Page "Houston Chronicle" Paragraph 12

" Wanting to be liberal with Foster if I bought him out, since he had created the paper and originally owned most of the stock, and had made a success of it, I thought for a while before answering and finally asked him how much he owed.

He replied, ' On real estate and everything about 200, 000 dollars.

' I then said to him that I would give him 300, 000 dollars in cash, having in mind that this would pay his debts and give him 100, 000 spending money.

In addition, I would given him a note for 500, 000 secured by a mortgage on the Chronicle Building, the note to be payable ( interest and principal ) at the rate of 35, 000 a year for thirty-five years, which I figured was about his expectancy.

I would also pay him 20, 000 dollars a year as editor of the paper and 6, 000 dollars a year to continue writing the daily front-page column, ' MEFO ,' on the condition that either of us could cancel the editorship and / or the MEFO-column contracts on six months notice, and that, if I canceled both the column and the editorship, I would give him an additional 6, 000 dollars a year for life.

I considered the offer substantially more than the Chronicle was worth at the time.

No sooner had I finished stating my proposition than he said, ' I will take it ,' and the transaction was completed accordingly.