24.11.08

F I R S TP R E V895NEXTLAST

The Late Edition, Chinatown News Stand
In the early 1850s San Francisco had a large population of abandoned, homeless boys fending for themselves on the street. In 1856 the city sought to offer these 'street Arabs' a living by devising to have them sell newspapers. Soon as many as 200 boys were lining up outside newsrooms early in the morning, waiting for the dailies to sell. Originally, the newspapers refused to buy back unsold papers, making the newsies pay for the unsold copies themselves. Competition among the boys, aged 6 to 14, for the best newspaper-selling corners was therefore quite stiff and often violent.

While life was dangerous at the bottom of the newspaper world, it was equally dangerous at the top. Early San Francisco editors carried pistols for good reason. In 1856, James Casey of the Weekly Sunday Times was shot by the founder of the Bulletin who, in turn, was hanged. The editor of the Bulletin, William Walker fared no better and was executed. E.C. Gilbert of the Alta died in a duel and G.P Johnson of The Globe killed a state senator in another duel. J.F. Dunne of the Police Gazette was stabbed to death while J.F. La Fuente, founder of the Sud-Americano was sent to San Quentin for life. Most famously in 1880 the editor of the Chronicle shot mayoral candidate Rev. Isaac Kalloch in the thigh, only to be shot dead by the reverend's son weeks later.
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