Fortunes in Printers’ Ink—Value of the New YorkHeraldPlant—Story of Mr. Pulitzer’s Struggles—From a Park Bench to a Newspaper Throne—Alfred Harnsworth, the Greatest Paper Man in the World—Serving the News Hot—Secret of the SpringfieldRepublicanSuccess—A Prophet as Well as an Editor—How Reporters Earn Big Salaries—Motto, the Penny Reform—Seven Papers in One—Some New Advertising Schemes—Magazines for the Million.
Fortunes in Printers’ Ink—Value of the New YorkHeraldPlant—Story of Mr. Pulitzer’s Struggles—From a Park Bench to a Newspaper Throne—Alfred Harnsworth, the Greatest Paper Man in the World—Serving the News Hot—Secret of the SpringfieldRepublicanSuccess—A Prophet as Well as an Editor—How Reporters Earn Big Salaries—Motto, the Penny Reform—Seven Papers in One—Some New Advertising Schemes—Magazines for the Million.
A newspaperundertaking is a great financial risk, but at the same time it is one of the richest lodes of success if the proprietor has the capital and the qualities needed. Mr. Whitelaw Reid has amassed a fortune in the New YorkTribune. James Gordon Bennett, proprietor of the paper originated by the senior of that name, estimates his plant as worth $22,000,000. Mr. Pulitzer, of the New YorkWorld, was a poor boy who slept on the park benches. He got an idea, a little money, formed new plans, and struck out on an untrod path. He rattled the dry bones of his contemporaries, and he is to-day a millionaire many times over. Dana made his fortune onThe Sunby his fearless, outspoken editorials, using the plainest Anglo-Saxon. Hearst, of the New YorkJournal, succeeded by his sensationalism. Alfred Harnsworth, an Englishman and a very young man, began the publication of a paper calledAnswerwith very small capital. Before the age of thirty he became a millionaire. Now at thirty-twohe is the chief proprietor of seven dailies and twenty-two other periodicals, and is the head of the largest publishing firm in the world, with a total weekly output of more than 7,000,000 copies. The author of this work has formulated over 200 plans for newspaper success. He is sure that the majority of these plans are absolutely new and perfectly feasible, but the scope of the work will not permit of the insertion of more than ten. The following ten are selected with the firm belief that if they are followed up with ordinary zeal and skill the paper cannot fail to have a very large circulation.
News and Editorial Department.
803.The News in One Minute.—We live in electric times; men must have their news served hot. We want to swallow the day’s doings while we cross the ferry. Have an index on first page containing every item of news, and showing in what columns it can be found. Then, one can get the summary in a minute, while if he likes he can spend hours in the details.
804.Nutshell News.—You may be sure that the paper which can give the news the quickest and neatest is going to the front. Some people care more for quantity than quality. A vast variety of news from all parts of the country, and each item condensed into a few lines, makes more impression on many people than a page devoted to a single tragedy. The SpringfieldRepublicanowes its success to its remarkable number of small items.
805.The Bulletin Forecast.—Most daily papers give out a bulletin. Thousands stand on the street and read the free bulletin, but do not buy the paper. Havea forecast bulletin to read, “To-morrow’s News.” Then a speculation or prediction of what it will probably be. Put it in a sensational and interesting way. Thus: “TheBuglewill tell you all about it to-morrow. Buy theBugle.” In the paper, conclude each important item of news with the editor’s forecast of how the matter will turn out, thus giving it the interest of a continued story. Editors often treat a news item in an editorial, but a vast proportion of the readers never look at that page. Put the cream of the editorial, and especially several pointed questions, after the news item, with the information that the paper will try to solve the problem to-morrow.
806.Bottom Facts.—Readers want facts, not reporters’ fancies nor embellishments. It is well known that in many papers reporters are allowed to invent when they have no facts in the case, and as they are paid by the piece it is for their interest to make as much of an item as they can. Hence, our news is adulterated, distorted, and often falsified. We know some reporters who have invented columns of so-called “Facts;” others who have made sensational, highly-colored stories out of the most insignificant occurrences; and still others who have invented fake reports of sermons, lectures, and other public utterances, when they had not time to obtain the originals. Have it clearly understood in large headlines as a part of the policy of the paper that no reporter will be allowed to invent or exaggerate, that he will be instantly discharged if it can be shown that he has in any way distorted the cold facts. In this way tens of thousands who are now disgusted with what is dished up for them as news but know not where to turn for better service, will be drawn to your paper, and you will establish thereputation for absolute truthfulness of statement and bald exactness of form.
807.The People’s Paper.—Let it be understood that your sheet is distinctively a people’s paper, and is not the organ of any party, class, or corporation. Announce that you will publish letters from anybody, regardless of grammar, sentiment, or position, with the only limitation of decency and personality. Advocate persistently cheap and honest public service. Let one of your mottoes be: “A penny a letter and a penny a mile,” that is, the conviction that a letter ought to be sent anywhere in the United States for a penny, and that a man ought to be able to travel all over the country at the rate of a penny a mile. Have such mottoes as: “All the People Well Off,” “Equal Rights for Everybody,” “No Nepotism, no Partiality, no ‘Pulls.’”
