Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-12-16
THE EVENING STAR CELEBRATES
IT'S 18TH ANNIVERSARY TODAY
Progress and Patronage Of Paper Keep Step
With the Steady Growth of
Nations Capital.

his back. and later as the bundles
grew larger. wheeled the entire edi-
tion in a wheelbarrow. Today The
Star is being distributed by a fleet
of SO Star trucks, and most of them
make many trips. returning from their
first load for more papers as the later
editions come off the presses.
These. and many other comparisons
which so unnoted here, might be cited
as interesting points of contrast be-
tween that first Star of Is years ago
and The Star you are reading this
evening. But the growth of The Star,
it's modern and labor-saving equip
ment, it's present home-all these are
but mere symbols, as it were, of the
growth of Washington and the prog
ress of mankind in the past rs years.
No review of such progress is con-
templated in this short glance back
over the years that have rolled over
the Hill since the first Star was print
ed. But the few facts which follow
tell something of the origin and
growth of The Star.
Founded by Printer.
The Star was founded by Joseph B.
Tate. a printer with aspirations TO
own and edit his own newspaper. Mr..
Tate had previously been associated
with three other men in the founding
of the American Telegraph, political
organ created to help Gen. Winfield
Scott in his presidential campaign
When Gen. Scott was defeated the
Telegraph went out of existence
Mr.. Tates founding of The Star
was a courageous enterprise in itself,
for not only were papers being
born and dying almost every day
in the Capital of those days, but
two previous attempts to found
Star had resulted in failure-the Co
lumbar Star in 1882 and The Wash
ington Star in 1S41. Mr.. Tate knew
his Washington and he thought that
a neutral paper. which would take an
interest In the development Of the
city, keep its skirts clean, refuse to be
entangled with political parties and
report the news fairly and decently
would succeed. 1t did.
But he was proprietor of the paper
for less than a year. In July, 1853,
w. d. Wallach and w. II. Hope
bought it from him, and Capt. Tate
retired to the cashiers cage, continu-
ing as cashier of the paper until his
death five years later. Until May !,
1858. The Star was put in type in
small office at Eighth and ID streets
and another Office on Sixth street be-
tween Pennsylvania avenue and Mis-
souri, avenue. A few doors away from
the latter address the paper was
printed by Buell. & Blanchard, print.
ers. But in May. 1858. the offices OF
The Star were moved to the south side
of ID street, between Twelfth and Thir.
teenth, adjacent to where the fire house
now stands. Here editorial, mechanical
Of he
for the first time were assembled
under one roof When Mr.. Wallach
and Mr.. Hope bought the paper they
enlarged it's pages, but kept them TO
four. In 1855 Mr.. Hope sold his in
terest in the paper to Mr.. Wallach.
and in 1867 Mr.. Wallach sold it to
Crosby s. Noyes, Samuel II. Kauff
mann, George w. Adams, Alexander
r. Shepherd and Clarence B. Baker,
who conducted the newspaper under
the firm name of Moves, Baker & CO.,
later availing themselves of charter
by Congress, incorporating The Eve
ming Star Newspaper Co., which pub
fishes the paper today.
Two Owners Sell Out.
In 1859 Mr.. Baker sold his shares
in the paper and they were equally
divided among the four remaining pro-
prietors, and in 1874 Mr.. Shepherd
sold his stock, which was bought
outright by the three associate own
.rs, Messrs Noyes, Kaufman and
Adams. In June, 1881, The Star
bought and remodeled a building
which stood at the corner of Pennsyl-
vania avenue and Eleventh street,
and another adjoining structure
fronting on Eleventh street. The
building was commodious for those
days. and all of the equipment and
furniture was new.
Seven years later The Star OBJ
served its twenty-first anniversary
under the new management by APP
pearing in eight-page form. And one
year later, due to growth in the BUSH
ness and increased size of the paper
work was begun on The Star annex.
During this time The Star had
bought what were then the fastest
printing presses made. replacing
them as new inventions and improve
ments were made. In 1898 battery
of four double deck Potter machines
were bought and installed. and in the
same year hand-set type began to
give way before the latest invention,
the Mergenthaler linotype. Fourteen
of these machines were installed in
papers in the country to change from
hand-se to machine-set type.
Paper Held by Families.
The Star had bought in 1891 prop.
erty at 1903 Pennsylvania avenue and
in 1895 the property just west of it.
In 1899 work was begun on the
new building at Eleventh and Penn
sylyania avenue, which is a part Of
The Star Building today. The new
building was occupied July l, 1900
George w. Adams died in 1885; Crosby
S. Noyes died in 1908, and Samuel II.
Kaufman died in 1906. The owner.
ship of the paper passed on to their
descendants and to the Adams estate,
in whose hands it now rests.
In January, 1920, additional land
had been bought north on Eleventh
street and work was begun on a new
10-story annex to be completed and
occupied the year following. The
new building had been necessitated
by the constant growth of the paper,
and as the demands became apparent
new equipment was added to meet
them. There had been The Sunday
Star, for instance, which was estab.
lished in 1905. and the size of the
daily papers had grown to 80, 40 and
even so pages.
In 1918 the rotogravure section was
added as feature of The Sunday Star.
December IA. 1923, The Star estab.
lished what was then worlds record
in printing, in the regular course of
business. and without special effort or
solicitation, n 70-page newspaper.
| Never before in the United States. or
| the world, had regular issue of a
daily newspaper exceeded GA pages.
| Three years later The Star broke its
own record. and set a new one. when
| it issued a daily edition. under similar
| circumstances, containing 7S pages.
| These records, and the day-by day
production of the newspaper, are mat
ters Of pride at The Star--a pride that
does not spring alone from the me-
| chanical and journalistic endeavor in