366 



GEEELEY, HOEACE. 



his two days' disconsolate quest, he resolved 

 to leave New York while a little money still 

 remained in his pocket. He was frightened by 

 the prospect of the almshouse, which stared 

 him in the face, and wished to make his es- 

 cape while the chance was yet left. In the 

 evening, however, he made the acquaintance 

 of some young Irishmen, who had called at his 

 landlord's in their stroll about town. Upon 

 hearing that he was a wandering printer in 

 pursuit of work, they at once took an interest 

 in his affairs, and directed him to a place 

 where he could find employment. This was 

 the printing-office of Mr. John T. West. The 

 work was so difficult that no printer acquaint- 

 ed in the city could be induced to accept it. It 

 was the composition of a miniature New Tes- 

 tament, with numerous marginal references, 

 and in a curiously intricate style of typography. 

 No other compositor could be persuaded to 

 work on the book for more than two or three 

 days, and Mr. Greeley, accordingly, had it 

 nearly all to himself. By diligent type-setting 

 from twelve to fourteen hours of each day, 

 he could earn, at most, not over six dollars 

 a week. 



After several changes which did not greatly 

 improve his circumstances, in January, 1832, 

 Mr. Greeley formed an engagement with the 

 Spirit of the Times, a weekly journal, devoted 

 to sporting intelligence, and edited by Mr. 

 William T. Porter. The foreman of the office 

 was a young man named Francis Story, with 

 whom Mr. Greeley soon contracted an intimate 

 friendship. Urged by his solicitations, he con- 

 sented to form a partnership with him for the 

 purpose of conducting the business of job- 

 printing. They soon took a contract for 

 printing a cheap daily newspaper, to be sold 

 about the streets, at that time a novel idea. 

 The first number of the paper, which was con- 

 ducted by Dr. H. I). Shepard, was issued on 

 the 1st of January, 1833. It fell almost still- 

 born from the press. The day was one of the 

 coldest of the season, and the streets were ob- 

 structed by a mass of snow, which had fallen 

 the night before. No publicity had been given 

 to the enterprise. The editor was incompetent 

 to his task, and in less than a month the 

 whole enterprise came to an untimely end. 

 The printers were saved from bankruptcy by 

 the intervention of an eccentric Englishman, 

 who had conceived a fancy for journalism, and 

 was persuaded to purchase the wreck of the 

 attempted daily. After a few issues he threw 

 up the experiment, but the money which he 

 had paid to the young printers preserved them 

 from further embarrassment. Meantime, their 

 job-printing business continued to prosper ; 

 there was no lack of work, when the firm was 

 suddenly dissolved by the death of Mr. Story, 

 who was drowned while bathing in the East 

 Eiver. His place, however, was soon supplied 

 by the accession of Mr. Jonas Winchester ; and 

 in the spring of 1834, without any premonitory 

 flourish of trumpets, the two young printers 



issued the first number of the New- Yorfter, a 

 weekly journal, devoted to literature, political 

 intelligence, and general news. The paper 

 was edited by Mr. Greeley, .while his partner 

 took charge of the general business of the 



Erinting-office. For the seven years and a 

 alf of its existence, the New- Yorker sustained 

 a high reputation for its literary excellence, 

 the fairness and impartiality of its criticisms, 

 the accuracy and extent of its intelligence, and 

 the elevated tone of its general discussions. Its 

 columns were not only under the immediate 

 supervision of Mr. Greeley, but the editorial 

 articles were written, and the admirable selec- 

 tions which contributed so much to its celebri- 

 ty were, for the most part, made, by his own 

 hand. The paper rose from scarcely a dozen 

 subscribers to more than nine thousand, al- 

 though, as it was conducted on the vicious 

 credit system, and, consequently, lost large 

 sums by bad debts, it never became a pecuniary 

 success. In 1838 Mr. Greeley became the edi- 

 tor of the Jeffersonian, a cheap weekly news- 

 paper, established to maintain the Whig as- 

 cendency in the State of New York, in the 

 election-campaign of that season. In was con- 

 ducted with great moderation of tone, but 

 with signal energy and efficiency. It attaint 

 a circulation of 15,000 copies, and presented : 

 admirable example of successful political die 

 cussion, without passionate heat or personal 

 invective. During the canvass of 1840, which 

 resulted in the election of General Harrison to 

 the presidency, Mr. Greeley conducted the 

 Log Cabin from May to November, when it 

 expired by its own limitation. In about a 

 month, however, its publication was resumed 

 as a family political paper, and continued for 

 one year, when it was merged in the Weekly 

 Tribune. Of the Log Cabin Mr. Greeley was 

 sole editor and publisher. Its circulation was 

 entirely unprecedented at that time. The first 

 issue consisted of 30,000 copies, but before the 

 close of the week there was a call for 10,000 

 more. It soon ran up to 80,000, and would 

 doubtless have attained a still wider circulation 

 had the publisher possessed the present facili- 

 ties for printing and mailing. 



The first number of the Daily Tribime was 

 issued on April 10, 1841. It was a small sheet, 

 and sold at the price of one cent a copy. In 

 the following autumn, the Weekly Tribune 

 was commenced, and with these journals liis 

 name was ever after identified. His energy, 

 talent, and experience, and $1,000 borrowed 

 from his friend James Coggeshall, were the 

 only capital upon which the paper started. 

 It succeeded, while hundreds of other ventures 

 equally promising failed; but it did not suc- 

 ceed without difficulty. The publication office 

 was at No. 30 Ann Street. The list of sub- 

 scribers numbered six hundred names. Five 

 thousand copies of the first number werj 

 printed, and Mr. Greeley afterward acknowl- 

 edged that he found difficulty in giving them 

 away. The expenses of the first week were 