808.The Big Seven.—We have heard of the “Big Four” in railroading. Let your paper be seven sheets rolled into one, having one comprehensive name. Let the seven sheets each have a distinctive and peculiar title as if of a separate paper, and let each be devoted to a particular field. TheArt Mirrorwill contain the pictures; theNews Bureauwill contain the crispiest news; theSword and Penwill contain the most pungent editorials; theWorld Jokeror the New YorkClownwill contain the comical things. Then there should be a “stock paper,” a “sporting paper,” etc. Let it be known that when a man buysThe Earthfor three cents, or for a penny, as the case may be, he really gets seven papers.
809.Free Wants.—In establishing a paying paperyou lose nothing by what you give away. You can well afford to give away space that costs you nothing. Before your circulation is large enough to attract advertisers, you must devise some other means of attracting them. Advertise that on a certain day you will insert everybody’s wants free. This will introduce your paper to a large number of persons, who will not only buy the copy in which their want appears, but will in many cases be ready to pay a little when they next need the services of your sheet.
810.Bargain Bureau.—Have a bargain bureau on the first page or in some other prominent place, and let it be understood that you will each day in this bureau call attention to the bargains especially advertised for that day, and to any new or special feature contained in the advertising columns. You will thus please and draw advertisers, and at the same time attract readers who want to know what, where, and when to buy.
811.Reserve Space.—Have a large blank square or rectangle with the announcement that “This space is reserved for —— ——.” After two or three days people will begin to wonder who will fill the great blank. It becomes by far the most prominent and valuable advertising space in the paper, and should command a good round sum. Make a profitable bargain for a month or year for the filling of the space. If withdrawn, announce, “This space will now be filled by —— ——.” The first advertiser’s rival will pretty surely want it, a result which No. 1 will hardly permit if he can help it, and so between competitors in business your blank will always be filled and you can raise your price if competition becomes sharp.
812.The Page Contract.—When your advertising patronage becomes large and you find it necessary to employ assistants, you will find it to your advantage to let the advertising out in contracts to your subordinates. Instead of paying your helpers a salary, you tell them that they can have a page for $50 or $500 (according to the size of the page and the number of the circulation). They then secure the advertisements themselves and make what they can.Theyand notyoutake the risk. Many assistants would not be willing to do that, but others would prefer the opportunity to work for themselves in this way.
Capital in Cloth—How Uncle Sam Helps Linen-Makers—The Mistake of Stocking Manufacturers—5,000,000 Sales if the Maker will get the Right Thing—Better than Starch?—A Chance to Become a Millionaire—Another Eli Whitney Wanted—Go South and Get Rich—Secrets About Silk Manufacture—Startling Suggestions About a New Process of Making Wool.
Capital in Cloth—How Uncle Sam Helps Linen-Makers—The Mistake of Stocking Manufacturers—5,000,000 Sales if the Maker will get the Right Thing—Better than Starch?—A Chance to Become a Millionaire—Another Eli Whitney Wanted—Go South and Get Rich—Secrets About Silk Manufacture—Startling Suggestions About a New Process of Making Wool.
Inthe materials for making cloth and in the improvement of garments there is an unlimited field for development and fortune. Here are a few of the roads in which capital may profitably move:
813.Linen Mills.—The schedule of the new flax tariff was framed especially to protect linen manufacturers by cheapening the imports of the raw material so that they can compete with foreign rivals. Money put into linen mills ought to reap a bountiful harvest during the next few years.
814.Triple Knee Stocking.—Why do not stocking makers give additional strength to the parts which are the first to wear out? Five million boys and girls in this country are wearing their knees through their stockings and yet makers go on in the assumption that the quicker the wear the better the trade. It remains for some sagacious manufacturer to put a double or triple thickness on the knee, get a reputation for his stocking, and command the market.
815.The Unfrayable Collar Band.—Shirts, perfectly sound elsewhere, go into the rag-bin because thecollar band is frayed. The man who will give us a substitute for starch, which does all the mischief, will earn both gratitude and greenbacks.
816.The Ramie Plant.—A few years ago the ramie plant was introduced into this country from China. It was reported to yield three crops a year, a total of 1,500 pounds to the acre, and that the fiber would produce a cloth equal to cotton or even silk. Great things were anticipated, but the hopes of the raisers were defeated by the lack of a process for separating it into fine filaments. The slow hand press of China makes it too expensive. Here is a chance for some brainy man to do for the ramie plant what Eli Whitney did for the cotton, reaping even a larger fortune than he because of the present greater demand for cloth.
817.Cotton Mills in the South.—About 9,000,000 persons in the United States and England depend for their livelihood on the cotton trade. Until recently New England had a monopoly of the cotton manufacture in the United States, but of late it has been ascertained that, owing to the cheaper cost of iron and fuel, the business can be carried on more advantageously in the South. The coal and iron in the mountains and the proximity to the raw product will cause New England soon to be distanced in this important enterprise. For those who seek cotton manufacture for a livelihood or for a competence, and especially for those who are beginning the business, the northern parts of Georgia and Alabama present unrivaled opportunities for the carrying on of that industry; and to such we would say, paraphrasing Horace Greeley’s advice to the young, “Go South, young man.”
818.Artificial Silk.—The man who can invent or discover a substance which has the glossy luster and wear of silk so as to counterfeit the real article can name his own price. Four processes have recently been patented, but the results are a fiber too coarse, too stiff, too weak, or too expensive. The Chardonnet process makes a quality at a cost of $1.23 a pound, and it sells at $2.70 a pound, a very good profit if only it was enough like real silk to command the market. Put on your thinking-caps, cloth manufacturers, and obtain the rich prize which is already almost within your grasp.
