58

World-Herald History: Part I--
WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG

Continued from Page 2

pretty well, if not promptly.

Richard L. Metcalfe was the editor
in 1892. At his own request,
he became a political writer for a
couple of years. He recommended
William Jennings Bryan for the
editor's job.

Mr. Bryan became editor in
1894. He resigned in 1896 when
he was nominated for the presidency.
The excitement of that
campaign added to the paper's
circulation. But its income was cut
sharply by a heavy loss in advertising.
This was due to a boycott
of anti-Bryan business interests.

Mr. Metcalfe then resumed the
editor's chair. He was a little reluctant
to do so. He liked being a
reporter, and wanted always to be
a writer, specializing in telling
about the personalities of the men
and women who were in the news.

But fate had stacked the cards
in a different way for him. He was
editor until 1905. Then he became
editor of Bryan's Commoner.
In later years he was civil governor
of the Panama Canal Zone,
Mayor of Omaha, and co-ordinator
of Federal activities under the
New Deal.

Some Famous Names

William R. Watson, who was
destined to become one of the
great officials of the paper, was a
night reporter in 1895. He was
23 years old. During the first
year, he almost decided to look for
another job. The paper owed him
80 dollars on his salary of 15
dollars a week.

Mr. Watson was a political
writer during the Bryan campaign.
He rose to telegraph editor and
night editor. About 1900, shortly
after his marriage, he was shifted
to the dayside as an informal managing
editor. He was in charge
of the Sunday paper. He was
formally named managing editor
until he retired in 1935.

Harvey E. Newbranch, 23, came
to the paper as a reporter late in
1898. He was to become one of
the valuable members of the organization.
His clear thinking and
level-headed judgment proved exceedingly
valuable to Publisher
Hitchcock.

His first job was to cover the
State Legislature. Then he came
to Omaha and wrote some editorials.
He was placed in charge
of the editorial page in 1905, and
was named editor in 1911.

Mr. Newbranch, now editor-in-chief,
is in his fiftieth year of continuous
service with the paper as
this edition is printed.

Sandy G. V. Griswold, famed
sports writer, came to the paper
in 1896. "Sandy's Dope" was one
of the first columns. His Sunday
Stories "Forest, Field and
Stream" won wide interest. He
was nearly 8- years old when he
died in 1929.

Guy R. Spencer, widely known
cartoonist, joined the staff in
1899.

Eugene O. Mayfield was a reporter
in 1890. He later conducted
the first Childrens Page under the
name Rex. M. He and a reporter
named E. H. Hemming
worked together in helping to
solve the Cudahy kidnapping case
in 1906.

(IMAGE)
William R. Watson, later
the managing editor, was a reporter
when he started to work
in 1895.

Other able writers of these
times included Ernest C. Hunt,
John Becan Ryan, Albert D.
Fetterman, Frank P. Gallagher,
Raymond Austin Eaton, Fred Nye,
Carl Smith, Robert B. Peattie and
his wife Elia W. Peattie who became
famous as an author.

Beginning of Supremacy

William G. Grounse, a brother-in-law
of Mr. Hitchcock, had
joined the business staff in 1887.
He was now an officer in the company
and had charge of the business
office and the circulation department.

(IMAGE)
An early picture of Harvey E.
Newbranch, who is the editor-in-chief.
This is his fiftieth year
with the paper.

Two big events helped the paper
grow in 1898. Because of them,
the circulation increased. And as
more and more people bought the
paper, the costs increased.

The paper met the situation by
spending more money to improve
its services.

One event was the great Trans-
Mississippi Exposition in Omaha.
The world's fair attracted national
attention. It drew thousands of
visitors. Total attendance was
more than two million persons.

At great expense, The World
Herald pioneered in using half-tone
cuts, or engravings. These
were reproductions of photographs
of the exposition. The pictures
were bought, because the paper
had no photographer. The cuts
were made in a local shop. The
paper did not have an engraving
plant of its own.

The second event was the
Spanish-American War.

By straining his credit to the
utmost, Mr. Hitchcock contracted
with the New York Herald and the
New York Journal for their entire
war news by telegraph. The
World-Herald was able to print a
great war newspaper.

