UNKNOWN

Hutt News, Volume 2, Issue 50, 22 May 1930, Page 11

UNKNOWN

, .„•; • ./CYRUS H.NT. _oi.riS.. I /Pfe.-? is the story o\* a man who : _•- ■ gUH ■with, l^d. and who- nov, has a .-ap-■ilft-1 is t;he story of the man who has done ruqst of all to lift v;« tlw?. standard #'-$f quality iv both Joivrnuh-u and Adlie is, now 72 years of age. His name is Cyrus H. Iv. Curtds. He is t-he owner of the "Saturday Evening Post/" ■"I>adie^ Hoime Journal," "Country G«urji^tian," au-1 "Philadephia Ledger." ■ : • ~ ;■•■■ His ''''Saturday Evening Posl," which now eo&ts us sixpence in 3STew Zealand sel'-? in the States at 2-1 d., and has a circulation of 2,500,000 a week. It "p the premier publication of the worid. . "t His : ladies Home Journal"Vhas v circula ' m of 2,000,000 a mofifch at 7*d.

\ a cop ; His

.come, from advertising alone, is now about £13,000,000 a" year. Nto, this ie not n misprint. It is Thirteen M<Ulkm Pm.n'is a year, at the oW rate of ox :: And not a penny from -nliisl ti-alls or any sort of catch-

penny ■•uivi^h,

He • ■' n most successful publisher \n the ' ' ".nd there is no crime nor Scandal in iis reading (matter; and no humbug in .. -s advertisement. His standards are -higher than any Setter .publisher and so are his profits. Cyrus Cuvub comes of the .best British stock. His worthiest ancestor sailed from England in 1681. I His father was a decorator, who lived in a small wooden house' in Portland, Maiae, an-' Lh was v >orn in 1850. One <-!?•. ?rhen he was 12, he asked hip another /or some money to spend on jr;ft-~ -si^.kers. "If" you want money," ■fine said, 'you must go and earn it, as Byow father does." ■ He had l*d. in his pocket. He went ■and bought three '' Daily ..Couriers'' Rand sold them on street corners. Art the J-- enxl of *he day >he had 41d. ; He was a tiny lad, quick but not strong; but he soon became a very competent newsboy. When he had been selling-papers for I a month, he had'his first business idea.; 11-' ran to the manager of t>he ' Courier' and asked for credit. "If you -give me credit till to-morrow morning," ihe said •eagerly, "I'll take a big bundle of of <! Couriers" across the "river to "Fort Preble." The manager agreed. Thlen young Cyrus arranged to get his /papers first and to slip out of a side door. He went to Fort Preble and made a new market fox the "Courier." Soon he was making a profit of 10/- a week, which was half a man's pay in those days. Tihe next year, when he was 13, he started a paper of his own. It was a. four-page boy's paper called "Young America"; and it had a net sale of 100 a week. He had bough a hand press for 12/- and he was doing well, wihen ■a fire burned him out. No insurance^, "Young America" went up in smoke. Then, for six years, he worked in a ■■drapery shop. During this time,he did nothing remarkable and . was -probably not aware of his own nature and abil- \ ifcieß. ■ '• • '

At 20 he was back to the Press. He -was given a job canvassing for advertisements for-a half-dead papfir in Boston. One day the discouraged, own-r of©red to sell him the jpaper for £150. •Ourtis refused. "All TigM, tSken," said the owner, '' you can have it for

$ nothing." • v Curtis took it, and for the next five years <ho wished he hadn't, It was hope-less.-At 25 he chucked it up, got i-mrrie.l and -went to Philadelphia. It was his marriage that brought him Ms first success. He had started another paper —the Tribune '' —and one clay 'his

f<■''"... -wife called his attendion to the so-cali- ;>■'■'■ "«d Page." "Who wrote !".'•■ thati*' eh« asked. "I did," replied "It's utterly ridiciiious," she eaidat. . ' . v '' "*sell, " said the. wise Curtis, ' ' periiaps it is. Will you write a page forL -me!" ■ ". • W~ will," s-he answered. She did. Hex «-•■: fcage at once became the best part of y? |he paper. Soon it became the whole if.', wiper, and.it was called'the "Ladies p 'Bpme Jooirnal." To-day it has a circul- \ ' a«k>ii of 2,000,000 and is the leader of «11 women's magazines. . , » Curtis soon found that his business taj^rfibad grown too fast for hia capital. He far more than the banks would giy* him. . S

Pi" man who came to his assistance '• "w^s N".|W. Ayer, an advertising agent. Aye^ ylk^ the first man who fully ap-

preciated Curtic. He not only lent him

£50,000, but gave 'his note to a paper •raiW for £25,000 more. .