819.Mineral Wool.—Here is something new. Experiments have proved that rocks, or at least certain kinds of them, can be made into wool. The wool is made from sandstone, and from the waste slag of furnaces. “Mineral wool” is already being used for packing and fireproofing; but the inexhaustible field for the industry in the millions of tons of serviceable rocks, and the unforeseen possibilities in the use of the “new wool,” make the subject a startling one and well worth the consideration of money-makers.
820.Leather Substitute.—The high price of leather and its fluctuation in price have caused many substitutes to be devised, but thus far they have been inferior in quality, and will not stand the test of rough usage and exposure to heat. Imitation leather has always been made of two pieces of cloth pasted together, which are bound to separate or blister. Here is a secret worth a fortune. A single thickness of either drill or duck, with a heavy surface coating, will stand every test that leather can endure, and is every way as good, and can be produced at one-third the cost.
Wanted, a New Fertilizer—How “Golden” Forests Drop Gold—Why the Fields Near Berlin are so Productive—How We Lose $5,000,000 a Year—The Peat Treasures of New Jersey—Fortunes in Phosphates—Millions of Fish on Land as well as in the Sea—$1,000,000 for Him Who will Pick It Up.
Wanted, a New Fertilizer—How “Golden” Forests Drop Gold—Why the Fields Near Berlin are so Productive—How We Lose $5,000,000 a Year—The Peat Treasures of New Jersey—Fortunes in Phosphates—Millions of Fish on Land as well as in the Sea—$1,000,000 for Him Who will Pick It Up.
Weare yet in the infancy of this important product. The desideratum is a fertilizer that will do the best work in the least bulk. The 4,565,000 farmers and vegetable growers of the United States will make independently rich the man who can produce a good fertilizer at small cost of transportation. The field of chemistry is particularly rich in suggestions; experiments in this line are constantly going on, and there is reason to hope that an agricultural Edison will soon arise. Meanwhile, there is money in the following fertilizers:
821.Garbage.—Every truck load of garbage is worth at least a dollar for manuring purposes, and yet thousands of these loads are dumped every day into the water. Instead of the city paying a round sum for the removal of garbage, it ought to receive a bonus from a contractor who knows how to turn it to account.
822.Leaves.—Rotted leaves form the rich base from which nearly all our forests, and indeed nearly all the vegetation of the earth, springs. The number of loads of leaves that fall from the trees in the autumn are entirelyincalculable. The keeper of a country livery stable could add one half to his compost heap, and thus double his sale of fertilizers.
823.Urban Sewage.—The best of all fertilizers is allowed to float out to sea and is lost. The Germans are wiser. They utilize all these waste products, and the surprising fertility of the soil near Berlin is the result of this wise employment of nature’s richest fertilizer. There are fortunes for those who will study the foreign system and apply it to the large cities of this country.
824.Ashes.—We lose at least $5,000,000 annually in the waste of ashes. In the cultivation of gardens and city lots, where the expense of transportation is small, there is a field for the profitable use of this fertilizer. It could be combined with some product rich in phosphates, as, for example, bone dust, and then put up in barrels for sale. An Ash Fertilizer Company would pay.
825.Phosphates.—The phosphate rocks of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia contain fortunes for the men who will develop those industries. The quantity is practically unlimited, and the price of phosphate is $18 a ton. Cheap freights will make these rocks mines of wealth.
826.Cottonseed Meal.—This sells for $20 to $25 a ton, and being a waste product the cost is light. Its sale could be made more general among the farmers if they knew its value.
827.City Stables.—Much of the product of city stables is carried to the country in barges and sold, butmore is wasted; especially is this the case with single and small stables in the suburbs, where the accumulation is light, and the law does not require its removal. But a systematic collection of these products would pay any one who should undertake it on a large scale.
828.Peat.—New Jersey has more than 1,000 square miles of peat lands, for the most part undeveloped. The peat is from three to six feet in depth. When phosphates are selling for $18 a ton, there ought to be a market for peat at $5, which would still leave a good margin of profit, if, as seems entirely reasonable, the labor and freightage could be covered for $3.
829.Menhaden.—The farmers of the eastern end of Long Island have found this an excellent fertilizer. The fish are strewn whole upon the land. More than 1,000,000 of the tiny creatures, or upward of 100 tons, have been caught by one vessel in a single day. The industry is chiefly confined to the vicinity of Gardiner’s Island, but it might be made profitable along other parts of the coast.
830.Fish Scrap.—The chemists’ valuation is $41 a ton, but it ordinarily sells for $35 to $38. It is admirably adapted for plant food. One of the largest producers of dry ground fish claims that the farmer gets more for his money in this than in any other fertilizer.
831.Soot.—For some crops soot is one of the most powerful of all fertilizers, and yet it is allowed to go to waste. The total amount of soot produced in London twenty years ago was 1,100,810 bushels, and is probably about the same for New York to-day. The averageprice was five cents a bushel, and the total worth $109,165. Probably in this country—at least until its worth is discovered—it could in most cases be obtained free by any one who will take the trouble to pick up this $100,000.
