The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-04-24
Hearst May Offer His
Securities to Public

joylnent If / did not have news
papers. You know had my
first taste Of the publishing bust
ness when at college-and | liked
it. The Harvard Lampoon had
not been running at profit,
but the first year that some
of my college mates and / took
hold of it we made enough to
give, at the end of the year,
a big dinner to all the post
graduates and all the former
associates OF the paper.
my father, Senator Hearst, had
a paper in San Francisco, mainly
a political organ. He didn't think
much of it--neither did anybody
else. When l asked him to let
me take it as my business, he was
very much disturbed. But he
finally consented
= \ 4 ~
Mr. Hearst astonished the city az
well AZ his father. f4e not only
worked day and night but he startled
the community by the originality Of
his ideas, his unexampled agrees
siyeness, his faculty for attracting
readers. He kept at, it until he
had transformed the San Francisco
Examiner from the least important
to the most important newspaper
in the city.
Having learned how, Mr.. Hearst
crossed the continent to repeat his
achievement in New York.
why New York;" i asked him.
Mr.. Hearst smiled.
Everybody has his eye on New
York as being the big center, tho
final test"
Then Mr.. Hearst added:
But later / went back to Cal.
ifornia and developed other pa
pers there-the Los Angeles Ex-
aminer, the Los Angeles Herald,
the San Francisco Call, the Oak
land Post Enquirer. They are all
very profitable. They made
$1,000 900 of profits last year.
"A newspaper either shrinks
and goes out of business, or ex-
+ pands in a most astonishing way.
Nearly every successful paper
that has put up a new building
has found the building too small
before the time came to move
into it. Increase in circulation
means more machinery, more
men, more space. We have pro-
yided for our expansion in Cali
fornia by buying land, as a rule,
in blocks"
In the realm of publishing no
question excites keener interest
than Mr.. Hearst's intentions in
regard to expansion. Therefore,
asked him:
do. you intend TO keep on &C.
Quiring more and more papers?",
81 intend to grow somewhat;
but very conservatively," Mr..
Hearst replied, choosing his words
very carefully. II never believe
in trying to take away a paper
from anybody who wants to keep
it. Occasionally, however, some
one wants to sell, for one reason
or another"
We next got ION the subject Of
magazines, and Mr.. Hearst admitted
that fortune had been with him in
this field, enabling him to trans
form to veritable gold mines such
publications. as Cosmopolitan, Good
Housekeeping and Harper's Bazaar,
all Of which originally cost. him
very little.
Il have derived genuine pleas
ure from taking hold of such
publications and building them up;
the same kind of pleasure that
imagine an architect gets in
building a fine house. remarked
Mr.. Hearst.
If you or could go into one
State alone and develop five news
papers averaging. net profits Of
81 ,000,0 a year. each, and could
buy several magazines for next
to nothing and so handle them
that they, too, would yield as much
as 81 ,000, 900 a year, we, also, would
doubtless derive genuine pleasure"
from the operation!
1t is a safe bet that If Mr. Hearst
should decide to give the public a
chance to acquire securities based
on such gold mines there would be
stampede to buy them.
Copyright, 1924. by b. c, F0rbes.)
vorable weather reports; there is a