
more money than any other st. Louis
newspaper. In 1888 Pulitzer went to
New York and purchased the New York
World from Jay Gould for $34S 900.
This is the biggest undertaking he
ever attempted, for the World had been
for several years the organ of Wall
Street and had no influence. Its cir
culation was only 10000 copies a day
and it carried practically no advertis-
ing.
Pulitzer announced in his first issue
on May 10, 1888, that the World would
be an Independent Democratic newspa-
per; that it would expose all fraud
and sham, fight all public evils and
abuses" that it would "serve and battle
for the people with earnest sincerity
He simply threw himself into New
York and meddled in everything, great
and small. His reporters secured the
city for abuses, and screamed them to
the world with sensational Topographic
cal devices and alarming headlines. He
truly made the city talk about his pa
per. He was matchless advertiser
His circulation increased by leaps and
bounds. For the first time New York
saw genuine yellow journalism.
A Force in Politics.
But behind all of this clamor anc
seeming insincerity was Pulitzer's bis
spirit. He made his paper force il
both politics and for civic righteous
ness. He smashed and scattered the
political rings and franchise thieves o
New York city. He attacked his owl
political party as well as his enemies
He made the rich man, the poor labor
er, the foreigner, the American, every
body read his paper. When his new
building was completed in 1889:
building which he never got to see be
cause of becoming blind a short tim,
before its completion he wrote thes,
lines: "God grant that The World
may forever strive toward the highes
ideals-be both daily school hous,
and daily forum, both daily teache
and a daily tribune and instrument O
justice, terror to crime, an aid to edu
cation, an exponent of true American
ism"
Now the blind editor, his every ambi
tion accomplished, spends his latte
days resting upon his great steam
yacht, cruising from sea to sea. H
has beautiful homes in three differen
climates-homes filled with costly pic
lures, tapestries and other treasure
which he has never seen, but which
with his wonderful sensitiveness, he ca
not help but feel. He keeps fore
of editors always with him, who rea,
the newspapers to him and carry on
his policies.