More Money in Ink—Millions Paid for it Every Day—New Devices to Catch the Eye—Exposure of Advertising Tricks—Cupid on the Counter—What “Bargain Day” and “Below Cost” Really Mean—How an Advertising Agent Made a Fortune in a Day—“Delivering” 5,000 Customers—A Line that Every body is Sure to Read—A Great Advertising Success—Playing With Mystery—A Sure Way to Draw a Crowd—Novel Ways of Advertising in Paris—Almost a Street Fight.
More Money in Ink—Millions Paid for it Every Day—New Devices to Catch the Eye—Exposure of Advertising Tricks—Cupid on the Counter—What “Bargain Day” and “Below Cost” Really Mean—How an Advertising Agent Made a Fortune in a Day—“Delivering” 5,000 Customers—A Line that Every body is Sure to Read—A Great Advertising Success—Playing With Mystery—A Sure Way to Draw a Crowd—Novel Ways of Advertising in Paris—Almost a Street Fight.
Doyou realize what an important part advertising plays in trade? The men who succeed are those who let the public know what they have and at what price. The great newspapers contain every day vast mines of advertising matter. There are many merchants who pay over $100,000 a year in letting the public know the cheapness and value of their goods, and one enterprising company, the proprietors of a celebrated baking powder, expend $1,000,000 a year in advertising their product. These merchants are constantly seeking the best means to get their wares before the public eye; also manufacturers, builders, real estate agents, railroad companies, and in fact all persons doing business on a large scale, are seeking to let men know how and what they do. Owners of proprietary medicines have been known to expend $10,000 in a single advertisement in order to secure the attention of ailing people. All these persons will pay you well for any ingenious suggestions whereby they can increase their patronage. The following are some of the methods suggested:
832.Money and the Muse.—Select some liberal advertiser and note what he has to sell or what he has to do, and embody his peculiar merit in a poem. The poem should be short, spicy and humorous, and not be more than eight or ten lines in length. Let it hit off some of the fads of the day. If it be headed by some catch-word of the hour, so much the better. An ingenious person who can write a verse or two of this kind will find a ready market for his muse.
833.Cents in Nonsense.—If you have artistic talent instead of poetic, you can do still better with a drawing. Let the cut be as original and humorous as some of the cartoons in our daily papers.
834.Word Puzzle.—A puzzle to some minds will be still more effective. Many will be disinclined to use their brains to work it out, but those who do will remember it, and that after all is the merit of an advertisement. A puzzle which may be patented and sold to the advertiser promises much greater profit. See the “Chinese-Get-Off-the-Earth Puzzle.” A puzzle of this kind is commonly sold exclusively to one firm, and ought to bring quite a sum of money to the inventor.
835.Tracks to Wealth.—The inventor who can produce a scheme to cause the customer to become his unconscious advertiser has found the very highroad to success. Such a scheme might be a word in raised letters on the heel of a shoe. Thousands, especially in country towns where there are no sidewalks, would constantly be leaving impressions in the mud, and people would be astonished to find advertisements stamped on the very earth.
836.The Story Advertisement.—Write a shortstory which ends in an advertisement. This is one of the best methods to gain the reader’s eye. Everybody likes a story, and will read it if it be short. The narrative should lead up gradually and naturally to the advertisement. This requires some ingenuity and skill in writing.
837.The Fictitious Bank Bill.—A piece of paper which at first sight looks like a ten-dollar bill, but turns out to be a clever advertisement, would be picked up and read by everybody.
838.The Pocketbook Find.—A clever imitation of a pocketbook would be picked up by every pedestrian, and when it is opened with the expectation of money, one finds instead an advertisement of Pluck & Company.
839.Everybody’s Eagle.—A gold (?) eagle with the name of a firm in the place of the usual inscription, will be readily pounced upon, when the lucky finder will learn that “all is not gold that glitters,” but will also learn where and what he can buy to advantage. The firm’s name, of course, is not stamped until the sale of the golden bird is effected. Millions of such eagles could be sold.
840.The Witty Dialogue.—Few things in literature are more attractive than a witty dialogue in which the questions and answers are very short and the denouement is a surprise. If the last word is the magical one of a certain kind of business, such as “Ozone,” “Electrophone,” “——’s Baking Powder,” “——’s Stove Polish,” etc., the maker or merchant will be sure to appreciate it and pay for it.
841.The Stereoscope Bulletin.—It pays to give a large sum to the proprietor of a paper who makes a practice of flashing election returns on screens. There is commonly a long wait between the reports, and the vast crowds will meanwhile have nothing to do but study your advertisement flashed between the successive returns.
842.The Arc Reflector.—Have a reflector with an electric light arranged to throw a bright, round light, like the dial of a clock, on the depot platforms, the pavements of crowded streets, or other places where many people congregate. On the background of this strong light let your magic word appear. This is an expensive but very effective way of advertising.
843.The Last Scene.—Tens of thousands of persons every night are looking upon scenes depicted by the stereoscope. After the “Good Night,” which generally closes the entertainment, immediately, and before the lights are turned on, have your advertisement flashed upon the sheet. As the programme is concluded, the manager would doubtless for a small sum grant a privilege which would be worth many dollars, as no one in the audience can fail to see the display.
844.The Red-Letter Bat.—For a consideration, the manager of a baseball team would probably let you furnish the players with an excellent bat stamped with your design in large red letters. Your advertisement would flash with every stroke of the bat, and even if many in the crowd were too far away to read the letters, their curiosity would incite them to inquire, and curiosity is the very emotion advertisers seek to arouse. The idea might perhaps be extended to the ball, which is the center of struggle in football matches.
