Evening star., 1949-01-31
Fleming NewboId, President
OF The Star Company, Dies
Continued From First Page.

Continued From First PageD
that the paper did not have any
comics, that it was folded the wrong
way on the press and then ended the
conversation by. asking. "You are
running the paper, amt you? Wha.
are you coming to me for? I don't
know anything about your paper
except that nobody will buy it,
Knew Many Publishers.
He took her advice, changed the
formal of the paper, persuaded the
late Theodore w. Noyes to insert
some comics and soon The Sunday
Star began to grow He was always
alert to any criticism of the paper
no matter what the source of 1t
might be, and if he found sub
stance in it adopted any suggestion
that reader had to offer.
He was known throughout the
United States to publishers, who
found in him man who knew every
operation of a newspapers business
soiilce from the ground up and who
had no patience with so many Of the
stunts and fads that found tenn
porary enthusiasm among his COL
leagues. He believed that the
foundation of any papers success
was an honest policy. in printing
the news and in keeping the adver-
tising columns clean.
He became one of the first cru
saders in the country for honest ad
vertising-long before establishment
of Better Business Bureaus-and he
swept out of the paper many of the
questionable. advertisements of an
earlier era. He was thoroughly, in
sympathy with the pure food cam
paigns launched by the late DR.. Har-
vey Wiley and he made an informal
arrangement with one Of DR.. Wiley's
assistants at the Agriculture De-
partment, under which he would
submit for checking some Of medical
anG food advertisements offered for
publications in The Star, and If the
product was pronounced a fake, he
would keep them out OF the paper.
Aided Newsprint Rationing.
His progress in this crusade at
tracted attention throughout the
world and the New York
Tribune, in 1917, ran feature ar
ticle by Samuel Hopkins Adams, al
most a page in length describing
Mr.. Newbold's efforts to clean up
the advertising of the period; cru
sade In which he was Joined by rep
utable advertisers who, with him,
felt that one of the objectives
of advertising should be to win the
confidence of buyers in the adver-
tised product.
Mr.. Newbold was one of the
prime movers during World War I
to reach agreement among news
paper publishers on voluntary meth
ods of rationing newsprint, serving
under Bernard Baruch on COM
mittee set up to make plans. His
experience in World War I brought
Government officials and other pub
fishers to The Star at the beginning
of the paper shortage OF World War
II for advice and counsel. One Of
the things he insisted on was that
no small newspaper should suffer
more than their larger contem-
poraries because. of inability to get
newsprint. The publisher Of more
than one small paper found him a
champion in seeing that available
newsprint would be spread around
Left No One in Doubt.
After the close Of World War ]
a paper shortage sent prices of
newsprint soaring Mr.. Newbold
was responsible for meeting OF
local advertising men which agreed
to curtail advertising, so that ad-
vertisers could share fairly in nee
essary reductions Of space.
Men who came In contact with
him in the business world were
drawn by his candid honesty in
bluntly stating a situation as he
saw it, without beating around the
bush. His bluff manner of speak
ing often served to clear the at
mosphere of misunderstanding
certainly left no one in doubt a.
to where he stood on any question
He was former chairman Of
the bureau of advertising OF the
American Newspaper Publishers
Association and a member Of 1t:
board for many years
Although he spent his newspaper
| life on the business side of tht
paper, he was keenly interested ir
! the news-how it was written anc
how it. was played. According tt
his colleagues, he would have made
an excellent editorial man, for HI
had good nose for news and wa.
always on the lookout for a new.
story. He was responsible for more
than one news beat which he haC
picked up and brought to the scity
editor.
No Holidays on the Farm.
In his years at The Star as bust
ness manager, manager and vic'
president, he impressed all thos'
about him with his quick knowledg'
of everything that was going OF
around the newspaper shop. ON
of his characteristics as an execu
tive was his insistence that an,
Misunderstanding be cleared up
down to the last detail, and as sool
as he became aware Of 1t. Whel
he had heard all sides Of q dispute
he gave hFf'"' finding as to goo