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"Now for a name—a good 100% American name. How will we get that ? Oh, that's easy, we'll start a competition, offer prizes, put up $25,000. That will get all our little friends interested before we put out the magazine. We'll more than get the $25,000 back from the extra sales on the first issue. Great!"
So the thing was planned. So put into effect. In the prize contest for a name 1,005,002 persons submitted 1,395,322 suggestions. If all of them bought the first issue of the magazine the net receipts from that source alone would have been $50,250. The prize-winning name was submitted by one George A. Elwell, of Youngstown, and won the $20,000 first prize. It was a stroke of inspiration that brought to his mind "LIBERTY—A Weekly Periodical for Everyone." He submitted 3,016 other suggestions but none of them were so inspired. The suggestions of Queen Marie of Rumania, Admiral Sims, Billy Sunday, Anton Lang, Harry Pratt Judson, also fell short of this inspiration.
So Liberty spread her wings and flew, just as Messrs. Patterson and McCormick had planned. How high? If one can believe an advertisement published in the Chicago Tribune the day following Liberty's appearance on the newsstands, there had been sold in one day the entire first issue—725,000 copies. (According to another account in the Tribune the number was 735,000—at any rate, a great number.)
In support of this announcement were published 22 telegrams from news agencies all over the country. Selections:
Boston. "Entire order of Liberty Magazines sold in two hours. You may want to undersupply me, but demand is so great that you better rush 20,000 more."
Milwaukee. "Liberty Magazine is going like wild fire. Can use an additional 1,000 or 1,500 copies."
Indianapolis. "Liberty Magazine going like wildfire. Could use 1,000 more copies."
Columbus. "Rush 2,000 more Liberty. Going like wild-fire."
Portland, Ore. "Town gone crazy. Have not half enough copies."