Always in Advance
of the Newspaper Procession
j? 1
fa
TIIIiODORK W McCTLLOUOII
.lA.MF.i? II II AYNKS
VICTOR ROSHWATKR
WILLIAM HOWARDS ANN IN
ALFRDD SOItF.NSON
Hi: grow Hi r i,. i' nn dorn news
pa pi r hi l" ii a constant lace
with ( lu iiiim Ii.iiiIi nl facllltleii
tiirii.:it'V In lirciltlcc tens mi'l
hundreds "f tllUUBnllllS of COIllplolO pOllod-
Icals at tin) quickest possible speed.
No example illustrates tlif progress made
bettor tlinii this history of Tho lleo, which
has been I ho pioneer In introducing Into
this boctlnti of tin- country every new ad
vance In moehaiilonl piucesos ami Im
provement In typesetting anil printing ma
ohlnery. Tho Hist copy of Tin' lire wns run otf
on what was know u as an ohl Cincinnati
1 1 : i rial cylinder pri'ss, which hail been pur
chased hy tin- Redlleld Rrus. soini' years
hi'foro for 1,"(io. Its capacity was about
7i) Impressions, or :!.".o four-page sheets por
hour, so that it took fully throi' hours of
negro-propelled flurry to turn out tho
Ihoiisanil copies that were put Into circu
lation. Tills sauii- press was used for
more than a year, anil until after the firo
of 1.N72 lompollcil The Hce to seek new
quarters on lower Farmim street. At this
tlmo a new t hree-revolullou line proas
with a capacity of a.Otiii four-page papers
per hour was purchased. Tho now press
was counted a marvel In Omaha printing
circles, and although It was bought at
Hecoud-linml It coutinuod in constant use
lor ten years The giowth of tho clr
i ulullon of the paper, however, made 11
necessary to supplement this press with a
In rue lylindir. Cottrcll At Hancock, also
pun based at secoiid-liaml.
With all those early presses the work of
the machines stopped with tho Impression
of thu type upon the blank paper, whli h
had then to bo folded by hand. About 1881
tho tlrst folding machine was put upon the
market, manufactured by Chambers of
Philadelphia, who at nine locolved an order
from The Hie, which was thus equipped
with the lirst Udder oer brought Into this
state. This folding mm lilne, being en
tirely separate, made It necessary to food
the papers twice, tlrst through tho print
ing press and then thiuugh tho folder.
The next addition to The Boo press loom
capacity came In tho form of n doublo
I loo pi ess, to which w as attached shortly
after a Dexter automatic folder, by which
thu paper when fed onco Into tho press
enmo out from tho folder ready for mail
ing, without turthor handling. In 18SI1
another doublo cylinder press was added,
equipped with two Dexter folders, raising
tho standard of tho mechanical department
of tho paper abovo that of any other paper
published In this part of the country at
that tlmo.
Thumpld growth of Tho lleo's circulation,
and particularly that of Thu Weekly Hoe,
kept constantly demanding more elllcioiit
and moro rapid mechanical service The
dltlli ulty experienced In getting tho various
editions off the presses In time for tho
malls. In 1SS." forced tho substitution of
whai was then the latest Invention tho
Webb perfecting press. Whereas nil pie
vlous presses printed but one side of tho
paper at a tlmo, making It necossaty to
run each separate copy Into the prcssis
twice, the new machine, by tho use of tho
stereotyping process transforming tho typo
Into cylindrical form, turned out n com
plete paper, printed on both sides, cut.
folded, pasted and counted In one pieces,
and that with automatic feeding from a
continuous web or roll of paper. This per
fecting press had n capacity of 12,(100 eight
page papers por hour, and n year later was
supplemented by another press of the saino
make and pattern, providing against nil
possibility of breakdown and giving Tho
lleo a capacity for printing nearly 2.',000
papers per hour.
When Tho lleo removed to Its now build
lug this duplicate machinery enabled It to
make tho change without resorting to out
side assistance and without missing or oven
delaying n single edition.
These two perfecting presses, which for
a time Hoeined to provide mechanical facili
ties for all future requirements, have, how
ever, been entirely outgrown and discarded.
Tho first one was replaced In 1S9S, nt tho
time of tho TrntismlsslsHlppl exposition,
with n new double supplement Hoe in ess.
manufactured by the makers at their fac
tory In New Jersey specially for Tho Iloo.
This press, which was of the very latest
pattern. Including all the most modern In
ventions and devices. Is capable of print
ing papers the dimensions of The lleo,
from four to twenty-four pages, at u speed
which can only be gauged by the automatic
counting legister which Is a part of tho
machine. The capacity of this press Is
IM.iKMI palters per hour, of eight, tell or
twelve pages, and half that number of
sixteen, twenty or twenty-four-pago papers
per hour. It is propelled by electric
power, transmitted without belting or
shafting, by direct motor built in as pnrt
of tho press.
Pursuant to Its usual practice of precau
tion against accidents by having press ma
chinery in duplicate, The lleo n year ngo
Instnllod a second doublo supplement Iloo
press of tho same size, speed and dimen
sions, doubling its press room cnpaolty,
which Is now 48,000 papers per hour, of
eight, ten or twelve pages, or 21.000 per
hour of sixteen, twenty or twenty-four
pages.
Tho acquisition of this mnchluery made It
necessary to equip nn entlroly new press
room, abandoning that In which tho Potior
perfecting presses had boon Instnllod
which was then ono ot the llnost of Its
kind mid establishing a new press room
of much larger sue, while removing the
steam geueiatilig plant to a separate build
lug.
The presses discarded by Tho llee, It may
bo liitcicHtlug to note, are being used by
Its principal competitor, for whoso pur
poses they amply sulllce.
It is almost needless to say that Tho llee
Is equipped with automatic typesetting
machines of the linotype variety. The
lleo's battery of twelve machines Is the
largest In the stale, as well us tho lirst to
bo brought here. They were purchased
from thu manufacturers in lhtiu mid sot up
in thu mngnlllf cut composing room, where
the hand typesetting had previously boon
done. This loom was pronounced, only
last month, by thu president of thu Inter
national Typographical union, to hu the
llnest, most capacious and most comfortable
newspaper workshop In thu country.
Thu presB work of Tho Illustrated lleo,
with its line half-tone engravings, Is done
by coutrnct with Hoot, the Job printer. It
requires two entire days of continuous
printing to produce thu edition.
Thus, through Us wholu career, Tho Iloo
has always had thu best ami tho most im
proved mechanical facilities, adding to Its
equipment as tho fast growing demands of
its circulation warranted. And thu prog
ross of tho past Is the best assurance for
thu future.
Journalistic Wrecks that Have Strewn the Way
T
I
lirst
dally
F TilK character and success of a
newspaper can be gauged iu any way
by the stability ot Its career, thin
Tho Hoe must be nccordod
place of light among nil the
newspapers that have over been
published In Omaha. While would-be rivals
of various pretensions have sprung up from
time to tlmo with grandiloquent promises
and either avowed or veiled purpose of
monopolizing the newspaper Held, Tho Deo
has not only held Its own, but kept con
stantly lorging further forward, never
missing an issue or lowering its high
standard. Tho Journalistic ventures pro
jected with tho object of heading otf The
Iloo or breaking It down have one by one
fallen victims to their own folly and these
noA-spaper wrecks strew tho roadside along
which The llee has mnde lis steady nnwnrd
march. For thirty years Tho lleo has been
published under direction of Its founder
without n single chnngo of inaiiagemen'
ami without merging with nny other paper
while of tho long list of Its contemporaries
scarce one has escaped transformation,
consolidation or complete extinction.
When The lleo mndo Its first how to nn
Omaha public the Held was occupied by two
established dally papers, tho Republican
nnd tho Herald, both morning issues, but of
opposite political faith. To block the ris
ing Might of The llee two afternoon shoots
were started, the Figaro and thu Alta,
printed 'in the Republican olllce, only to
succumb at short meter, not surviving the
year 1871, In which they were launched.
Thu next entry went by the naino of tho
Dispatch, making its appearance In 1S72.
If was supposed to bo backed by Patee, tie'
lottery king, and was run off the presses
of Rcdllold brothers. Tho exits of Patee
nnd of tho Dispatch were almost slmul
taneoun. In 1S73 the Daily Union came out as an
afternoon paper. It won printed and pub
lished by n committee representing striking
printers, endeavoring to bring the other
papers to terms, and did not outlive the
strike.
In 187 came the tlrst Kvenlng News, un
der tho editorship of Fred Nye. The News
manr.geil to eke out nn existence for moro
thnn two years, when It wns forced to give
up tho ghost, being swallowed by tho old
Republican, on which Nye tooU n place as
nssnrinte editor alongside of Datus Ilrooks.
Tho year 1SS1 saw nnothnr newspaper
newcomer iu tho Omaha Kvuiiing Telegraph,
produced by Donnelly & Smith, two man
formerly connected with tho existing morn
ing papers. The Telegraph did not show
even the hardihood of tho News and died
a premature but natural death.
