History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 38

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660

USA > California > San Joaquin County > History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 38

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followed their advice and two years later C. L. Ruggles became his partner. .. They had under- taken an uphill proposition, but having pluck, determination and hopefulness in their favor, they knew no such word as fail.

Removing from the Center Street office to the Hodgkins Building, corner of El Dorado and Weber Avenue in the '70s the block was known as the Independent block. Sometime later they removed to the east corner of the same block, in the Hickman Building, and in 1890 they removed from that location to the Hansel Building, Channel and Hunter Streets. Throwing aside the old cylinder press which O. P. Kallenbach had run by hand for eighteen years, they purchased a double-cylinder Hoe, capable of running off some 1800 four-page papers an hour. The press was run by steam power and operated by W. H. Furry who was employed by the Independent for twenty years. About the year 1895, together with the Mail, they set up two linotype machines, thus dis- pensing with the typesetting of some ten or fifteen compositors. The circulation of the press increased rapidly and to supply the de- mand they purchased at a cost of $5,500 a double-cylinder Hoe press that would print 5,000 papers an hour. In the fall of 1917, when the Record absorbed the Mail, the In- dependent bought the Mail press and such equipment as was needed and moved from its inadequate quarters to the Mail Building, where it is now located. The paper has ex- panded considerably since that time and ranks as one of the best morning newspapers in the interior of the state.

As editors on the Independent which by the way has always boosted the Republican party, none of them have equalled their first writer. Samuel Seabough. He first began his editorial work in October, 1857, on the San Andreas Independent. He came to Stockton with the paper in 1861 and at first advocated the prin- ciples of the Douglas Democracy. But when he saw the trend of politics he came out boldly for the Republican party and the election of

Abraham Lincoln for president. After the at- tack by the South on Fort Sumter and the se- cession of the Southern States he fired hot shot into the ranks of the so-called Breckin- ridge Democracy. In plain language he called them rebels and secessionists, and in bitter language denounced the Democrats in San Joaquin County as copperheads. When indis- posed from his intemperate habits his editor- ials were written by George W. Tyler. The In- dependent was credited with being a helpful factor in saving California to the Union. In 1865 Seabough took editorial charge of the Sacramento Union, and a few years later be- came the editorial writer of the San Francisco

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Chronicle. He died in the prime of life, about fifty-three years of age.

Seabough was succeeded on the Independent by John Geddes, who had been the local editor. He remained on the paper until 1879. Of Scotch descent, he was a strong, forceful writ- er, witty and sarcastic at time, and he chafed under the collar because the owners would not allow him to show up the shams of society. He was a clear, concise writer, especially in local events. The writer of this history did his first work under his direction, and he would say, "Boil your stuff down and when you get through stop." When Dr. W. J. Kraig was a part owner of the paper he wrote his own editorials. He was an ordained Unitarian minister. N. M. Orr. also when owner of the paper, wrote his own editorials. Geddes filled his place when Orr was in the legislature. H. T. Dorrance frequently wrote for the Inde- pendent. Geddes was the principal writer un- til his death in March, 1887. After his death Frank J. Ryan, a writer of thirty years' ex- perience on the Middle West papers, became the editorial writer, until 1900. On his re- tirement the proprietors presented him with a gold watch and chain for his faithful serv- ices. Something very unusual for newspaper men, who as a rule are skeptics, he took up the study of religion and became a 'strong Christian Scientist, writing several articles in defense of that belief. Ryan was followed at different periods by Hugh W. Taylor, J. M. Eddy, and A. L. Banks, one of the best of editorial writers on the Stockton press.

The Stockton Evening Mail

The Evening Mail was first issued Febru- ary 10, 1880, by Colnon, Nunan and Berdine, two newspaper men and a book seller. It was a small, six-column, four-page sheet, issued as you might say in opposition to the Even- ing Herald. Colnon, whose father was a ho- telkeeper, attended the State University for two years and then wandered over to Ne- vada, in 1872, kept a hotel, taught school, and then became the editor of the Eureka Sentinel. Next he went to Virginia City and worked on the Chronicle, then to the little town of Sutro, where he and John P. Cosgrove printed a little weekly sheet. The town died and so did the paper. He returned to Stock- ton and was engaged by the proprietors of the Herald to get out a special New Year's edi- tion for 1880. While engaged in that work he saw that there was an opening for a pro- gressive evening newspaper and he inter- viewed John J. Nunan regarding the project. Nunan at the time was keeping a little book store on Main street in connection with his father-in-law, M. J. Garvin. Nunan thought it a fine proposition but they had no money, nor