In eighteen moni&s Cui'tis had paid the whole a/mount -back) and as a result of this gibod deed, the N.W. Ayer Company is now the largest and richest advertising firm in t»ho world.

One of the secrets of the success of Mr. Curtis in tihat-he never wastes time messing and fussing with what 'he has already got. His policy is to go and get something else. He lets his. successes a'loue. ':'''■ tio, as" soon as the "Ladies Home Jou.ual'' was a success, he went out and boW':'l a little weekly called the "Satuuday Evening Post." It had been {founded by Benjamin. Franklin, but it had no v' iier assets of any account. Curtis bought it for £200. It was dead and buried, but Curtis is a great believer in resuTcef. tion. Everybody made fun oif* him for buying a paper that ftrad nothing but' a nanii^But Curtis had & new idea. In 18 07 ho w ■■-.'■ fascinated by a book called ■ "-Calumet X," written by a newspapeT man. This book was a romance of business. It opened his eyes. It showed hion that business is the most interesting as. ■well as the mst useful of all the activities of the would. He dedicated 'his neV magazine to business. '

At first it didn't go. It stuck. He lost

money, on it. He nearly lost all his money. He lost £300,000 on it before it starbed to go up.

To-day it-is the onost profitable publication in the world. It stands in a ©lass by itself. It charges £1,500 a page. It reffuses one half of the advertising that is offered to it. .

In a single issue it has carried £200, 000 of advertising. Its. income, for advertising alone; is £7,000,000 a year.

Next, he boug-ht a poor but proud' little paper -called the "CountTy G-entdte-•man." It was long on pedigree but

short on subscribers. He worked at it till he had a circulation of 600,000 a ■week.

T-hen !h.e let it alone and went ooit and. tbought the " Daily Ledger, "wlhi<cai, also, (was both historic and anaemic.

The real reason why he bought the "Ledger,"l believe, is because wfaeai ihe was visiting London, someone gave him a "Life of John Delane." Delane was the greatest of all the editors oflC Tfbfe Times. H<e was independent. He iwas '' The Thunderer."

The story otf Ms life deeply impressed Curtis. He bought a copy of the book for icvery editor and reporter in his employ. -

He has built up the "Ledger" raitil today it is sold in every city in America. It is often quoted in the British Press.

Apart foTm the "Ledg-eT," Ouutis bias over 200 great presses, costing £1,500, 000. He uses 400 tons of. paper a day— a full 'train-load. He has over 3,000 employees in his main building alone.

PlhysieaJly, Mr. Curtis is small, with kindly eyes and quite manners. He .wears'an old-fashioned beard, cut short

and squared

He is a man who cannot be classified He is bolth old and young He is equally Capital and La'bpur. He is both Liberal and Conservative. He belongs to none of the silly castes that divideone man from anotiher. .

He takes life seriously, ..but. he runs away from pomp and ceremony. If he ■goes to a meeting, he takes a seat at' the back. He is as simple and hnman as his father was.

To his friends he is a lovable man and full of surprises. Several years ago I had tlhe good fortune to ait beside him at several banquets. He and I were •co-speakers at the American Luncheon Cliuib, toojand I found him full of tihe joy of life. He is the Peter Pan of Journalism, and wonderfully balanced and wise. , I He is a gentle-man, in t-he higbest sense. He never bullies nor swaggers. As to ihis haibits, he w»rkg > jokes, smokes, dances, reads, travels, plays the- organ and goes to church. He is fond of yachting and golf. He loves children.

When, lie ias a hard problem to solve, he plays solitaire, as Theodore N. Vail always did. .» .

He leaves . details alone, as soon as a right routine is established. His main business, he thinks, is to make suggestions for improvements and to start new lines of work.

He is non-political, but -he wields a far greater power for good than any other American.

He never forgets a kindness. Long ago, when he had a poverty-stricken little paper, a Scottish printer named Alien helped; him and refused^to take pay for it. Twenty years afteT, Curtis

.heard that Allen was in need in a distant city. At once he went and found -him, 1,500 miles away, living in a garret. Curtis gave him a cheque that banished all his money troubles fox the rest of 'his life. '■■-._'

iSuch is Cyrus Curtis—a man who has done more to uplift the standards of Journalism and Advertising thio any other man in the world.