Page:History of Journalism in the United States.djvu/271

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PENNY PAPERS AND THE NEW YORK SUN
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ment ourselves) that Farren, the chap who damned the Yankees so lustily the other day, and who is now under bonds for a gross outrage on a respectable butcher near the Bowery Theater, is intending to make his appearance on the Bowery stage THIS EVENING!"

The success of the paper of this period must be considered not only from the point of view of its financial returns, but from the part that it played in stimulating its rivals. It is this personal, competitive and aggressively combatant side of American journalism that makes its history so interesting, and so true an index of the democratic life of the people.

In commenting on the fact that other penny papers had all passed away. Day noted that since these papers had been printed they had begun "the most unlimited and reckless abuse of ourselves, the impeachment of our character, public and private."

The Sun was able to claim the credit of inspiring, not only the founding of the New York Herald, but numerous other sheets, among them The Jeffersonian—The Man—The Transcript—The True Sun—(established by some discharged employees)—The Morning Star—The New Era (established by Richard Locke, whose Moon Hoax story attracted wide attention)—The Daily Whig—The Bee—The Serpent—The Light—The Express—The Union—The Rough Hewer—The News Times—The Examiner—The Morning Chronicle—The Evening Chronicle—The Daily Conservative—The Censor and the Daily News, all of which were started within a period of fifteen years after the Sun, and all passed away with the exception of the Express and the Daily News.

Three years after it had been founded the Sun boasted that it had a circulation of 27,000 copies daily or 5,600