New-York tribune., 1918-08-24
Newsdealers
Threatened by
Hearst Agents
Continued from page /


any but Brooklyn papers in the lower
part Of the city. In some places boys
sold the Hearst papers under the pro-
lection Of q nearby policeman, but
sales were slow. In the morning the
American News Company and the
Brooklyn News Agency. it's subsidiary
across the bridge. continued to deliver
"Americans" to all dealers irrespective
Of the fact that these had cancelled
their orders. The only effect was the
increase in the piles Of waste papers
that later on will be carted away by
the junk dealers.
The American News Company yester-
day served notice on The Tribune that
it would not deliver The Tribune to
dealers at the rate of $12O a hundred
which is the rate demanded on all
papers by the dealers in order to earn
living wage.
In consequence The Tribune is COM
PEELED to ask the dealers to supply
patrons with the paper at the old rate
until September 2, when The Tribune's
independent delivery service will be in
augurated.
Abraham Myefsky and Lewis Kap-
linsky, the Borough Hall dealers. who
of Licenses that their permits to do
business had been revoked, said last
night that they would be open for busi-
ness as usual this morning and will
continue x. business until ordered by
the police tc stop.
Neither Of these men sells New York
papers, both confning their trade to
Brooklyn issues, and it is not clear
why they were selected for punishment
out holders Of prominent stands hold
ers Of other stands may be terrorized.
AS told by Mayefskx, it was $3.50
o'clock when a man whom he knows
to be an employe Of the License Bureau
asked to see his license, and, marking
it Revoked" returned it.
What does this mean?" he asked
"The police will tell you," said the
inspector.
"Does my license mean that I must
sell all Of the papers published in the
world?" he asked.
81 am sorry to have to do this sort
Of thing" said the inspector, and left.
Mayefsky and Kaplinsky have held
their stands for years. Both have large
families.
Concrete example of the methods
used by agents of Hearst to force news
dealers to buy "Americans" and
Journals" they cannot sell. and under
the new law as laid down by the War
presented yesterday to Demuel f..
Qugg, counsel for the newsdcaers
and newsboys of greater New York.
At this conference in Mr.. Quigg's
offices, 81 Liberty Street, dealer after
dealer told how Hearst agents, after
trying to force hundreds Of papers on
them which they could not sell, cut
off their supplies altogether, and then
finding this method ineffective resorted
ground, including that which they had
voluntarily surrendered.
These tactics, according to the
stories told to Mr.. Quigg, varied from
threats to "fx" dealers, down to call
ing up wives on the telephone to tell
scandalous and baseless stories calcu-
lAtst to disrupt families. "Fix,"it was
explained, meant physical injury -
For more than year the dealers
tions. and then, with the tide of popu-
lar protest against Hearst's disloyalty
rising higher and higher and making
the presence on their stands Of his
publications q menace to the sale Of
all papers. they had been forced to
act in elf-defence.
From the statements of the newsdeal-
ers, the extent of the anti-Hearst feel
ing among loyal Americans in New
York was clearly manifest Some told
of patrons buying Heart papers to de-
stroy them; others told of good patrons
quitting because Hearst papers were
exposed for sale; others Of women pa
irons asking for the addresses of news
dealers who did not carry Hearst pub
lications. q
The loss Of newspaper patronage was
not the only result Of exposing Hearst
papers for sale. The sale of tobacco
products, magazines and the dozen and
one things newsdealers sell, and which
they must depend upon for part Of
their living, also fell off.
John Grimes. of 324 Greenwich Street,
told typical story Of the Hearst meth
DDS.
"A year ago. said he. "I was selling
struck the sales of this paper had
dropped to less than ninety. 1t was
hard work to sell the ninety, at that.
"A considerable time ago Hearst
man told me to place my Journals in
front Of my stand or he wouldn't give
me any / told him it was my stand,
and that would put the papers where
| liked. He ordered the delivery man
not to serve me any papers, and didn't
get them for over year.
when the price of the papers was
increased to 2 cents the Hearst man
came around and asked me sell 'The
! Jo"rnal' again. tried it, but the peo-
PIE had turned against The Journal
and could hardly sell any.
Some people even bought them from
RE and tore them up. Stephen X.
Reed, a member of the firm of Petit
& Reed, 38 North Moore Street, very
frequently bought papers from nv
stand and tore them up before me.
once, recall, he took twenty of them
and tore them TO bits.
went to The Evening Mail Office
a few days ago and told them that
The journal agents lad ordered me
to remove The Mail stand and place
journal stand there. The Maip
official said: What can we do? Hearst
is too big for u.s."
Through With Hearst Papers