credit to obtain printing material. At the time D. H. Berdine, one of the best printers in the town, was conducting a small print shop in the rear of the Eldridge Building on Main Street, opposite the court house. They induced him to go in as a third partner and the paper was issued with Colnon as editor, Nunan, business manager, Berdine as foreman of the paper, and John P. Cosgrove, who came down from Virginia City, at the local writer. In the following year, August, 1881, Cos- grove bought out Berdine's interest in the paper and David J. (Dad) Matthews, now city commissioner, who had worked with Col- non in Nevada, was installed as the foreman in the newspaper room. He held that posi- tion for nearly thirty-one years. Cosgrove sold his interest in the Mail to his partners in 1883 and took a position on a San Fran- cisco daily, and Colnon and Nunan carried on the business until Colnon's death in 1902. Nunan and Mrs. Colnon then continued the newspaper work until Nunan's death in 1908, and nine years later, October 24, 1917, it was absorbed by the Daily Evening Record, the paper that was not even recognized by Col- non when it was founded.

The Mail pushed to the front, was liberal- ly patronized by the merchants and citizens and soon became one of the leading newspa- pers of that day. It published interviews with citizens and celebrites, its locals were writ- ten up in a newsy, breezy manner and for the first time in Stockton's history the paper was illustrated with cartoons by the Mail's cartoonist, Richard De Treville. The Mail en- deavored to obtain the best writers in the state and it had on its staff at different times such writers as Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Mc- Ewen, A. J. Waterhouse, John Craig and Phil Francis, now on one of Hearst's New York papers. On the local staff there was A. L. Cowell, a graduate of the Woodbridge seminary, M. J. Woodward, now assistant dis- trict attorney, who came here from Georgia, Ben Armington, a Stockton boy and a Univer- sity graduate, Will Davis and Mrs. L. Clare Davis, the latter two, no relation, however. Mrs. Davis was the second woman writer on the Stockton press, one of the pioneers in the state. She was possessed of a well-balanced mind and so well versed in newspaper ethics that she is in newspaper parlance a "free lance," writing on such subjects as she de- sires, a privilege seldom accorded to news- paper writers.

For a day, April 14, 1895, Mrs. Davis had the entire control of the Evening Mail. It came about this way. At the time the citi- zens were endeavoring to obtain a large amount of money for the building of the Stockton and Visalia Railroad, now the Santa

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

Fe, the Spreckels road as it was called. Every- body was deeply interested and some of the leading ladies of Stockton took a hand in the raising of money. It was proposed that the ladies publish a special edition of a paper, get advertisements and sell it at ten cents per copy. It was so agreed and Mrs. L. Clare Davis was appointed editor and manager and Mrs. W. D. Buckley assistant editor, Colonel Nunan of the Mail offered to publish the edition free of charge to the ladies, they to get the advertisements and write-ups. It was a twelve-page edition and Mrs. P. A. Buell designed the front page illustration. The com- mittee of ladies appointed as literary writers Hannah Gray, Clara Shepherd, Louise Weber, Nellie White, Bessie Reid, Adra Shaw, Mrs. Herbert Williamson, Mrs. Mamie Huggins Miller, Mrs. Daniel Rothenbush, Mrs. David Winters, Mrs. Wm. C. Daggett and Mrs. Charles Haas were appointed. The paper cre- ated quite a twenty-four hour sensation, the ladies clearing $1,500, $800 from advertise- ments alone.

The Commercial Record

Charles I. Hamilton and Henry Eschbach were conducting -a small job printing office on Eldorado Street in the Odd Fellows' Build- ing, when, in 1875 Eschbach sold his interest to Hamilton and began publishing the Com- mercial Record, a small sheet which was dis- tributed free every Saturday, the advertise- ments paying the cost of production. Hamil- ton, having no knowledge of newspaper work, in 1878 sold a half-interest in the Record to William (Pony) Denig, who was so nick- named because in early days he rode as a mes- senger express through the mountain camps. Denig was an experienced newspaper man, having learned the business in his native state, Pennsylvania. Coming to California in 1850 he went to Mokelumne Hill and worked on the Chronicle and then on the San Andreas Register. Arriving in Stockton in March, 1869, he worked for a time on the Independ- ent and in 1878 purchased the Commercial Record. Denig had no capital and in 1883 he took in as a partner Thomas W. Hummel. In the meantime Hummel purchased the job office of C. I. Hamilton and in 1886 sold his interest in the paper to C. O. Cummings, a newspaper editor. Denig was no writer and he was obliged to employ an editor or have an editor partner. At different times F. C. Lawrence, J. J. Nunan and I wrote for him. Two years later Cummings sold his half in- terest to W. L. Howell, the former editor of the Merced Express. Howell, who was a dyed- in-the-wool-Democrat, was now obliged to write Republican editorials as "Pony" had al- ways been a strong Republican, running for

