e r.
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: JUNE '23, .1918. .
Story of
The Bee
' (CoatbraMI froca tmg Ton.)
portance to Omaha, at it added $100,
000 a year to ita rightful revenue from
rauroia iuh,
v . 1 t ....1..J ...nJfn.
-. ' Juc omcr rciorm pusucu iiuii
ly by The Bee ii the abolishment of
graft offices in the state, now show
ing in only one spot- Discontinuance
county coroner is an outcome of a
of useless offices such as that of
movement begun by this paper.
Burned Out Twice.
In its 47 years of industrious life,
The; Bee has made its home in five
hivn- two of these were burned as
the result of incendiary fires and three
were outgrown. .
First of its homes, after it really
had become a newspaper, was i two
story frame ; building on Twelfth
street, just south of Dodge, adjoining
the similar building occupied by the
Redfield Printinar company, in which
the naner wn first orinted. Even after
Ldward Rosewater bad leased tne
building in which, he set op his separ
ate busness, he continued having the
presswork on The Bee executed at
the Redfield plant. Here the firebug
first found The Bee as a victim. In
June, 1872, just, before the first year
of its life had been completed, a dis
charged employe sought revenge by
setting fire to the building, which was
completely destroyed, together with
its contents. The culprit was quickly
caught, tried and convicted, and sen
tenced to prison for his crime.
, Getting Bigger and Better.
; By this time the growth of the
paper was such as to justify t larger
outlay for plant, and an order was
sent to St Louis for types, presses
and other materials to equip a really
commodious office, which was set up
id a two-story brick building on Far
nam street between Ninth and Tenth,
which had been erected by Mr. Rose
water in 1869. In thil new hnma The
Be continued its growth, and here it
again suffered from incendiarism, the
loss being heavy, but met, as before,
by the indomitable courage and. de
termination of its editor, who restored
the building, refurnished the mechan
ical, and office eqmpment and went
ahead, with the result that his busi
ness -was soon bigger than his quar
ters. - -
In 1879 the adjoining lot was leased
and later bought from Samuel Orch
ard, with a frontage of 44 feet on
Faraam street, on which was put up
a building that served for a few years,
bat in 1885 it was remodeled into the
fine four-story structure that still oc
cupies the site. By this time, it was
apparent to all lhat the growth of the
city would leave lower Farnam street
out of the, line of business trafffic.
The tendency in en "tin th Kill'
too plain, and in 1887 Mr. Rosewater
set' about the erection of the present
Bee building at Seventeenth and
Farnam streets. At the time this
, building was occupied in 1889 it was
' the handsomest and best appointed
newspaper building in the country. .. .
Keeping Pact with Progress. v
: Changes in methods of publication,
; iu lunuauivu cuipiucnt ana ior me
more speedy functioning of the pro
cesses of getting out the paper made
it advisable to bring the editorial and
typesetting rooms down from the top
r -or fe 1904, and the several depart
mente of the paper have gradually
been consolidated or rearranged until
now ( the publication office, the edi
torial rooms, the composing room and
the stereotyping department are all
on the same floor level This greatly
facilitates the work of getting out the
p1er,.The w Pf . oi course, had
to be located in the basement, where
they could be set on solid foundations
entirely, independent of the founda
tions of the building itself The en
graving department, photographers'
and artists' rooms are above the com
posing room.
ft0" Uttle paper that was Just
? J5b fa, routine work of a
frontier printing plant, The Bee has
eomt UO to a oliee K,n t. M..v..
kal equipment astonishes even visitors
wiu. w progress made in the
art of tmntlnff Th fnr .(
positors employed during its first year
of life would not be able at this time
to set the display headings for the
news in a single edition of The Bee
today, were thev to be restricted to
racmoas oi v years ago. The
amount type set for a single issue
now would have sufficed the paper for
weeks during its first year of life. As
was the practice with newspapers at
S!JfC' hea. Th.e Bee it
second, year of xiten- -.j
with new material, it had a job pVInt
ng Plant in connection. This was
continued until during the early "80s
when it was abandoned and its efforts
jvel3r;to;Bew,Pap
? Days of Early Growth
Jrl!? l"U" of.the "toggle
of The Bee a nxt tfc . :
fluences lined Utv acaintf if .,. t j
er felt many times that the life of
1S Paper Was tremhlinir K . k...4
but he stuck to it At tV end of
.yit7.A.haA?ow Propor-
.T.tT a enlarge its sire,
and although the panic of 1873 was
at its height, he bought more and
better machinery and entered upon
the real career nf innm.1t.
. In March, 1874, it was issued as a
nine column folio, the old "blanket
sheet" type, the fifth time it had been
enlarged since its birth three years
before. On January 1, 1875. The Bee
issued v the first illustrated number
iver puousnea in the west a review
of the . city's activities, illuminated
with cuts of buildings, individuals
and other matters of interest
In 1878 the Bee Publishing com
pany was formed. The morning edi-
tion had been added some time be
fore, and both editions were enlarged
!?,' S? ghl pagM- I" 1881 a Council
Bluffs department was set up, and
four "years later Lincoln was taken
in. From that time continuously
The Bee has had its own representa
tives in both of these cities. A spe
cial representative has been main
tained in Washington since early in
the "80s, and for more than a doien
years a resident staff correspondent
1 be?" keP.t D Moines, thus
riving The Bee its own representa
v,ves in the great news centers of
t' e country and the states it espe
' illy serves.
- Pays High for News.