845.The Restaurant Fan.—Waiting men will read anything to kill time, but a fan with your enterprise stamped upon it will attract attention, whether one is inclined to read or not. By the hundred thousand these could be produced extremely cheap, and should be presented free to the restaurant keeper. They might also be used in theaters and music halls.
846.The Cigar Wrapper.—It is estimated that 3,000,000 cigars are purchased in New York and vicinity alone every day. For a small sum, say five cents a box, you could doubtless prevail upon most dealers to permit you to wrap each cigar in a piece of paper; especially if the latter were pretty and very attractive, as in the latter case it might even help his sales. The wrapper might contain an alluring picture, but, of course, it contains your advertisement. A small additional sum must be paid a boy for the work of wrapping. As an advertisement, the method would be exceedingly effective, and the idea is certainly a novel one.
847.The Growing Word.—In a reserved space of a daily paper begin with a single glaring letter. Over the letter announce, “Watch this space to-morrow.” The next day another letter is added, and curiosity is excited. If you can get a name for your advertisement similar to the name of a man in the public eye, the success of the scheme is assured. For example, the first letter is G. Is it Grover Cleveland or Garfield? Two letters are given—GA. Is it Garfield or Gage? The third day GAR appears. Is it Garfield or Garland? But in the end it proves to be neither; it is GARLOCK, the name of your invention or brand of goods. Ingenuity can play endlessly upon words in this way,and the curiosity aroused makes it one of the best forms of advertisement.
848.The Polite Stranger.—This is a French idea. In Paris a lady is astonished to see a handsome, faultlessly dressed man, generally an elderly person, step directly in front of her, make an extremely polite bow, turn and walk away, when instantly the mystery is solved. On his back appears an advertisement.
849.The Funny Quartette.—This also is from Paris, with adaptations. Four odd people—a little, shabbily dressed old woman, a splendidly attired and pompous gentleman, a country youth in blouse and overalls, and a man in the garb of a priest, make up the queerest quartette imaginable. They at once attract attention, but when they begin to sing a crowd gathers instantly. At the conclusion of the song, one says in a loud tone, “Where?” All reply, “At ——.” “When?” “To-night.”
850.The Street Brawl.—This is on the same line and even more exciting. Readers of “Sherlock Holmes” remember the detective’s ruse to gain entrance to a forbidden house. In the same way, let two men engage in a wordy quarrel. Nothing draws a crowd more quickly than the prospect of a fight. Of course, on a city street the quarrel must not come to actual blows, and the participants must keep an eye open for policemen, but the climax should be the advertisement in the mouth of one or both of the disputants, and the crowd should be dispersed with a hearty laugh.
851.The Box-Kite.—The box-kite presents almost unrivaled opportunities for advertising, and the wonder is that it has not been utilized for that purpose. By aclock-work arrangement and at regular intervals, while the eyes of all are turned skyward, the box releases a host of white leaves, which, floating to the earth, are caught by the crowd. Every leaf contains your advertisement. This method would be especially effective at ball games, horse races, and before election bulletins, while the crowds are waiting for returns or exciting events.
Vast Forces yet Unknown—The Human Form a Key to unlock Nature’s Caskets of Gold—The Storage of Air—The Waste of Steam—The March of Electricity—How One Company saved $50 a Day—Sunbeams for Sale—Winds and Waves awaiting Man’s Sail and Wheel—How a Western Man Invented a Sand Mill—Enormous Power of Sea Waves—A New Use for the Artesian Well—Eureka! The Right Kind of a Storage Battery—Opportunities for Enterprise and Wealth.
Vast Forces yet Unknown—The Human Form a Key to unlock Nature’s Caskets of Gold—The Storage of Air—The Waste of Steam—The March of Electricity—How One Company saved $50 a Day—Sunbeams for Sale—Winds and Waves awaiting Man’s Sail and Wheel—How a Western Man Invented a Sand Mill—Enormous Power of Sea Waves—A New Use for the Artesian Well—Eureka! The Right Kind of a Storage Battery—Opportunities for Enterprise and Wealth.
Thefinding and unlocking of the forces of nature have been sources of some of the world’s largest fortunes. Steam and electricity are to-day among the earth’s greatest contributors to wealth. It is not, however, the simple discovery of a new force, but its ingenious application, that brings financial reward, and there may be a hundred, or even a thousand ways of applying a new power. These powers are perhaps all known at the present time, but many of them are little utilized, and some have never been harnessed. It is probable that we have as yet only begun to unlock the secrets of nature.
852.Compressed Air.—There are vast possibilities in the use of this power. In a few years lightning expresses will fly over the land, swift vessels will skim the deep, monster passenger eagles will soar in the air, and tons of mail matter will be blown through tubes from sea to sea, all driven by this powerful motor, compressed air. These things only wait for money and brains.
853.Steam.—In the application of steam about ninety per cent. of power is lost. This is an enormous waste. Here is room for a second Watt. In the race for primacy as a power, steam need take no second place if only its unutilized forces be turned to account by some inventor. Here is a field worthy of the noblest powers of man.