office several times and twice elected con- stable. Denig was short in stature, not over five feet, but he was always on deck and one of the most popular men in the town. In 1888 Irving Martin, then a youth of some eighteen years, purchased Howell's interest in the pa- per and became the editor. He had been work- ing as a local editor on the Independent, and was well versed in the newspaper business. Here endeth the history of the Commercial Record.

The Stockton Daily Record

In the first publication of the Stockton Daily Record an old second-hand plant was used and the paper was printed on an old Bagley & Seawell press which had been formerly used by the Stockton Republican. It had lain idle in Parker's Alley for some two years after the paper's demise. The bank owned the plant and L. U. Shippee let Martin & Denig have it for $2,500, the face of the mortgage. Mr. Martin in his history of the Record says, "My idea was to some day turn the weekly Commercial Record into a daily Record and this was done April 8, 1895." In the meantime he had purchased the half interest of Wm. Denig and taken in as a partner E. H. Fon- tecilla, who had been foreman of the com- posing room on the Independent. Martin as- sumed the editorial and business management and Fontecilla handled the mechanical end.

In its first number the Record said "Shake, Good Afternoon. There has for a long time, been a continuous clamor for a daily news- paper in Stockton that will print all the news. The Evening Record will stop the clamor. Good Evening." The Record's policy was to be impartial "in the giving of news and to cover all matters in which the people were interested to the extent of the value of the news; to treat all classes fairly, in its news columns, and to maintain its freedom of thought and expression. While striving, it- self, to push onward, may it ever feel inclined to lend a helping hand to others, to aid any worthy cause, and to find time to drop a word of cheer and encouragement to others who may have stumbled, or who may have be- come foot-sore and weary on the journey."

In its efforts to maintain its policy it was boycotted in May, 1895, by the American Pro- tective Association or Know-Nothing party, and its subscription list dropped from 800 to 300 in less than three days. The mem- bers of the party were mostly Republicans, and the A. P. A. tried to induce the Record to advocate their cause. On being refused they not only withdrew their subscription but they endeavored to have the merchants with- draw their advertisements. The Record not only claimed to be Republican in politics but

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it declared the doctrine of the American Pro- tective Assocation was un-American in prin- ciple. In 1900 came the liquor dealers' boy- cott. The paper had always opposed the liquor traffic, and refused to accept any liquor advertisements. It also refused to publish get-rich-quick, or lottery schemes, manicure parlor, fortune teller, tobacco or patent medi- cine advertisements. The editor had been of- fered big money to publish some of these advertisements and his friends declared him foolish, but having adopted the principle of publishing a clean paper he held his ground. Coming back to the liquor boycott, he be- gan waging a war to the finish against the traffic, when the common council, at the re- quest of the Royal Arch repealed an ordi- nance prohibiting the sale of liquor formerly passed by them. The Royal Arch, an asso- ciation of liquor men, failing to stop the Rec- ord fight against them, threatened to with- draw their business from all merchants that advertised in the Record and many weak- hearted merchants withdrew their ads. The threat aroused the Women's Christian Tem- perance Union, the members of churches, the temperance societies and others who loved a good fighter and the Record's circulation and subscription list rapidly increased. It was a fight to a finish and today Stockton is a dry town, not a saloon in existence. In this fight the Record stood alone, for the Mail and In- dependent were for the liquor traffic, first, last and all of the time. A third boycott was that of the industrial fight with the Merchants and Manufacturers' Association over wages and hours a few years ago. In this fight the Rec- ord stood, as the saying goes, between the devil and the deep sea. If the paper proclaimed the cause of the merchants, the printers were liable to go on a sympathetic strike with the carpenters, who started the trouble. If the Record took sides with the unions, then the merchants would have withdrawn their ad- vertisements, which of course, spelled ruin. The Record wisely took a neutral position, and that it would print all news of the trouble impartially, and it gave notice that the com- munications by either party would be pub- lished, if properly signed.

