CHAPTER XXXVI 



STARTING THE SPORT SET 



From Magazine to Penny Weekly — Those who were associated with 

 it — Frank Otter entertains the Staff — Amateurs who tried — 

 The Sport Set Dinner — Toasting an Embryo Capitahst 



During my early years on the Express I had an idea 

 of a racing magazine, and in 1908 started the Sport 

 Set, a sixpenny monthly, which could have been still 

 running to-day had I possessed sufficient patience — 

 and money, dear friends — with it, but there never 

 appeared a sufficient reward for trading on one's own, 

 and the idea occurred to me to change it into a penny 

 weekly. Some little time before Mr Sievier started 

 the Winning Post I happened to travel up with him 

 from Eastbourne to London, and he told me of the out- 

 line of the Winning Post, and expressed himself most 

 intelligently as regards his new venture. At the same 

 time there was the invitation that if I liked to make 

 any suggestions they would be welcome. I spent an 

 afternoon with him at the house he had at Eastbourne, 

 and gave him several pointers with regard to the new 

 paper. Two or three years after he told me that I 

 could have gone in the paper on certain sharing terms 

 had I a mind to, but there was no spirit of adventure at 

 that particular moment ; in fact, my hands were pretty 

 full with other work. I was always obsessed with the 

 idea, however, that I should have my weekly paper, 

 and thus some day be independent of newspaper 

 proprietors by being on my own. 



The magazine referred to was the first step. The 

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