Page:History of American Journalism.djvu/411

 e art of

commanding a living by the approbation and confidence of the for the tendency of its management inclined to the satisfaction of the capitalists with its steadiness, and to the applause of the carping, the cynical, the sciolistic, and the pessimistic by its selection and treat- ment of topics. Its mistaken sense of humor comprised the discussion of serious matters from a comedy side and the discussion of trivial matters from a serious side.

Upon the death of Scott, The World passed into the control of other capitalists. During all this time the paper steadily lost in circulation until it had less than ten thousand in New York City, due doubtless to the reasons already outlined by Mr. McKelway.

Ever since his talk with Manton Marble, after both had spoken at Tammany Hall, Pulitzer had watched the movements of The World on the chance that he might sometime become its owner. Finding that its proprietors were willing to be relieved of an un- profitable burden, he purchased the newspaper in May, 1883. On the eleventh of that month he published over his own signa- ture the following editorial :

The entire World newspaper property has been purchased by the undersigned, and will, from this day on, be under different manage- ment different in men, measures and methods different in purpose, policy and principle different in objects and interests different in sympathies and convictions different in head and heart.

Performance is better than promise. Exuberant assurances are cheap. I make none. I simply refer the public to the new World itself, which henceforth shall be the daily evidence of its own growing improvement, with forty-eight daily witnesses in its forty-eight columns.

There is room in this great and growing city for a journal that is not only cheap, but bright, not only bright but large, not only large but truly democratic dedicated to the cause of the people rather than that of purse-potentates devoted more to the news of the New than the Old World that will expose all fraud and sham, fight all public evils and abuses that will serve and battle for the people with earnest sincerity.

In that cause and for that end solely the new World is hereby enlisted and committed to the attention of the intelligent public.

Sidney Brooks, a distinguished London journalist, in discuss- ing "The American Yellow Press" in one of the great English reviews, asserted that Joseph Pulitzer would prob