The newspaper's organization prior to 1913 was a simple business partnership between the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The masthead section would state that the newspaper was published by the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, using the last names of these two students. As such, "The Dartmouth" was financially independent from the college. Although this system worked, it was recognized that some formal organization would be needed, making the newspaper an independent corporate organization that would be able to withstand an assault by the college.