Editors & Ashcans

When the New York Herald Tribune commented fortnight ago upon the failure of Manhattan's Noise Abatement Commission to produce a noiseless ashcan, its editorial was headlined, Ellis Parker Butler-wise: "Ashcans Is Ashcans." Few days later the meticulous Boston Transcript reprinted the editorial, changed the headline to: "Ashcans Are Ashcans." Observed the Herald Tribune last week: "So they may be--in Boston. In New York they is. But wherever it may be read the Transcript certainly are the Transcript. The singular verb is inadequate to a paper of such imperturbable grammar."

Safekeep

Ask anyone to name the daily newspapers published in English in Manhattan. It is an almost certain wager that he will omit one--the smallest one, the newest one, by far the most curious one. Yet any morning except Monday he may step up to the newsstand in the Hotel Pennsylvania, or to two others nearby, and exchange three pennies for a copy of the Repository ("An Independent Newspaper") which last week published its 120th issue.

The unwary purchaser has a surprise in store. For while the front page of the Repository is full of news, its remaining three pages consist of one full page advertisement for the World-Telegram, one for the Associated Press, and one for the Scripps-Howard Newspapers.

The Repository has been published by Scripps-Howard since the day that organization purchased "Pulitzer's Worlds, scrapped the morning World and merged the evening paper with its Telegram. Large among the morning World's assets was an Associated Press morning franchise which, by A. P. rules, lapses automatically if not utilized. Hence the Repository which, so far as the A. P. is concerned, is the morning World under a new name. It will be continued until Scripps-Howard disposes of its A. P. morning franchise or starts a regular Manhattan morning paper. Only one copy of the Repository needs be printed and sold each day; but the "circulation" was begun at 250. For weeks these were hungrily grabbed up by collectors who now value Vol. I No. 1 at $10. Recently the number was cut to 150. There are about 30 paid subscribers, also chiefly collectors, libraries, universities. Subscriber No. 1 is Kent Cooper, general manager of the A. P.

Editor of the Repository is an engaging young man named Aubrey Allan Graves, who also edits the Scripps-Howard News (house organ). Every afternoon he transposes certain stories from late editions of the World-Telegram to the front page of the Repository, and adds at least one more from the A. P. night wire. His friends among newsmen congratulate him on his "consistent editorial policy'': the single column of editorials has never been changed since the first issue.

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