Iu 1S81 the Kvenlng Dispatch was re
vived, at least iu name, by W. F. Swoosy
as publisher. Shortly afterward the Omaha
Times projected Itself into the arena as
well, and In ISS.'i tho two struggling ven
tures tried to batllo fate by uniting with
the hyphenated name of the Omaha Times
Dispatch, but the Juncture was no mora
reassuring and the paper disappeared.
Thu same year saw tho birth of tho
Omaha Dally World, which five years later
sought to bolster Its failing fortunes by
amalgamation with tho Herald, tho Intter
hnvlng endured the lllngs of fortune through
successive changes of owners after the re
tirement of Dr. Miller, Us original pro
prietor. In the meanwhile tho Dally Interstate
Democrat, propelled by Walter Raleigh
Vaughn, who moved across thu river to
reach Omaha's Journalistic sea, had Iu 18S9
offered lo nil a long felt want. It soon con
tracted Its title to simply tho Dally Domo
crnt nnd Its Unlit wont out tho succeeding
year.
Kor the third time a newspaper called
thu Dispatch camo to the, rescue of tho
Omaha public, this time under tho patron
age of J, C, Wilcox. Thu Dispatch eked
nut it precarious existence nnd mistook for
Its elixir of life the Republican, which also
hnd been successively unloaded on u scries
of speculative publishers. Wilcox bought
In the Republican nnd merged It with thu
Dispatch, although retaining tho former
nnme. Foolish nnd fanatical advocacy of
prohibition In the famous campaign of 1890
finished the deal nnd the Republican went
lo tho wall, an example of newspaper sui
cide. Two years later nn attempt wns mndo
lo float another dally newspaper schenii) In
tho Republic, nml still another In n second
News. The two weaklings Imagined I hoy
could Hnd strength In union nnd tho News
Republlc wns the result. Two years more
of sporadic publication ami the venture
had Htrnnded all connected with It ami It
died unwept nnd iininourned.
The Omnha edition of Iho Council Illuffs
Nonpnroll heralded with a blaze of trum
pets Iu thu campaign of 18'jj was part of a
political contract calling for a sixty days
Issue, at the end of which the paper went
back lo Its home In thu town at tho oust
end of thu bridge. The Nonpareil and the
Herald fiom Council Illuffs nnd the Jour
nal from Lincoln have occasionally Invaded
the Omaha, Held with blanch olllces, bin
have never succeeded Iu gaining a foot
hold.
Iu I Wis the tlinahn Penny Pi ess was for
a while distributed as a dully paper In the
iiiteicst of nn iiutl-dcpmimcut store light,
lapsing shortly Into a weekly, later com
pletely extinguished.
In IMi'.l the third afternoon paper to be
knows ns the News came In as a cheap
penny paper.
As already staled, through all these inn
I lit Ions, extending over thirty years, The
lleo has stood linn mid unshaken in thu
van of Nebraska jimrnalUm, the model and
thu envy of competitors. While brnggart
rivals worn borno orf to the newspaper
grnvnynrd, Tho lleo has expanded mid Im
proved, pursuing u consistent policy for
the upbuilding of city, state nnd nation
nml weathering storms Iu which Instltu
Hons of weaker foundation nnd lesser sin
blllty have successively foundered.
Gauges that Test a Paper's Influence and Standing
r
ROM thu purely newspaper stand
point the inllui nee and standing of
u nowhpapcr Is mint accurately re-
llecti'd by tho esteem In which It Is
held hy contemporaries, conccdully oc
cupying the forefront of Journalism.
When you find a newspaper whose
editorial opinions uro constantly quoted or
cited In tho principal papers of thu coun
try, whoso columns uro rolled on by tho
exchange editors of tho great dallies for
bright sketches and attractive teports of
oxcluslvo news Items, whoso special origi
nal features of pen and picture nro freely
cuplcd In other cities with or without com
plimentary credit, you can put that papor
down as Influential abroad ns well as at
home.