854.Electricity.—At present electricity sends our telegraph messages, projects our voices through the telephone, propels our street cars, lights our streets and dwellings, and in some States executes our criminals. But it is altogether likely that this as yet comparatively unknown power will be extended into a hundred untried fields. Here is a single example of the economy in its use: The Baldwin Locomotive Company discovered that they were losing eighty per cent. of steam power in shafts and belts. They installed electric motors and reduced the bill for power immensely. Hundreds of large establishments waste from one-fourth to three-fourth of steam in the same way. If electricity can save from $14 to $50 per day, as in the case just quoted, it is surely well worth a trial.
855.Caloric.—The time will come when the billions of cubic feet of sunlight that fall upon our earth will be utilized and will doubtless be the cheapest and most efficient of all the motor forces. If you can only focus this widely distributed energy, you can obtain any amount of heat and consequently power. It has been proved that you can boil two pints of water with the heat of the sun falling upon one and one-half square yards of surface. One square yard of sunshine represents one horse power. The problem, therefore, is to concentrate. This will be done some day by the use ofimmense convex mirrors. Already experiments are being tried, and the first promoters of this scheme will have the power of the world at their feet and its wealth in their hands.
856.Water Power.—The time will also come when the thousands of cataracts and rapids that now waste their energies will all be harnessed and set to work. It is estimated that the water power of Niagara is as great as would be the steam power produced by 226,000,000 tons of coal a year. This one cataract has power enough to make a thousand millionaires, and there are hundreds of smaller waterfalls running to waste.
857.Windmills.—Steam is costly and water is not always available, but the wind is everywhere, and costs little or nothing. It has the disadvantage of inconstancy and uncertainty, but it is invaluable for storing up force for future use. The windmill is susceptible of great improvements, and waits for another Morse or Watt.
858.A Sand Mill.—One ingenious man out West has equipped his windmill with an endless belt provided with buckets, like a grain elevator. These dip into a box of dry sand and discharge it upon a large wheel like an overshot water-wheel, which it turns as water would. The sand is discharged again into the box and thus is used over again endlessly. We think the man has not patented his invention; he has missed a fortune which somebody else will pick up.
859.Sea Power.—Next to the power of the sun is the power of the ocean. An experiment with a dynanometer has shown that the pressure exerted by the sea waves during a storm often exceeds 7,600 poundsper square foot. Multiply this by 1,393,920,000,000,000 feet, which the surface of the ocean presents, and we gather some little notion of the inconceivable power that is running to waste. When will come the inventor who will harness the sea and set it to lighting our cities and carrying men and mail-bags? There is said to be millions upon millions of gold strewn on the ocean’s bed as the result of wrecks, but there is vastly more gold for the daring inventor in the waves that forever pound upon the beach.
860.Artesian Well.—The artesian well plant is coming into prominence. Formerly the well was only employed as a means of getting water to drink; it is only recently that it has occurred to people that here is an immense and unused water motor. Water power from running streams is only available here and there, but with the advent of the artesian well there is no spot on earth that may not have as much cheap power as it needs, the cost being almost nothing when once the power is obtained. Here is another opportunity for enterprise and fortune.
861.Liquid Air.—This is a new discovery, and one very rich in promise. Here is doubtless the long-sought-for method of the storage battery. It has been found that the same force of liquid air as applied in the electric storage battery scores from one-tenth to one-twentieth more than the electric fluid is able to do. Here we have a power whose application will result in such unknown quantities of usefulness and wealth as to defy the power of figures and even the imagination itself.
Boundless Wealth in Brick, Wood and Stone—Farmers Who have Untouched and Unknown Mines—A Man With 2,000,000 Acres—How a Farmer Astonished a Lawyer—A New Way to Measure Land—Men Who Don’t Know They are Rich—Are You One?—More Money in the Builder’s Stone than in the Philosopher’s Stone—Secrets of Brick Making—The Exploits of “Lucky” Baldwin—A Man Who Lives in a Glass House—The Floor of the Future—Time is Money, but the Shorter the Time the More the Money.
Boundless Wealth in Brick, Wood and Stone—Farmers Who have Untouched and Unknown Mines—A Man With 2,000,000 Acres—How a Farmer Astonished a Lawyer—A New Way to Measure Land—Men Who Don’t Know They are Rich—Are You One?—More Money in the Builder’s Stone than in the Philosopher’s Stone—Secrets of Brick Making—The Exploits of “Lucky” Baldwin—A Man Who Lives in a Glass House—The Floor of the Future—Time is Money, but the Shorter the Time the More the Money.
Itis certain that nearly all the structures now upon the earth will have to be rebuilt during the next half century. When we consider the immense cost and vast number of these buildings, aggregating thousand of millions of dollars, the demand for building materials surpasses all computation and imagination. During the next few decades untold myriads of persons will get rich, either in this discovery of new fields for these materials, exploiting the old ones, or in the invention of new building matter.
“How large is your farm?” inquired a lawyer of a verdant farmer whom he meant to guy. The man of the law winked at his companion as much as to say, “See what sport I will have with the old fool!” “Well,” said the haymaker, “I reckon I have about 2,000,000 acres.” “Two million acres!” gasped the attorney, gazing round; “pray, where is it?” “Down yere,” replied the farmer, pointing his long, skinny fingers at the ground. “I have got a hundred acres ontop, and I reckon I own about down to the middle of the y’arth.” The man of the soil spake wiser than he knew. He was rich, but not exactly in the way he imagined, for a granite quarry of the finest kind was found on his land, which caused him to realize a large sum.
