George Matthew Adams
George Matthew Adams (August 23, 1878 – October 29, 1962) was an American newspaper columnist and founder of the George Matthew Adams Newspaper Service, which syndicated comic strips and columns to newspapers for five decades. His own writings were circulated widely to "The Gettysburg Times" and many other newspapers. Biography. Early life and education. Born in Saline, Michigan, George Matthew Adams graduated from Ottawa University in Kansas. Employed by a Chicago advertising agency, he started operating the elevator and worked his way up to become a copywriter. George Matthew Adams Newspaper Service. In 1907, Adams borrowed money to  rent and equip an office and launched the Adams Newspaper Service. Adams' syndicate was located at 8 West 40th Street in Manhattan. When Adams and "Emporia Gazette" publisher William Allen White met in Chicago in 1908, Adams hired White to write about political issues. Adams had copies of Walt Mason's light verse which he had clipped from the "Gazette", and said, "I like this stuff. I'd like to syndicate it to other papers. Suppose I could?" White responded, "Sure. Give Uncle Walt about $18 a week, and he'll be tickled pink to do it for you ." Adams did, and as Mason's "Rippling Rhythms" column increased in popularity, he eventually increased Mason's salary to $15,000 a year. The name of the Adams Newspaper Service was changed in 1916 to the George Matthew Adams Service. Writers syndicated by Adams included Thornton Burgess, Edgar Guest and Robert Ripley. The syndicate also distributed single-panel cartoons, including some accompanied by jokes, backwoods homilies, light verse or Adams-style inspiration. Adams syndicated comic strips, including Billy DeBeck's "Finn an' Haddie", Percy Crosby's "The Clancy Kids", Edwina Dumm's "Cap Stubbs and Tippie", Ed Wheelan's "Minute  Movies", and Robert Baldwin's "Freddy". In addition to sports cartoons by Lank Leonard, Adams syndicated Johnny Gruelle's illustrated "Raggedy Ann" panels from 1934 to 1938. The uplifting "Raggedy Ann" verses emphasized forthrightness, honesty, kindness and thrift. He also syndicated Rebecca McCann's philosophical "The Cheerful Cherub". Lloyd Jacquet was the syndicate's art director from c. 1936 to 1937, shortly before leaving to found Funnies, Inc. The syndicate's long-time manager was Giordano Bruno Pascale. Adams's syndicate peaked in the 1920s and 1930s, eventually fading as its founder aged. In the company's latter years, the  president and general manager was Harry E. Elmlark. Adams died in 1962; the remaining features were sold to The Washington Star Company in May 1965, thus forming the Washington Star Syndicate. Writing. In the 1910s, Adams was selling Dr. Frank Crane's (1861–1928) popular "Four Minute Essays". When he lost Crane to a competitor, he decided to write short inspirational essays himself while he traveled from city to city selling to newspapers. By the 1950s, Crane was all but forgotten, but Adams' short inspirational columns, titled "Today's Talk", were in about 100 newspapers and also collected in a series  of books. Adams Service strips and panels. Launched in the 1910s: Launched in the 1920s: Launched in the 1930s: Launched in the 1940s: Launched in the 1950s: Launched in the 1960s: