Another Buy

Frank A. Munsey, the great consolidator, added another paper to his history. He bought The Evening Mail (Manhattan) for a sum "in excess of $2,000,000," and consolidated it with one of his other papers, The Evening Telegram.

The Mail was founded in 1869. Some ten years later it was consolidated with The Evening Express (founded in 1836 as a Whig paper absorbing The Daily Advertiser). Now another consolidation makes it into The Telegram and Evening Mail.

Mr. Munsey announced: "This purchase puts the evening newspapers of New York in a safe, strong position. Financially they are now impregnable."

As a result Mr. Munsey's newspaper holdings now total: The New York Herald (morning), The Sun and The Globe (Manhattan, evening), The Telegram and Evening Mail (Manhattan) and the Paris edition of The New York Herald.

Compare this list with Mr. Mun-sey's purchases in Manhattan alone:

1891, The Star (later renamed The Daily Continent and sold).

1901, The Daily News (later discon-tinued).

1912, The New York Press (later consolidated into The Sun).

1916, The Sun (consolidated into The New York Herald) and The Evening Sun (later consolidated into The Sun and The Globe).

1920, The New York Herald, its Paris edition and The Evening Telegram (now consolidated into The Telegram and Evening Mail).

1923, The Globe and Commercial Advertiser (merged into The Sun and The Globe).

1924, The Evening Mail (merged as described above).

Outside of Manhattan Mr. Munsey bought:

The Boston Journal (later sold).

The Washington Times (later sold).

The Baltimore American (later sold).

The Baltimore News (bought and sold twice).

The Baltimore Star (merged with The Baltimore News).

Thus Mr. Munsey has made 16 purchases of newspapers and six sales and has net, on hand, four newspapers. This record almost seems to justify the remarks of Arthur Brisbane, Hearst editor:

Owners of little newspapers rub their eyes, stand at gaze, and ask, "Where does dear, kind Mr. Munsey get all the money he pays us?"

That won't be the end. Frank Munsey has two passions that rule him, consolidation and perfection.

His "Sun and Globe" will be made perfection. His "Telegram and Mail" will be made perfection. Then old Consolidation will step in and say: "Frank, no use having two perfect things absolutely alike, let's consolidate." Then Mr. Munsey will own the New York Herald in the morning and in the evening the "Sun-Globe-Mail-Telegram."

Don't sigh and say it's wrong for a man to kill newspapers. When a newspaper is chronically for sale, the best thing you can do is kill it.