History of Philippine press / Carson Taylor.

40.

History of the Philippine Press

He has recently attracted considerable attention by
violent attacks on Senator Quezon through the columns of
La Vanguardia.
By the end of 1899 the orgy of journalistic freedom as
indicated by the large number of new papers started in, 1898
and 1899 appears to have subsided. The majority of those
who ventured into the field either lost their capital, if they
had any, or were unable to gather sufficient revenue to pay
the printers. It may be noted here that, in those days, it
was comparatively easy to start a newspaper, especially of
a political nature. There were plenty of writers who were
willing to give the anxious world the benefit of their wisdom
for the pleasure it afforded themselves and without cost to
the publisher. Filipino printers received from P0.20 to P0.80
per day and if the "ghost didn't walk" on Saturday they
lived just the same.
The Manila Daily Bulletin appears to enjoy the distinction of having been the only paper started during the year
of 1900. There may have been others, but if so their
existence was brief and they left no record. The Bulletin
was established by the writer February 1, 1900, with
H. G. Farris as the editor and entire staff. It was
printed on contract by El Progreso at No. 10 Carriedo. Its
announced purpose was to give the public accurate and reliable shipping and commercial information and nothing
else. It was supported principally by the shipping interests,
who had not been able to get the proper kind of service from
the daily press. However, the advertising columns were
open to all who chose to take advantage of the opportunity
offered.
It was distributed free to all who would accept it, with
the idea of demonstrating its value, and to get the public to
deend on it for information as to the arrival and departure
of ships, mails, etc.
When this. was considered to have been accomplished it
was put on a subscription basis in 1904.
The second editor of the Bulletin was George T. Rice.
His career was short, however, as he, was deported late in
1900 by General MacArthur, then military governor, for
having severely critieised a navy officer who was captain
ofcthe port at that time. Rice is now a captain in the 59th
U. S. artillery corps.
Chas. A. Bond, now tobacco agent for the Philippine
government, was editor of the Bulletin, during 1904 and
1905, and contributed materially to its development. Dur