William Dean Howells, General Grant, General Sherman, Phillips Brooks, General Sheridan, Canon Farrar, Cardinal Gibbons, Marion Harland, Margaret Sangster--the most prominent men and women of the day, some of whom had never written for magazines--began to appear in the young editor's contents.

Editors wondered how the publishers could afford it, whereas, in fact, not a single name represented an honorarium.

Each contributor had come gratuitously to the aid of the editor.
At first, the circulation of the magazine permitted the boys to wrap the copies themselves; and then they, with two other boys, would carry as huge bundles as they could lift, put them late at night on the front platform of the streetcars, and take them to the post-office.

Thus the boys absolutely knew the growth of their circulation by the weight of their bundles and the number of their front-platform trips each month.
Soon a baker's hand-cart was leased for an evening, and that was added to the capacity of the front platforms.

Then one eventful month it was seen that a horse-truck would have to be employed.