New-York tribune., 1918-09-24
Dealers Say Falling Of IN
Sales Forced Shutdown
Of Presses
Workers Deny Need
OF New MACHINERY
Hostility of Residents Of
Bronx and Harlem Is
Again Emphasized

There is Grape on the door Of .s
West 185th Street, Hearst's uptov,
pressroom.
For eleven years Hcarst's "Even;r,
Journal" and warts &C The sspa.s
American have been printed !,
this place, which wss the sunni,
station for Harlem and part os N.
Bronx. In it were tfvo presses. wsi,t
mp to last week wcrc IN operate,
every day. Last week one Of II.
presses was dismsntled and Removed
Now the second one IS covered with
tarpaulin, the door is locked ana
Hearst paper issue from there M
more
On Saturday dealers were told tA,s
nc longer would they be served fron
tho West 135th Stree. place; that the
presses would not he operated suy
more, and that beginning Monday n
papers would h1vc 10 come from
headquarters
By operating . plant uptown Hears.
lad big advantage in time over tho
ether evening papers. IT was doubl,
important when the circulation was st
its peak. Now, with the closing Of The
pressrcom, the smaller supply is sent
by truck to two or more central points
fer delivery by wagon
Need of New Presses Denied
According TO the explanation give,
the dealers b. Hearst employees py;or
to the closing of the Harlem press.
room. the reason fer the shutdown is
inability to get new machinery.
The presses have worn out" thev
said, "and the government won. let III
have any new presses during tie war
Pressmen who were operating tn,
alleged broken down machinery said
they we're as good as any presses in
town
Presses arc not like dollar Watches
one said. "They don'5 Wear out quite
that way. They last longer than the
men who work them"
The explanation given ny delivery
men to dealers was that the chang.
was made TO save money.
ut costs q lot TO get out papers now
they said, ''and the bosses have got to
save money somewhere.
The abandonment of the uptown
pressroom is sscribed oy Harlem deal
crs to quite another cause
Eve dealers know the real reason
Why Hearst sas closed up this branch
OF his department.. said Mark Mos
cowitz, president of the Harlem News.
dealers Association, yesterday. "We
nave known for some time that the
place was to be abandoned and, Of
course, knew that the equipment was
being removed. We have been rather
surprised it did not close down be-
fore.
Sales Falling OF
This organization. comprising the
majority oil the news dealers IN Har-
lem, has reported 20 NE that withol.
exception the sale Of The Evening
Journal among it's patrons has fallen
50 tc 10 per cent below last years
sales.
The patriotic public IN here will
simply not have them any m ore, and in
view OF Hearst's attitude in refusing to
grant the newsdeaiers a greater margin
Of profit we certainly are not encourag
ing the sale OF either The Evening
Journal or The New York American
among our customers.
at is plain that in the closing up ol
Inlo plant tne ffeafSt people are pt.
ginning to feel further reaction OF
the reading public. Ny patrons have
repeatedly complained TO me Of the IN
Americanism of the Hearst pubilca-
tions.
Hostility Is Acccntuated
The terrori1ing and intinlidatlng
tactics Of the Hearst agents III at
tempting TO force the dealers to handle
papers the people would not buy has
only accentuated the general hostility
against them.
The shutdown is probably direct
result of The Evening Journals fast
waning patronage. Just what thls
means can be seen from the fact thai
the local establishment was the source
of supply TO the entire populations o.
all OF Harlem and large part Of The
Bronx.
Not only this, but the dealers have
now been told that Hearst is going 70
send fewer editions TO Harlem. Ii he
can stand this we can