Readers ot Tho llee who aro In tho habit
of perusing eastern papers or people ac
customed to travel iu different parts of thu
country, depending on papers published
along their routes, need hnrdly bo re
minded thnt they soo Tho lleo moro fre
quently quoted than all other papers
printed In Us territory- more frequently
thnn nny other papor between tho Missis
sippi river nnd the Pacific const. It was
not long ngo that tho Now York Kvonlng
Post referred to Tho lleo ns "tho loading
republican paper of the west," nnd The
Dee's editorials may bo found from tlmo to
time reprinted in whole or In part In such
papers as tho Doston Trnscrlpt, the Spring
Held Republican, the New Voik Tribune,
the New York livening Post, tho Drooklyn
Kagle, the Philadelphia Press, tho Phila
delphia Ledger, tho Daltlmoro Sun, the
Daltlinnre American nnd nil the leading
papers of Chicago, St. Louis nml Interior
cities. When nny gieat event of special
political or industrial significance occurs,
like a piesldentlal nomination, the
national election, tho ratification of tho
peace treaty, tho Porto Rlcan decisions,
The Dee Is regularly Bolhited for a state
ment of Its position by all the largo dallies
that seek lo glvo thoir renders a symposium
of public opinion representative of the
popular verdict. Consult iho rending rooms
of tho great libraries In tho large popula
tion centers and you will Hnd that where a
newspaper Is kept from Nebraska and Its
contiguous slates The Dee is Invariably the
paper that has been selocted for the files.
Put It down, too, that a newspaper that Is
weak at home Is never strong abroad.
Tested In other directions, tho lnfluenco
of Tho Deo comes up to tho highest stand
ard. As a mnn Is valued most truly hy his
own neighbors, so a newspapor Impresses
Its worth most forcibly upon the people of
Its own home. Hver slnco It hns boon firmly
established Tho Doe has led In circulation
In Its own local hold. For twenty years
tho statutes of Nebraska have contained a
law requiring notices of liquor license ap
plications to bo published In iho pnper hnv
lng tho largest circulation In tho county nnd
during tho whole period no application has
been rejected relying on publication In Tho
Deo to fulfill tho legal requirement. Sel
dom hns the right of Tho Dee to recogni
tion ns tho papor of lnrgest locnl circula
tion oven boon contested and novor success
fully. Tho character of Its readers must
nlso be taken Into account. The Deo bus
never consented to bo a cheap pnpor for
cheap people-nnd thnt Its efforts to pro
duce the best posslblo newspnpor tho com
munity enn support nro appreciated Is nt
tested by tho demand for Tho Deo from the
substantial classes nnd Industrious wngo
earners who will not bo tempted by sensa
tionalism because It comes chenp.
As an advertising medium tho superiority
of The Deo over Its competitors Is demon
strated ovory day. Tho Deo does not glvo
away Its advertising spare, because It Is
valuable and commands value for Its iifo.
Advertisers patronize Tho Iloo frooly be
cause they know they get their money's
worth when balanced over against results,
and The Deo secures better prices than Its
would-bo competitors because Its advertis
ing space Is more valuable. Day In and day
out Tho lleo carries tho largest nnd most
representative display of advertising an
nouncements of nny paper In tho same ter
ritory. This Is true both as regards foreign
and local advertising. A comparison of the
Sunday editions of tho vnrlous Omaha news
papers any week from tho viewpoint of tho
advertlbor will quickly show tho relative
standing In tho scales of tho merehanlH who
have wares to sell nnd who regulnrly award
Tho lleo from two to four pages moro of
their advertising than nny other Omaha
paper. Announcements Intended to reach
high class patrons who Iny stress on quality
rather than prlro nro usually given exclu
sively to Tho lleo.
As a political factor and as an agency for
promoting the materia! growth and educn
Honal progress of the community, tho
a hlevemelitH of The llee afford tho best
criterion of Its Influence Founded to up
hold the law on which tho striieturo of our
public school system has been reared, Tho
Dee has steadfastly worked toward tho up
lifting of tho people by the diffusion of In
telligence nnd dofondod tho free public
hchools ngnlust abuses nnd maladministra
tion. Uvory public enterprise making for
the prosperity of city nod stnto has hnd In
Thu Deo u ready champion; nor has It been
content to Indulge merely In brass baud
charity or to bo u deadhead In thu call to
public spirit, giving only of oilier people's
contributions, but has shouldered Hu share
and more of every subscription list Iu a
worthy public cause. In season nnd out of
heiison The Deo has been found advocating
public ami private Improvements mid the
development of latent resouices for thu up
building of Omaha, backing up Its opinions
as the most tangible uvldeuce of Its own
good faith by the erection of tho monumen
tal Deo building, mid tho results of Its per
sistent campaigns may bo seen on every
side. Tho leading part It played Iu the In
ception, promotion and successful culmina
tion of the marvelous TrnusiiilHslsslppI ex
position will not bo soon forgotten by those
who enjoyed tho beauties of that wonder
city. What is morn to the point, the liillu
enco of The Dee for progress nnd pros
perity, for right nml good government, for
material nml moral Improvement which has
been exerted continuously from day to day
for thirty years may be counted on to con
tinue further throughout Its whole future
enreor to which no tlmo limit can he set.