Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-03-27
Sunday Star Enters
51st Year ofBridqinq
Week End 'Chasm'

Week End 'Chasm'
Fifty years ago yesterday. The
Star-then more than half a
century old-began publishing
The Sunday Star.
On March 26, 1905. the pa
per's name became THE Eve
ming Star with Sunday morning
edition"-fulfilling The Stars
promise to publish the news OF
Washington and the world on
every day in the year"
For eight days before the first
Sunday Star appeared, the pa
per in front-page announces
ments, banner headlines and
editorials told its readers what
was in store for them.
The news will be Of first Inn
portance," promised the first an
nouncement. 1.-THE Sunday Star
will bridge the chasm between
Saturday afternoon and Mon
day afternoon. The Star will
no longer abandon for 48 hours
in each week its readers in nine
tenths of the homes in Wash
ington."
A Family Day
At the same time, The Star
recognized that Sunday was a
family day, a day when the
parents had more time for leis-
urely reading and the children
had to be kept out of mischief.
So, The Star set out to enter
tain as well as inform. Joining
seven major newspapers in other
cities, it introduced to Wash
ington a 24-page, slick paper
magazine-hailed as "distinc-
lively the twentieth century
phase of Sunday journalism"
Featured was the first INSTALL
ment of Souls On Fire." STIR
ring story of Russian intrigue.
love and adventure. Especially
for the children was a cardboard
cut-out of soldiers in dress uni
forms. Another special feature
was a page of cartoons by such
artists of the day as Charles
Dana Gibson.
Notable events in the social
world" filled five columns, with
four pictures of society figures
packed into three columns. A
page was devoted to church news.
The theater page featured Lillian
Russell and Forbes Robertson.
Last Place
Contests in the various sport
ing fields" occupied three pages.
The Washington Baseball Club,
newly named the Nationals"
was in last place but getting into
shape at Charlottesville, Va. The
ponies were running at Benning
Race Track and the bookies were
reaping harvest. Automobiling
rated three columns, now that
1.010 license had been issued.
I'm the world of finance and
trade" listings on the New York
Stock Exchange, filled a col
umn and brokers were quoted in
an adjoining column as believ-
ing that the market was in a
stable condition. ~
I'm The Fashion," illustrated
mainly by pen and ink drawings
of ladies in huge hats and floor
length laces, occupied two
pages along with helpful hints
on spring cleaning.
The Star had intended to put
out a 44-page paper in four
parts, together with its 24-page
for that first issue,
but it actually came out with Sc |
pages and the magazine. And it
came out late.
Modest Pride
The next day. The Star apol-
Dgized with modest pride.
80 we'll assured were the
of the capital. in
deed. that this first Sunday Star
would go to virtually all the peo-
pie of the District that they
poured their advertisements into
The Star Office in a volume
which was quite unexpected. The
result was that during the last
hours of the process of making
up the Sunday edition it became
necessary. after having twice ex-
banded the issue from the orig
inally planned form, to add a
fifth section in order to accom-
modate the business announce
ments offered. The printing of
This fifth section disarranged
The schedule to some extent and
made the delivery not so perfect
rs 1t will be in the future"
Each succeeding Sunday saw
changes. BY the second Sunday,
Maryland and Virginia news
rated a page of its own. BY the
third Sunday. more pictures
were appearing on the feature
pages. On the fourth Sunday.
q sporting section" was intro
duced. And on the fifth Sunday
20, 1905-The Star began
publishing the comics. The first
comic section was four
page effort in color featuring
"Uncle Abe Corncob," Uncle
Geo. Washington Bings," THE
Jungle Twins" and other long
forgotten funny people.
Succeeding decades saw vast
changes in The Sunday Star
prompted by newly discovered
n wspaper techniques, the
interests of Star read
ers and a growing emphasis on
of the news.
New Picture Process
Pictures played an ever greater
part. A new picture process
brought the "planogravure" pic
ture section in 1916, to which the
'rotogravure" was added as
another picture supplement in
1910 Thjc TN ohoruod II, ct1o