The Republican journal., 1913-03-06
vICISsITUDES IN JOURNALISM.

solved not to go on indefinitely losing
money on it." He regards the three
cent price as an experiment, and init
stop publication or Change it from one
type to another" Those familiar with
the old Boston Journal must agree that
the many past changes have been from
bad to worse. Prior to the last Presi-
dental campaign the Boston Journal
had become mere apology for news
paper, and was advertised for sale with
out finding buyer. 1t has seemed to
outsiders that The Journal took upon it.
self the unenviable distinction of being
the only daily newspaper in Boston to
support the Bull Moose candidate for the
presidency, thinking he would sweep the
country, and that it might thus retrieve
its fortunes. If that was the expecta-
ton it ended in disappointment. Bull
Moose organs are not popular nowadays,
and so The Boston Journal is seeking
| new constituency.
Inc DOSIOl JUull Hal w do AOL yCoAo ShS
favorite Republican newspaper of all
New England; particularly so in Maine.
Aside from its other features its ship
ping news appealed to many readers,
During the Civil War it was looked to
for news from the front, and no letters
were more eagerly read than those from
Carleton The writer was Charles
! Carleton Coffin, who was born in Bos-
cawen, N. H, in 1928 and began his
| journalistic career at an early age. In
| 1866 the Boston Journal sent him to Eu-
rope as a war correspondent, and ne
travelled extensively in Europe, Asia
and Africa Later the Journal had on
its staff Edward King, who Travelled
through the South after the war with an
artist and wrote d series Of illustrated
articles for Harper's Magazine, after
wards published in handsome volume
under the title of "The New South. -
/ That work completed Mr.. King returned
Paris as a correspondent. He published
a volume of his letters under the title of
Europe in Storm and Calm" and a
novel based on incidents of the seige of
Paris Another prominent member of
The journal staff was Ben: Perley Poore,
for many years its Washington CORE
spondent, writing over the signature of
''Perley," and he contributed greatly to
he popularity of the paper. 1t also had
a clever New York correspondent, Bur
leigh" whose chatty, daily letters were
an attractive feature Then The Jour-
al covered New England with corps
of industrious correspondents, Mr. C. L.
McCleary, with headquarters at Port
land, having charge of the Maine field.
The decadence of The Journal began
with the discontinuance of its shipping list
and its Maine news. No writers of dis
tinction took the place of those who had
given it prestige in the past, and its edl-
torial page, never brilliant, became hope
lessly dull and inane. Now having al
ienated all its old friends it is seeking to
enter field that is already well occu-
pied.
I In this connection it may be said that
the Boston Herald has also had its vlcis-
sltudes From a chronicler of the do
ings Of the demi-monde and of the police
courts it became, under the Pulsifer and
Haskell regime, one Of the leading dali
! les Of the country, though it took some
time for it to live down its early reputa-
ton and gain an entrance to the homes
where the Boston Transcr pit had reign
ed supreme. Then, under different man
agement, it struck a down grade that
ended in financial embarrassment, and
a reorganization and regeneration follow
ed that is one of the marvels of modern
journalism and was a pleasing surprise
to its old readers and patrons The
Herald has always been strong editorial
ly, and was never more so than today.
Aside from its false start, which end
ed in failure, the Boston Globe has made
teady advancement. 1t was started by
M. M. Ballou on plan that allotted a
certain amount of space, no more and
no less, to each department of news, in
the same positions each day, and it had a
cut and dried appearance that did not
appeal to the newspaper reading public.
After the original stockholders had drop
ped lot of money Col. Taylor took
hold of the Globe and began building up
a newspaper. The writer on visit to
Boston at this time remarked in the |
Herald editorial rooms that the Globe |
was getting to be quite a newsy paper /
and one of the Herald staff replied. |
eyes, the evening edition has the news
from the morning Herald and the morn
ing edition the news from the evening
Herald" But the Globe kept steadily !
on and eventually passed the Herald in
the race for circulation and advertising.
How many readers of the New York
World of today know that that paper
was started as religious daiy?" The
advertisements of theaters were barred
from its columns. and from the news
columns everything was excluded that
conficted with its high ideals At this