millions, and sold out. Those that refused to sell out had their advertising trimmed down, their bank-loans called, their stockholders intimidated—until finally, in one way or another, they consented to "be good."
"Success" refused to "be good"; it persisted in exposing Cannonism, and maintaining a "People's Lobby" in Washington; so "Success" was put out of business. The "National Post" adopted a radical policy, and it was put out of business; likewise "Human Life," edited by Alfred Henry Lewis; likewise the "Twentieth Century Magazine," edited by B. O. Flower; likewise the "Times Magazine"—a monthly having nothing to do with the "New York Times," but edited by a young man of means who naïvely supposed that he would be allowed to tell the truth to the people of New York. "Pearson's" of the old régime was brought to ruin, and it survives in its new form by the defiant genius of one man, Frank Harris. "Harper's Weekly" started out bravely, with Norman Hapgood as editor, and Charles R. Crane as "angel"; for two or three years it fought the advertising boycott, and then it died.
In the "Profits of Religion" I told in detail the story of how "Hampton's Magazine" was put out of business. I did not intend to repeat this story, but it happens that I have just met my old friend Ben Hampton again, and have gathered fresh details. I will let him tell his own story:
Never in the history of magazine-publishing was there such a
great success in such a short time as that of "Hampton's." This is
not my conversation. It is simply the records of the American News
Company. We had, I think, 425,000 circulation, and we broke all
records for the same length of time. No other magazine ever succeeded
with an investment as small as ours. When they took the
magazine away from me I think we had nearly thirty thousand dollars
a month advertising.
But it is a peculiarity of magazines that when they grow
too fast they lose money for a time. You have contracted for
a year to publish advertisements, based on a circulation of a
hundred thousand copies. If, three months later you have
four hundred thousand circulation, you are giving four times
as much as you were paid for; also, you have to have four
times as much paper and press-work, for which you do not
get returns until three months later. Hampton put in all his
fortune and his wife's, and then he started selling stock to his
