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and changes in management have occurred since then and the news-gathering organization, now known as the City News Bureau of Chicago, employs over fifty men, serves all the Eng- lish papers, and covers all avenues of news in Cook County with the exception of finance, labor, and politics.

NELSON OF KANSAS CITY

One of the most picturesque figures among makers of Amer- ican newspapers was William Rockhill Nelson, editor and pub- lisher of The Star, of Kansas City, Missouri, from the date of its establishment, September 18, 1880, until his death, April 13, 1915. When The Star, called by the local press "The Twi- light Twinkler," first began to shine, it was a small four-page paper and "twinkled " for two cents a day or ten cents per week: when its owner died it equaled in size any of the metropolitan dailies and shone morning and evening and Sunday for the same rate of ten cents per week. At the start pennies were scarce in Kansas City, where papers sold for five cents per copy, and Mr. Nelson was forced to import them by the keg from the United States Mint in order that newsboys might have the change for customers. By the end of the first month The Star published a little note that it had more readers than any other newspaper published there. The purchase of The Mail in 1882 gave the pa- per an Associated Press franchise, which in turn furnished the telegraph news so much needed at the time. When The Times was bought in 1901 it was made the morning edition of The Star with the issue of November 18. The Sunday edition of The Star was begun on April 29, 1894. The delivery of thirteen papers by carriers morning, evening, and Sunday for ten cents per week has never been duplicated by any other newspaper publisher in America and practically stifled competition in Kansas City.

Two incidents in the history of The Star will illustrate the personality of its founder. An early issue called attention to the fact that the town opera house, owned by Colonel Kersey Coates, was poorly constructed and sadly in need of proper exits. Coates denied the danger from fire and denounced the editor as a black- mailer, but later went to Nelson and, after remarking that he was going to reconstruct the opera house, he added, "The town