862.Stone Quarry.—Says a recent publication: “A man who has a quarry of good building stone, easily accessible, is richer than if he owned a gold mine.” But there are immense numbers of such quarries unworked and even unsuspected. It is not too much to say that there are at least a thousand farmers bemoaning unproductive land which contains beneath the surface that which can make them richer than anything they can possibly grow from the soil.
863.Artificial Stone.—Many kinds of artificial stone are now employed, such as Ransom’s concrete, Portland stone, etc. They are made by a mixture of cement, sand and gravel, and are molded into blocks. The value depends upon the kind of cement. No really good lime for this purpose has yet been found in the United States. The man who can discover a calcareous deposit capable of making a good, silicious or argillaceous hydraulic lime will have the market for manufactured stone practically in his hands.
864.Baked Brick.—Late improvements in baking brick have reduced the time required to bake 100,000 bricks from fourteen to four days, and the amount of fuel from forty cords of wood to sixteen. The following suggestions by a brick-burner will show the path of fortune to those who can reduce the time still further. Mix a little charcoal in the clay. Double the length of the brick. If by either of these ways you can make thebricks a trifle cheaper, while retaining their qualities, you have acquired a fortune. “Lucky” Baldwin, a man afterward famous for his mining and real estate speculations, made his first large money in brick-burning. “I had no experience whatever then,” he said, “but I studied up the subject, thoroughly mastered the details, and cleared $1,500 in a month.”
865.Glass Brick.—Another new idea! Why not make a brick of glass, partially hollow, so that, filled with rarefied air, it can be a non-conductor of heat? Such a brick would be a great improvement on the present method of constructing conservatories, greenhouses and the walls of winter gardens. The plan is being tried in Europe, but there is no patent on the introduction, and nothing to stop an American from introducing a new kind of hothouse. The adage about the “man in a glass house” may be realized yet.
866.Rubber Floors.—Why do we go on in the old way, employing rough-sounding and creaking flooring, when there is a material which meets every want for a desirable floor? India rubber tiles prevent slipping, emit no sound under the foot, and have the additional element of an agreeable elasticity. It is a positive pleasure to walk on an India rubber floor. It is, of course, more expensive than wood, but the time is surely coming when every elegant dwelling, all expensive halls and public buildings, as well as the saloon decks of our first-class steamships, will have these improved floors. A man, ambitious to be rich and possessing a few thousands of capital, could hardly do a better thing than to manufacture rubber interlocking tiles, advertising them extensively and exhibiting models to builders.
Money in Fun—Salary of a “Star”—A Fortune in “A Parlor Match”—A Pianist Who Got $2,500 a Night—How to Get a Start on the Stage—A New Field for the Amusement Artist—Humor and Hard Cash in Shadowgraphs—What Max O’Rell Earned on the Lecture Platform—Money in the Traveling Show—The Greatest Money Burning in the United States—Fortunes in Fireworks.
Money in Fun—Salary of a “Star”—A Fortune in “A Parlor Match”—A Pianist Who Got $2,500 a Night—How to Get a Start on the Stage—A New Field for the Amusement Artist—Humor and Hard Cash in Shadowgraphs—What Max O’Rell Earned on the Lecture Platform—Money in the Traveling Show—The Greatest Money Burning in the United States—Fortunes in Fireworks.
Peoplewho cater to public amusements are so many, their entertainments so diverse and their talents so unequal, that no general statement can be made about the remuneration for this kind of work. There are “stars” at the top who receive from $200 to $1,000 per night, and there are “mediocres,” or worse, at the bottom who barely eke out a living at $7 a week. No one should enter this field unless his talent is equal to his ambition. Here are a few of the prizes taken before the footlights:
867.The Farce Comedy.—Evans and Hoey purchased a comedy entitled “A Parlor Match.” Mr. Evans says: “We played it over 3,000 times, and at a rough estimate I think we must have cleared from $300,000 to $400,000.”
868.Instrumental Concerts.—The possibilities of dollars in instrumental music are seemingly unlimited. Celebrated pianists have received almost fabulous sums. Rubinstein’s six months’ tour in America is said to have netted a profit of $60,000, and a second engagementwas made for him at the rate of $2,500 per night.
869.Stage Stars.—The stage, like every other profession, is crowded at the bottom, but has room at the top. Beginners seldom get more than $15 per week and commonly they receive much less. Leading people in road companies get $50 per week. Stars receive from $100 to $500 per night. Madame Celeste made $50,000 in this country. Edwin Forrest never received less than $200 per night. Edwin Booth sometimes played for $500 per night.
870.Popular Lecturers.—These are richly rewarded for their hour or two of entertainment of an audience. John B. Gough’s price was $200 per night. Henry Ward Beecher, Wendell Phillips, and Bayard Taylor averaged the same figures. The receipts for Professor Tyndall’s thirty-five lectures in this country were $23,100; and Max O’Rell earned $5,290 by his lectures during a single week in Johannesburg, South Africa. Says a magazine note: “Money-making’s most promising field is that of a popular lecturer.”
871.Hand Shadows.—Here is something new: Some amusement artists in England have conceived the idea of entertaining audiences with hand shadows. A candle, an oil lamp, or an arc light is used, and the beam of light passes through a small circular opening upon a sheet of ticket-writer’s holland. Sometimes a pipe or a piece of cardboard is used to heighten the effect, but for the most part the artist employs his hands only. With diligent practice the most comical effects, such as “Dressing for a Party,” “The Dog Fight,” etc., can be produced. Mr. Devant, the originator of the shadowgraph, convulses his audiences andreaps large profits for himself. America, where the humorous is quickly and keenly appreciated, offers a large field for this new kind of entertainment.