This coverage was costly. The
wire tolls ran into staggering
amounts. But the venture paid
bid dividends in another way.

Providing this news of Nebraska's
fighting men in Cuba and the
Philippines cemented a great and
growing friendship between the
people of the state and the newspaper.

This was the beginning of
World-Herald supremacy. It was
leadership founded on service.

End of the Century

The leader, however, had patches
on its pants.

A little joke printed on the editorial
page told the story. It
said: " We haven't had time to
read the new book. The Editor's
Purse. We know this much about
it-it's flat."

As the century neared its end,
there were rugged financial hurdles
ahead. And a new competitor
entered the field.

In 1899, a syndicate established
a new paper in Omaha. This was
the Omaha Daily News. Within a
year, this paper occupies a new
building at Seventeenth and Jackson
Streets.

The News, publishing an evening
and Sunday paper, could operate
more cheaply than its opposition.
The World-Herald and the Omaha
Bee published morning and evening
papers.

The new paper was backed by
Eastern capital. Its entrance into
the Omaha field meant a newspaper
"war." There was to be
price curring and a scramble for
business. There was the threat,
to the competitors, of a considerable
loss in circulation and in
revenue from advertising.

Could The World-Herald weather
the storm?

At the turn of the century in
1900. The World-Herald was 15
years old. It was in debt about
100 thousand dollars.

The Creighton
University

Founded in 1879 with
120 boys in attendance

1948, after 70 years,
nearly 3,000 students

11,270 degrees conferred by Creighton's
9 colleges. from 1891 to June, 1948
3,085 alumni in Omaha
4,815 alumni in Nebraska
1,246 alumni in Iowa

College of Commerce
D. Floyd E. Walsh, Dean

Creighton College
Rev. M. B. Martin, S. J., Dean

University College
Rev. M. B. Martin, S. J., Dean

School of Dentistry
Dr. H. E. King, Dean

School of Law
Mr. James A. Dolan, Dean

School fo Medicine
Dr. Charles M. Wilheimj, Dean

William H. McCabe, S. J.
President

College of Pharmacy
Dr. William A. Jarrett, Dean

Graduate School
Rev. Henry W. Casper, S. J. Dean

School of Nursing
Rev. G. H. FitzGibbon, S. J., Dean

Carry On World-Herald!

We, Too, Shall Carry On...
With the Finest in
Motion Picture Entertainment

R. D. G. Theatres
(HOME OWNED)
ALL THEATRES AIR CONDITIONED

State
14th and Farnam

Town
14th and Douglas

Avenue
29th and Leavenworth

Military
45th and Military

Dundee
50th and Dodge

Broadway
Council Bluffs

40th St.
40th and Hamilton

Arbor
29th and Leavenworth

Coming Soon...State Theater
Clark Gable--Lana Turner in "HOMECOMING"

HONEYWELL
Controls for Every Purpose
Temperature Control
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Electric-Pneumatic-Electronic
CONTROL SYSTEMS

MINNEAPOLIS-HONEYWELL
REGULATOR COMPANY
OFFICE: 106 N. 15th St.
Phone: Webster 4500
OMAHA, NEBR.

Serving Greater Omaha
for

FIFTEEN YEARS
"Everything for the HOME"
FURNITURE--APPLIANCES
SOLO FURNITURE CO.
1915 FARNAM
JA 1895

A Centennial Celebration
....that YOU made possible!

100 years of service! We of the North Western are proud
of this record; pleased to point to our growth from a few
miles of strap-rail line with a single locomotive, to a 9,600-
mile rail network serving nine states.

But we know well that the real credit for our progress
must go to you, the traveler, the shipper, the farmer....to
the generations in your family and community who had
faith in this railroad, who stood with us through hard
times and good in the realization that community development
and good transportation go hand in hand. So
in marking our 100th birthday, our thanks are to you---
whose vision and assistance have made this event possible.

R. L. Williams, president

CHICAGO and NORTH WESTERN
SYSTEM

PIONEER RAILROAD OF CHICAGO
AND THE WEST--SINCE 1848