From its very start The Bee found
:at difficulty in getting its news
Trice from the world outside. The
1. field , was . easily enough cov
4 but the gathering of news by
N
X
The Bee Household: Group of Our South Side Carrier Delivery Boys
T-1 nrim m-rrnnnirniiioiiriei inm i rn i r iir t.n '
the new venture was in keeping with
the enterprise that has marked hs
career. In 1889 The Bee moved to
its present home, and even Muring
the times of depression that came
in the 90s, it continued its growth.
It was in 1893 that the battery of
12 linotypes, the first in the west
were Ordered, and the production of
the paper by machine set, type
commenced early in 'the following,
year. In 1898 the two Potter per-;
tecting presses were displaced by'
two Hoe presses, each of more than
double the capacity of the ones takes
years later displaced by others .!.
(Coatintwd ea Fm) - ;
telegraph, was accomplished in the
face of discouraging conditions. The
telegraph companies would do noth
ing to aid the paper, and for many
years it paid outrageous tolls for its
telegraphic news. It was denied en
trance to the Associated Press, and
as a result, while the other Omaha
papers were paying but a small sum,
around $75 per month for telegraphic
news, The Bee was forced to pay
from $500 to $800 for what it got
Finally, in 1884, it was admitted to
the Associated Press on the payment
of a cash bonus. Connections were
also made with the great journals
Insure Fluctuations
most bankrupts are the product of waste and
needless loss.
the size of your stock varies with the needs of
your business; '
so should the volume of your fire insurance,
over insurance is waste of premiums; under in
surance is needless loss in case of fire.
you can distribute your expirations to provide
for the fluctuations. v . ('
for advice on these and your other Insurance
Problems consult
SERVICE EXPERTS.
artini-Etoberts Go.
214-18 Brandeia Theater Bldg., Omaha, Nebraska.
Phone Douglas 274.
None But Old Line Legal Reserve Companies
-v Represented.
of the east, and an alliance .with the
New York Herald that continued for
many years, or until the Herald be
came involved in an effort to sus
tain a rival to the Associated Press,
when the connection with The Bee
was broken off.
In 1885 the mechanical equipment
of The Bee was expanded to meet
its growth by the addition of a web
perfecting press and complete stereo
typing outfit. August 1, 1886, The
Sunday Bee made its appearance. Up
to that time the .morning edition of
The Bee had appeared on Monday,
but not on Sunday. The success of
HA.
Wolf Company
Realtors
Joins the City of Omaha in congratulat
ing' The Omaha Bee upon the 25 years
of successful work contributed to our
! city by Mr. Victor Rosewater.
We believe that we are living in the best
city of the best land in the world.
Our fertile soil,' our democratic spirit
and our western enthusiasm will keep
our city growing and developing. Our
future is wrapped in Omaha and Tne
Bee is helping to make it a success.
H. A. Wolf Company
By HARRY A. WOLF, Pres.
"Please Remember"
We Specialize in Rentals of Business Property
We Buy, Sell and Develop Real Estate and
We Write All Kinds of Insurance and Bonds
WHEELER &
WELPTON
CO
Reliable
INSURANCE
All Kinds
PHONE DOUGLAS 186
1511 DODGE ST. OMAHA
The Nebraska Tent
and Awning Co.
1204 Farnam.
Douglas 3329 and 3330.
Manufacturers
to Wholesale- and Retail Trade
Awnings, Tents, Sleeping Porch Curtains
Specialty of American and Service Flags
H. S. McDonald, Mgr.
Mr. H. S. McDonald embarked in the tent and awn
ing .business thirty years ago, together with Mr. A. H.
Rawitzer. Five years ago Mr. McDonald organized
the Nebraska Tent and Awning Co., at its present lo-'
cation, 1204 Farnam street.
Mr. McDonald has been compelled to surround
himself with an unusually able corps of assistants, be
cause of the fact that most of his time is spent in exe
cuting his duties as county commissioner. All depart
ments of his business are manned by people of expe
rience in the tent and awning industry.
The Nebraska Tent and Awning Company guaran
tees in every particular all goods turned out by them to
be of full weight and full size. This policy of serv
ice in filling their orders has developed a successful in
stitution, t
6
DIVIDENDS
PAYABLE QUARTERLY
.
Use Your Good Judgment
Whether you engage a lawyer, the serv
ices of a doctor or are about to select a de
pository for your money, one of the first
questions which occurs to you in making your
selection is: "What experience has this man
or institution had to warrant the kind of serv
ice I need most?"
. '
When an institution such as the Occi
dental Building & Loan Association has, for
a long period of time, been rendering satis
factory service to the community, you have
confidence in its ability to safeguard your
funds and give the kind of encouragement
and assistance in financial affairs which you
require.
Twenty-seven years ago this institution
started to do business in this state and it has
enjoyed uninterrupted success and growth
since its establishment. Beginning in a mod
est way, it has grown until today its total re
sources exceed $6,770,000.00 and it has set
aside a Contingent Loss Fund of $247,000.00.
We invite you to come in and open an
account with us. We pay 6 dividends,
compounded quarterly.
This association has over $120,000,00 invested in
Liberty Bonds and it is selling these bonds to cus-,
tomers on the small-payment plan. , '
Occidental Building & Loan
Association
322 South 1 8th Street
DIVIDENDS
PAYABLE QUARTERLY
Com
Omaha. -
Storage Co
Largest Cold Storage
Warehouse West
of Chicago
COLD STORES FOR ALL
PERISHABLE PRODUCTS
Large Manufacturers of
Creamery Butter
DEALERS IN EGGS
and POULTRY
P. V. HYSON, Vice Pres. and Gen. Mgr.