872.Museum and Circus.—The vocation of the popular showman is a highly paying one. It appeals to two of the most powerful motives of human nature—the desire to be amused and amazed. P. T. Barnum made and lost two or three fortunes; Bailey, the successor of Barnum, and Dan Rice have also conducted highly successful shows. Dime museums in large cities often pay vast sums for curiosities and monstrosities, and still conduct a very profitable business.
873.Gymnasts.—Athletes need to begin early in life in order to acquire suppleness of muscle. There is no profession that demands a severer training or regimen. A vast number of performers are constantly traveling through the country. Engagements with companies are made on exhibition of skill. Managers are always on the alert for something new. Some equestrians receive as high as $500 a week for self and horses; clowns often receive $100; rope walkers, $50.
874.Opera Singers.—Voice, gesture, grace, and beauty are the four qualities of success in the opera artist. Those who succeed receive princely sums for their services. Mario got $400 a night in Philadelphia. Tamberlik every time he sung a high note demanded $500. Piccolomini cost her manager over $5,000 a month. Madame Perer received $14,000 for the season. Genius and hard work are nowhere better paid than in the opera.
875.Mimic Battles.—Pain’s fireworks at Manhattan Beach, reproducing the “Capture of Manila” and“The Fall of Santiago,” have been immensely popular, sometimes drawing crowds numbering 10,000. A thousand dollars’ worth of fireworks andpapier machéare burned in a single night during the season, but enormous as are the expenses we are informed that the proprietor seldom makes less than $500 a night. There is no patent on these exhibitions, and they may be repeated or imitated anywhere. A man who dares “burn money” in this way, or a stock company where the individual risk would be comparatively small, exhibiting these fireworks in all our great cities, would certainly reap handsome gains. Especially at this time, while the fervor of patriotism and the glow of enthusiasm over our recent victories are still at white heat, the enterprise could not fail to be paying. We would almost guarantee that a company which could set up as brilliant an exhibition as Pain’s in fifty leading cities would realize twenty-five per cent. on the investment.
876.Theatrical Enterprises.—Running a theater is risky business; it has its ups and downs, and the downs are as swift as the ups. Oscar Hammerstein, who has just lost all by an unsuccessful venture, says that once during the short period of four weeks he made $60,000. Daly, Frohman, Lester Wallack, and many others, have grown rich in the theatrical business.
877.Dancers.—Members of the vaudeville are not so well paid as in many other arts for amusing the public, but special dancing “artists” sometimes receive almost fabulous sums. Famous dancers have received as high as $10,000 in the course of a season. Freda Maloff, the Turkish dancer, has just returned from the Klondike, where in the course of a few months she has made $62,000 in her profession, the miners literally showering her with nuggets.
878.Moving Pictures.—This latest and most popular form of amusement is coining money for the owners of the cinematograph, biograph, vitascope, or by whatever other name the instrument is called which causes the scenes portrayed on canvas to be instinct with moving life. The charge for an evening’s service is commonly $50.
879.Band Players.—Band players get from $1,000 to $5,000 a year, according to proficiency. Sousa, the leader of the celebrated band by his name, received $6,000 a year. There are always openings for good band players.
880.Impersonators.—Dickens will probably always be the great resort for this class of entertainers. Of seven leading impersonators now on the platform, four portray his characters almost exclusively. It is a fine field for the elocutionist who has talents for mimicry. The average charge is $25 per night.
881.Ancient Burlesques.—There are at least three forms of this amusement which are having great success. They are “The Village Choir,” “The Old Folks’ Concert,” and “Aunt Polly Bassett’s Singing School.” The last named has often cleared $100 in a single evening.
882.Reciters.—Reciters and readers, from Dickens to Hall Caine, have always been popular. The highest paid are well-known authors, who read from their own writings. Charles Dickens seldom received less than $200 an evening. But the majority are glad to get engagements at from $10 to $25 a night.
883.Bell Ringers.—The discovery that many objects in nature could be made to give forth musicalsounds has vastly widened the field of entertainment. Rocks, steam pipes, tumblers, and dinner bells have been drafted into service, the last named with notable success. In one company four young ladies have charmed the public ear with the melody of a score of hand bells. They have reaped rich harvests all over the country.
884.Magicians.—This field has been somewhat overworked of late years, but the phenomenal success of such men as Blitz, the ventriloquist, and Hermann, the prestidigitator, show the possibilities in this line. Both these men bewitched the public for a whole generation, and made great fortunes.
885.Story Tellers.—This is a late revival of a form of amusement as old as the times of Homer. Those succeed best who are authors as well as elocutionists, making their own story and telling it fresh from the heart. We predict that this kind of entertainment is going to have a great run, and persons who have talent in this line will do well to furbish up their weapons.
886.Cartoonists.—Cartoonists and crayonists receive high figures for their work, as this kind of talent is rare. The chief of this class of artists received from $50 to $150 per night. Since his death, no worthy successor has been found, but there are many young fingers that are clever with chalk, and there is room for more. It is a very inviting field for persons who have the right gifts.