Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-10-23
TOUCHED hEARsT'S HEART
How An Old Time Bismarck Tribune
Man Secured a Fat Check for Story
Based On His Imagination.

The following contributed to the
Typo Athletic Bulletin by Joe Miller,
! formerly an attache OF the Bismarck
Tribune, now holding responsible po-
sltlon in the government printing OF
fee In Washington, will be OF interest
to Joe's old friends in Bismarck:
William Randolph Hearst's gener-
osity of mind and fairness of purpose,
especially as concerns labor organl-
zations-as union printers throughout
the jurisdiction of the international
| Typographical Union will cheerfully
| attest-need no exploitation in these
| columns.
l have in mind a little incident that
| occurred out west some twenty gears
ago on the Bismarck On. Dak.) Trib-
une when was doing reportorial work
for that lively sheet and incidentally
| special correspondent of the metro
politan newspapers.
Mr.. Hearst was much younger
! man than he is now and probably
never dreamed of the vast publishing
enterprises under his control today.
He had just succeeded to the man
agement of the San Francisco Exam
liner, the late Senator Hearst having
relinquished the reins to the son. l
was considerable of cub then my
self, and my supreme delight in those
days was the writing of fanciful wild
west stories and Indian legends, of
which there was plenty of foundation
material in our neck of the woods
prairies, should say.
Well, one dark, awesome day, l
evolved tremendous, prodigious
mysterious legend of the Cannon Ball
river, teeming with Arilling, exciting
situations and all that, and mailed the
story-about two columns in length
to the San Francisco Examiner. Why
| selected the Examiner in which to
perpetrate my literary atrosity is now
beyond my comprehension, as | had
never even seen the paper and knew
little of it or its owner, but it was
long ways off, and that probably lent
me courage. Anyhow, to the Exam
iner it went, and that was the last
heard from it. because there was no
return postage inclosed with the man.
uscript. But l didn't mind that, for
there was lots of stuff l never heard
from again.
Several weeks passed and l had
about dismissed the matter from my
mind, when one day in paving over
the exchanges in the editorial room
bumped across my story in a great
eastern Journal appropriately dis
played and with due credit to both the
San Francisco Examiner and the au-
thor Needless to state my heart
thumped like a lame Merg., and l
lost no time in sending bill for dam
ages to the Examiner. No response.
After a reasonable length of time an
other bill, inclosing the clipped arti'
Gle. No reply. A third request
brought no answer. Now, wasn't that
disheartening? In despair l related
my troubles to W. F. Dunlop, (now
a prosperous western publisher), at
that time hoboing from the coast.
These were the words, for / we'll re-
member: Look here, young man; :
you just sit down and write a personal
letter to Billy Hearst. Tell him the
and 49, guarantee you
will get what's coming to you"
Well, I took his advice, and sure
enough the next return mail brought !
a nice fat check from the Examiner
people and a warm letter from Mr..
Hearst. Several prints dined we'll that
night to he SIRE