Evening star., 1952-12-17
Star and Post Honored
By Board Of Trade
For Public Service

For Public Service
The 75-year-old Washington
Post and the 100-year-old Eve
ming Star were honored for their
long public service last night at
the general membership meeting
of the Board of Trade.
Each newspaper received a
testimonial scroll from the Board
of Trade. Afterward members
assembled in the Mayfower Hotel,
heard a Joint tribute delivered by
j. Hamilton Owens, editor ir
chief of the Baltimore Sunpapers
The first scroll said:
THE Washington Board OF
Trade to The Evening Star:
ITO recognize the completion
of its 100 years of service to the
Nations Capital in the highest
tradition of journalism and its
effective role in the development
of Metropolitan Washington and
to record appreciation for its part
In the organization and advance
ment of the Washington Board Of
Trade"
Scroll to Post.
The second scroll follows:
THE Washington Board Of
Trade to the Washington Post:
To recognize the completion OF
its IS years of service to the Ma
tions Capital in the highest tradi-
tions of journalism and its effec-
tive role in the development OF
Metropolitan Washington, and to
record appreciation for its part in
the organization and advancement
of the Washington Board OF
Trade"
Both citations were signed by
E. D. Merrill, as president, and
Edward r. Carr, as secretary, OF
the Board of Trade.
The Baltimore editor told the
dinner guests that, from the very
beginning, there has been a close
friendly relationship between The
Star and the Sunpapers of Baltl-
more.
Crosby Noyes, first Of that
distinguished line. was carrier
for the Baltimore Sun in the late
184Os. before taking his place with
The Star.
Offered Facilities in Disaster.
"A later Noyes, Frank B., Of
gracious memory. put the Sun
eternally in his debt by offering
us the facilities of The Star in
1904, when the great Baltimore
fire destroyed our plant. One OF
the Suns proud boasts is that ii
has never missed a scheduled
edition.
1T would not be possible to
make that boast had not Mr.
Noyes displayed this unprece-
dented generosity in those bleak
days.
I'VE and The Star are rivals, OF
course, and in certain areas we
are in direct competition, both for
circulation and for advertising
But in much larger areas, and
perhaps more important areas, we
are almost brothers"
AS to The Post. Mr.. Owens
pointed out that, when Mr.. Eu-
gene Meyer was maturing his
plans for the Post, he came over
to Baltimore and discussed the
whole intricate business with the
late Paul Patterson, then presi-
dent of the Sunpapers; Harry c
Black, our chairman, and H. L.
Mencken and others of our col
leagues.
I'VE were flattered that Mr..
Meyer should have wanted to tell
us about it, and his frankneSs
made for a pleasant friendship
which continues to this very min
ute"
Wisdom of Founders.
In discussing the character OF
newspapers and their relationship
to the communities they serve, Mr.
Owens said:
Some daily newspaperS-and
The Star is emphatically one OF
them-have been lucky in their
beginnings. Their founders were
wise men who had the wit to see
that honesty is the best policy for
newspapers as we'll as grocers.
They were wise enough to see
also, that an ordinary person is
more concerned. or at least con-
cerned more perSiStently, about
what goes on in his own neighbor-
hood or his community than he is
with what goes on in the town in
the next State. let alone what goes
on across the ocean.
IF a burglar shoots your neigh
bor, it strikes you with more force
than if a Russian hangs a Czech
If your newspaper printed the
story about the Russian czech
embroglio and left out the story
about the shooting of your neigh
Dor, you would say, rightly, thai
the editor had forgotten the laws
of perspective.
One of the chief reasons the
Baltimore Sun sold out its first
issue in 1887. the editor said, "was
that it carried an account of
debate in the Baltimore City
Council about the issuance Of
shinplasters," although no Other
Baltimore daily bothered tt
notice anything so lowly."
Told of Dead Dog.
The founder of the Sun, in ths
next issue, included a brief para
graph to the effect that a deat
dog had been lying in a Baltimor'
street for three days and no ont
had done anything about it. Mr
Owens continued.
"The carcass was gone the mex
morning" he added.
The point made by Mr.. Owen'
was that newspapers that became
an integral part of the communl
ties they served gradually formu
lated a principle. which is roughl!