Page:History of American Journalism.djvu/195



Schools and colleges sprang up to supplement the work of older institutions. Courses both in the grammar and in the high schools were lengthened. Postal routes were extended. Stage lines were numerous and even the railroads started to carry passengers. Journalism, which is ever linked with the social and economic growth of a country, was bound to be affected most materially by these changes. Education made more people readers of newspapers and improved transportation facilities permitted not only a quicker, but also a larger distribution of the papers. Popularizing the newspaper, however, came from the reduction in cost. Journalism never fully came to its own until a newspaper could be purchased for a penny. Until Jack- son's Administration only the wealthy could afford a daily paper. Till then it was a mark of distinction to subscribe to a newspaper, but after the day of the cheap press no such condi- tion ever obtained.