The Daily News: Did you know?

During the early days of The Daily News, nearly 20 newspapers were competing for the attention of the 3,000 to 4,000 residents of the island.

Some of the papers were The Daily Courier, People's Advocate, Galveston City Gazette, Galveston Morning Herald, The Commercial Chronicle, The Journal, The Texas Times, The Union German Weekly, The Galveston Zeitung and The Galveston Croaker.

In 1842, a single copy of The News cost 61/2 cents; in 1963, the daily price was 5 cents; in 1969, 10 cents; in 1977, 15 cents. By 1993, a single daily copy cost 25 cents, and the current price is 50 cents. But even at 50 cents, allowing for inflation, the paper is a better buy to-day than in 1842.

Willard Richardson, the teacher who guided the paper from 1844-1875, was not only astute, but frugal as well. One story mentions that Richardson had two copies of the paper delivered to his home each day. After he and his wife had read the issues, he refolded them, carried them to the office, and had them resold.

During the period before, during, and after the Civil War, The News was run on nag-power. Beginning in 1855, the paper used a horse or mule on a treadmill to operate its new mechanized printing press. Steam technology already existed; the local competitor, The Civilian, was utilizing it. But steam power required a vast and reliable amount of fresh water, and The News could not depend on its cistern to supply the needs of a boiler. The treadmill ran through a hole cut in the back of the newspaper's building; the presses only stopped long enough to give Charlie, the horse, a drink.

News in the early-1800s was carried by letter, and delivered by whatever means possible. Before the invention of the telegraph, during the paper's first decade, most news in Galveston arrived via ship from New Orleans. The morning after a ship's arrival, all of Galveston's newspaper printers would come out with “fresh” edition.

The first printing of any kind in the state of Texas was done by Samuel Bangs in 1817. Bangs's brother-in-law, Henry French, was a co-founder of the earliest version of The News. The hand press used by French is thought to have belonged to Bangs, and an advertisement on the front page of the first issues offered the printing services of Sam Bangs.

The Galveston Daily News suggested that a seawall be built in 1875, 25 years before the storm of 1900. On Sept. 27, the paper outlined a plan for the protective barrier. It suggested two parallel brick walls, five feet high, be built the length of the city, 100 feet from the high tide mark. The walls would be 20 feet apart, connected every 10 feet by a traverse wall to add strength. The space between the walls would be filled with dredge material from the bay. Although interest existed, and the editors continued to make their case, construction on a seawall would not start until Oct. 27, 1902.

The Galveston News Special was a train that ran daily between Houston and Galveston on the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad around the turn of the century. Engine No. 89 powered the Special, which consisted of the engine and four or five baggage cars full of newspapers. The run between Houston and Galveston was 50 straight, flat miles, and speeds often reached 70 mph to 80 mph. The early morning run, which included a slow crossing over a trestle spanning the bay and several stops, took about 50 minutes.

The old Washington hand press, which today sits in the foyer of The Daily News building, is a relic from the ghost town of San Luis. The press was used to print the San Luis Advocate, a four-page weekly first published in September of 1840. By 1844, the town which had been across the pass off Galveston Island, was deserted.

In 1841, the hand press was being ferried to Galveston across West Bay. The boat that carried it capsized, and the press was dumped into the water; it was not salvaged for weeks. When the press finally made it to Galveston, it was used to print the short-lived Texas Times; it then came into the hands of Michael Cronican and Wilbur Cherry, and they used it to print The News. The Washington hand press saw its last service after the storms of 1900 and 19l5 when it was used to print hand-bills.