The firm stand of the Record soon increased its circulation and a press that would turn out more papers become an actual necessity, and in 1905 a Cox Duplex press was installed. It threw out 6,000 eight-page papers per hour, printed and folded. Still more wonderful it used rolled paper, for the first time in Stock- ton. All the other presses were fed by hand. Colonel John J. Nunan of the Mail, seeing the press in operation, said, "I do not see why you put that press in. The Mail would not have any use for it, and the Record never would

have." The Record got the same kind of en- couragement from the Independent, as the proprietor said, "No, I am not interested. I think you have made a big mistake. You have not any use for it. It must have cost a great deal of money." "Yes," replied Martin, "it did cost quite a little, about $10,000." In 1910 the duplex press was superseded by a Goss press that turned out 15,000 sixteen-page papers per hour. Then another innovation was made and every day new type was used, made by a stereotyping machine. Today the Rec- ord is printed on a Hoe sextuple press that turns out 48,000 copies per hour.

The Mail's Graveyard

The Evening Mail played their cartoons for all they were worth and at the death of each rival paper had a few "appropriate remarks" and published a picture of a journalistic grave- yard with tombstones bearing the names of each of the departed. At the time of the demise of the Republican, there were three tombstones in the Mail's graveyard bearing the names "Herald," "Express," "Democrat," and the fourth stone was added for the Re- publican. In the nature of a suggestive warn- ing, the Mail had left an open grave in its journalistic graveyard bearing the omin- ous inscription, "next." This cartoon ap- peared when the Record was born and the plain suggestion was that the Record was to be "next." The open grave was tantalizingly ready for the Record's reception. At last des- tiny began the inexorable work of shifting the scenes. Gradually the Record grew stronger until in circulation it equalled the Mail, al- though not enjoying anywhere near the amount of advertising patronage. Then came the irony of fate. DeTreville became con- nected with the Record and one day there appeared in its columns a reproduction of the Mail's cartoon, depicting the four occupied mounds of earth, exactly as in the original cartoon and a faithful reproduction of the open grave supplemented with a representa- tion of the Mail groping in its own grave- yard with the likelihood of its falling into the grave it had dug.

There is an old saying that a wise man may change his opinion, a fool never. The Stockton Independent has stood pat for the Republican party through the sixty years of existence, regardless of who was nominated for office. The Mail, although Democratic, in politics sometimes flew the track and advo- cated the election of Republicans. The Rec- ord has ever been independent in politics, ad- vocating only the men and measures that it considered best for the people's interest. It stood by the state convention nomination of Orrin S. Henderson for railroad commission-

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er but, said Mr. Martin, "I was not proud of the success achieved and later I entered with great earnestness into a movement to overthrow the old organization and to stamp out the system of politics of which I had been part and parcel." He then joined the Lincoln- Roosevelt league and the Record, of course gave the best that was in it in support of Johnson for governor and of the other men en- dorsed by the Lincoln-Roosevelt League. The paper was a warm advocate of the various progressive measures fathered and put through by the Johnson administration. In the pres- idential campaign of 1912 the Record stood behind La Follette for President, but when he was defeated in the national convention by Taft, the Record refused to support the Republican nominee and supported Wilson, and the funny part is that although the In- dependent supported Taft, San Joaquin, a Re-

publican County, gave a plurality of 3,723 for Wilson. In the gubernatorial campaign Hi- ram Johnson was supported by the Record and he came out 3,119 votes ahead. Woodrow Wilson, again renominated by the Democrats, was seconded by the Record, and again the county went Democratic by 3,576 votes. Yet during all this time the Record did not change the political complexion of the paper but remained Republican. It was one of the first papers in the state to advocate woman suf- frage, and named Mrs. Clare Davis, for school trustee and Mrs. Edith Dow Moulton for the state legislature. It advocated the issuing of bonds for good roads, the building of new school buildings, the auditorium and city hall and built itself a splendid home on Market Street, one of the first lot owners along that street to put up fine buildings.

