Bennett, in the course of time, had a chance been given
to him, would have made the 'Courier and Enquirer' powerful enough to
cast off all party ties, and this he would have done merely by improving
it as a vehicle of news. But he was kept down upon one of those
ridiculous, tantalizing, corrupting salaries, which are a little more
than a single man needs, but not enough for him to marry upon. This
salary was increased by the proprietors giving him a small share in the
small profits of the printing-office; so that, after fourteen years of
hard labor and Scotch economy, he found himself, on leaving the great
paper, a capitalist to the extent of a few hundred dollars. The chief
editor of the paper which he now abandoned sometimes lost as much in a
single evening at the card-table. It probably never occurred to him
that this poor, ill-favored Scotchman was destined to destroy his paper
and all the class of papers to which it belonged. Any one who examines a
file of the 'Courier and Enquirer' of that time, and knows its interior
circumstances, will see plainly enough that the possession of this man
was the vital element in its prosperity.
Pages:
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581