New York Evening Mail
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The ''New York Evening Mail'' (1867–1924) was an American daily
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
published in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. For a time the paper was the only evening newspaper to have a franchise in the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
.


History


Names

The paper was founded as the ''New York Evening Mail'' in 1867 and published under that name through 1877. It then went through some minor name changes, becoming the ''New York Mail'' for about a year (November 1877 – November 1878), and then ''The Mail'' (through late 1879).The Library of Congress,
About The New York mail. (New York 1877-1878)
in ''Chronicling America'', The Library of Congress.
It then became the ''Evening Mail'' from 1879 through December 1881, when owner Cyrus West Field acquired the '' New York Evening Express'' (which had been founded by James and Erastus Brooks as a Whig paper in June 1836), and created ''The Mail and Express''. Hudson, Frederic
Journalism In The United States From 1690 To 1872
pp. 517–20 (1873)
It retained the ''Mail and Express'' moniker until 1904, when it eventually became the ''Evening Mail'' once again. In 1915 the newspaper was acquired by
Edward Rumely Edward Aloysius Rumely (1882 – November 26, 1964) was a physician, educator, and newspaper man from Indiana. Education Rumely was born in La Porte, Indiana, in 1882. He attended University of Notre Dame, Oxford University and the Univers ...
with financing from a source in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Rumely felt that most American newspapers were taking a pro-British side threatening neutrality. In January 1924, the paper was merged with the '' Evening Telegram'' upon being acquired by
Frank Munsey Frank Andrew Munsey (August 21, 1854 – December 22, 1925) was an American newspaper and magazine publisher, banker, political financier and author. He was born in Mercer, Maine, Mercer, Maine, but spent most of his life in New York City. The v ...
from Henry L. Stoddard.(25 January 1924)
F.A. MUNSEY BUYS THE EVENING MAIL
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
This later became the '' New York World-Telegram'' in 1931.


Early history

On March 20, 1888, Elliott Fitch Shepard purchased the ''Mail and Express'' (with an estimated value of $200,000 ($ in ) from Cyrus West Field for $425,000 ($ in ). Deeply religious, Shepard placed a verse from the Bible at the head of each edition's editorial page. As president of the newspaper company until his death, he approved every important decision or policy. Shepard's brother Augustus D. Shepard, who was the vice president, became acting president of the Mail and Express Company on his brother's death.


Mail and Express building

In 1892, the newspaper's owner Elliott Fitch Shepard ordered a new headquarters built. Shepard owned the company from 1888 until his death in 1893. The building was on Broadway, between Fulton and Dey Streets. It was 66 by 25 by 211 feet, ten stories, and was built by Carrère & Hastings (architects of the
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
). The building's dimensions were challenging based on the land purchased, and thus the ''Buffalo Morning Express'' wrote that it "looks for all the world like an upright lead pencil". The ground floor featured caryatids representing the newspaper's reach across all "four corners of the world". The building became an architectural landmark, such that after a fire in 1900, the ''Troy Daily Times'' wrote that it was "such an ornament to Broadway that its destruction would be a calamity". It was demolished in 1920, following AT&T's plans to expand its building at
195 Broadway 195 Broadway, also known as the Telephone Building, Telegraph Building, or Western Union Building, is an early skyscraper on Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. T ...
to take over nearly the entire block. In 1907, Rube Goldberg moved to New York, finding employment as a cartoonist with the ''New York Evening Mail''. The ''New York Evening Mail'' was syndicated to the first newspaper syndicate, the McClure Newspaper Syndicate, giving Goldberg's cartoons a wider distribution, and by 1915 he was earning $25,000 per year and being billed by the paper as America's most popular cartoonist. Arthur Brisbane had offered Goldberg $2,600 per year in 1911 in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to move to
William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...
's newspaper chain, and in 1915 raised the offer to $50,000 per year. Rather than lose Goldberg to Hearst, the ''New York Evening Mail'' matched the salary offer and formed the Evening Mail Syndicate to syndicate Goldberg's cartoons nationally.


World War I controversy

The ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' of July 9, 1918, reported that
Edward Rumely Edward Aloysius Rumely (1882 – November 26, 1964) was a physician, educator, and newspaper man from Indiana. Education Rumely was born in La Porte, Indiana, in 1882. He attended University of Notre Dame, Oxford University and the Univers ...
, "... vice president, secretary and publisher of the ''New York Evening Mail'', was arrested late yesterday afternoon by agents of the Government, charged with perjury. The charge grew out of a statement filed with A. Mitchell Palmer, the Alien Property Custodian, in which Rumely asserted that ''The Evening Mail'' was an American-owned newspaper. The Government is in possession of evidence which, it is held, shows that instead of being owned by Americans, the paper is in fact owned by the Imperial German Government, which on June 1, 1915, paid to Rumely, through Walter Lyon, of the former Wall Street house of Renskorf. Lyon & Co., the sum of $735,000, which transferred the control of the newspaper to the Kaiser." In July 1918 Rumely was arrested and convicted of violation of the Trading with the Enemy Act. Rumely however denied the allegations, claiming, instead, he had received money to buy the paper from an American citizen in Germany. He had failed to report this when he received the money.Rumely – TIME
/ref> He said the charge was baseless, and based on perjured testimony. President Coolidge granted him a presidential pardon in 1925.Edward A. Rumely Papers, Coll 122, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
/ref>


Staff

* Rheta Childe Dorr * Rube Goldberg * H.L. Mencken * William Charles Morris * Roderic C. Penfield * Harry J. Tuthill


References


External links

{{commons category-inline, New York Evening Mail, ''New York Evening Mail'' Defunct newspapers published in New York City Newspapers established in 1867 Publications disestablished in 1924 1867 establishments in New York (state) 1924 disestablishments in New York (state) Daily newspapers published in New York City