Pulitzer_ A Life in Politics, Print, and Power - James McGrath Morris [102]
The publisher challenging Pulitzer’s dominance of the afternoon field was Edward W. Scripps. Pulitzer was not the only one who had discovered a way to succeed in the new era of independent journalism. Scripps, who had been an Illinois farmboy, launched his first newspaper at age twenty-four in Cleveland. His formula was to produce an inexpensive, tightly edited, but sprightly written paper aimed at the growing working classes of the nation’s new industrial centers. His editorial policy matched the goals of the audience he sought. His papers were fierce advocates for labor unions and collective bargaining.
The Evening Chronicle’s fresh tone and low price attracted readers, and its pricing policy stirred up the newsboys to demand that Pulitzer sell them three, instead of two, copies of his paper for five cents. When he refused, the boys once again staged a strike of sorts. Some of them stood outside the Post-Dispatch offices and taunted others who tried to deliver papers. Pulitzer was unfazed. Unembarrassed to be waging an industrial war against children, Pulitzer knew that, as in his previous skirmish with the boys, he could withstand their assaults. He defended himself to his readers, pointing out he made only as much on each newspaper sold as the newsboys did, “and we furnish the white paper, ink, presswork, type-setting, and just enough brains to keep the thing going.”
Pulitzer was comforted also by the Post-Dispatch’s continued growth. The paper had already surpassed the circulation of Hyde’s Republican by 25 percent. Only McCullagh’s morning Globe-Democrat outsold the Post-Dispatch, and Pulitzer anticipated that he would overtake it within months. With the growth in circulation came continued prosperity. Pulitzer’s cashier predicted that the paper should net more than $85,000 by the end of 1880.
On August 8, Charles Johnson stopped in at Pulitzer’s house and found Pulitzer huddled with Irish ward bosses, discussing his plan to run for Congress. Johnson, who had earlier tried to persuade Pulitzer not to pursue a career in law or politics, told him the project was an act of folly. But Pulitzer wasn’t in a mood to listen. His hunger for political office was so overpowering that he ignored both his old friend and his own ethics.
To get the nomination, Pulitzer was willing to dance with the devil. In this case his name was Ed Butler, also known as “de boss of St. Louis” or more unassumingly as “the village blacksmith.” Butler, who had been born in Ireland in 1838, ran a smithing business in the Fifth Ward, which Pulitzer had represented in the state legislature. Early on, Butler found it profitable to get involved in city politics. After helping one mayoral candidate in 1872, he earned the contract to shoe the city government’s horses and, later, the horses that pulled the city’s trolleys. By 1880, Butler’s power extended over the entire city. His powerful organization was known to its detractors as the “Dark Lantern.”
Butler had a simple system. For the payment of a fee to the Dark Lantern, a candidate would receive the Democratic nomination. Although this was the kind of corrupt practice the Post-Dispatch denounced, Pulitzer himself paid between $6,000 and $10,000. It was worth it. Being nominated was tantamount to winning the election, as the Second District was overwhelmingly Democratic.
Believing that his nomination was secure and that he would be in Congress when the Democrats regained the White House, Pulitzer refocused his energy on the national campaign. As he had in 1872 and 1876, he turned to Indiana. It was widely believed that its 15 electoral votes, perhaps with New York state’s 30, would decide the election. Indiana was also one of the states that had additional political importance, because it held its elections for state office in October, helping build momentum for the winning party in the national vote a