CHAPTER XVIII THE MILITIA AND THE PATRIOT

I N THE RUSH of immigration to Califor- nia "in the days of '49" there were thou- sands of persons who had been officers and privates in the Mexican War. Generally speaking, in Stockton every other man, es- pecially a Southerner, was either a colonel or a captain. It was regarded as a special mark of honor to address a man with one of his titles although he had never seen a day's service in the Mexican War. Many of these men enjoyed military social life and it is not surprising that a military company was organized in Stockton as early as 1851, and commanded by Major R. P. Hammond, and known as the San Joaquin Guard. The first lieutenant was George Kerr, the owner of the Democratic paper, the Republican. Hammond was proud of his command until a report came that the Indians in Arizona were murdering the settlers, and Governor Burnett called upon the citizens to volun- teer. Captain Hammond immediately got out handbills calling upon his company to assem- ble at the Corinthian Building to discuss the question of volunteering. Only six of the guard answered the call, and this so disgusted the doughty little fighter that he resigned and the organization went to pieces. The guards were not looking for Indians. Like Cortez of old, they came to get gold and nothing more was said about military affairs until 1855, when a cavalry company known as the Anniversary Guard was organized. The

captain was P. Edward Conner, than whom there was no better military man in Califor- nia, as was later shown, and the first lieu- tenant was Stephen Burgen, later a promi- nent fireman. It was organized shortly be- fore Washington's Birthday and anybody could enroll by paying three dollars. On Feb- ruary 22 the Guards made their first appear- ance. They were mounted on fine horses and marching through the strets preceded by a band of musicians, drawn by six noble grays, kindly loaned by Lee & Marshall's circus, they rode to Oak Grove cottage, now the Mrs. Moore home place. It was then a new house just erected by Andrew Kitchen on the Sac- ramento Road two miles from town. Mr. Kitchen had invited the company to be his guest and enjoy with him an old-fashioned Southern barbecue. After the feast an ora- tion was pronounced on Washington by A. C. Bradford.

First July 4th Celebration

At the present time the celebration of the National holiday is a tame affair as the opin- ion is fast growing in the minds of the citi- zens that pomp and show and noise are no indication of patriotism or love of country, and like religion, patriotism must have its birth in the heart and be taught to the child in early youth. Hence the old time firecrack- ers, the boy's delight, have been prohibited in many cities, the national fire chiefs in con-

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vention recommend that fireworks be exclud- ed from all celebrations, the roar of cannon is now almost a thing of the past. Our fore- fathers believed that the firing of cannon, the ringing of bells, processions, orations and a general good time was the way to show our patriotism and joy that we lived in a coun- try where the people ruled, and every man was a king and every woman a queen, and so when Stockton was scarcely a year of age the citizens began celebrating the day. On the morning of July 4, 1850, the citizens as- sembled on Center Street and led by Foley's Band riding in their circus chariot, the pro- cession marched to the Presbyterian Church, where the Fourth of July exercises were held under the trees. The program opened by the reading of the Declaration of Independence by W. D. Fair, and an oration which was published in full by the Stockton Times was delivered by Thomas Van Buren. In his re- marks he expressed some pretty strong se- cession sentiments because of the action of Congress in refusing for a time to admit Cali- fornia into the Union. At the close of the oration the band played and the audience gave three cheers for the Union, three cheers for the oration, and three for California. At sun- rise Captain Weber fired a national salute from the small cannon presented to him by Captain Sutter. This cannon had been used in frightening away the Indians. In the aft- ernoon a dinner was given at the Stockton House and toasts were responded to by the citizens, including A. C. Bradford, Judge Dent and Judge Charles M. Creanor. In the evening the public buildings and homes were illumi- nated.

Death of Henry Clay

Henry Clay, the leader of the National Whig party, was honored alike by the San Joaquin Whigs and Democrats for his splen- did work in having California admitted to the Union, and his death was deeply mourned. He died June 29, 1852, but the news was not known in Stockton until August 4. The New York Times was then received and the local papers published his obituary. That evening Mayor Baker called a special meeting of the common council to take action in regard to his memory. They resolved that the officers of the city, "as a mark of respect wear the us- ual badge of mourning for ninety days, and that a committee of three be appointed to con- fer with a like committee from the various as- sociations for the purpose of making arrange- ments to commemorate the memory of the il- lustrious dead" and they appropriated $500 for that purpose. The memorial service was held August 12, and the procession which com- prised the city, the county officials, the clergy-

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History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 38

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849 Publication date: 1923 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1660

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660