It cost Hearst eighteen million dollars a year to run his various papers, and this sum, and more, he got back from the middle class in payment for advertising. The source of his financial strength lay wholly in the middle class.
** The cost of advertising was amazing in those helter-skelter times.
“Funny, ain’t it?” The old chap had been advertising in the London papers for Harry Hagberd, and offer- ing rewards for any sort of likely information.
At the same time he seemed to think that his son was in England–so near to Colebrook that he would of course turn up “to-morrow.” Bessie, without committing herself to that opinion in so many words, argued that in that case the expense of advertising was unnecessary; Captain Hagberd had better spend that weekly half-crown on him- self.
The other, smiling straight at him, uttered very slowly: “You’ve been advertising for your son, I believe?”
The old man was advertising for me then, and a chum I had with me had a no- tion of getting a couple quid out of him by writ- ing a lot of silly nonsense in a letter.
