USA > California > San Luis Obispo County > History of San Luis Obispo County, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 70
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Our politics will be in accord with the party of the Union; that party to which, under providence, we owe the preservation of the republic through five years of war, succeeded by three more of political chaos. We know that party is striving to accommodate its platform to the new ideas, in order to again obtain, if not deserve, power and popular favor. The Tribune will deny to neither party credit where credit is due. It will not be virulent in its advocacy of party measures. It will not deny the truth, nor feign to have reason on its side when it knows itself to be in the wrong. It will be independ- ent of all mere party behests, and will bow only to its own convictions in regard to party discipline and party principle. It will not assail private character, nor will it touch public character unjustly or unnecessarily. It will
seek to conciliate, rather than to combat; to lead, rather than to drive; and when it cannot convince an honest foe, it will at least give him credit for good intentions. With this brief exposition of our views and aims, we would state that we send to-day the first number of our paper to all persons, of whatever party, whom we think should patronize us. If we should miss any such, we trust to be excused, and that our omission will not pre- vent his subscribing. If we should send some who may not approve, we hope they will at least find nothing in our paper to offend them. We trust that every person who receives a copy will endeavor to furnish us with the name of at least one subscriber. If accompanied with the cash, so much the better. We pause for a reply.
The Tribune became the strong and able advocate of the Republican Party, but also devoted itself to the ma- terial interests of the county, and to local and general news. The editor, Walter Murray, was a gentleman of more than usual ability, a printer and a lawyer, familiar with the Spanish and French languages, and, having come to the State as early as 1847, a volunteer in the Stevenson Regiment, was conversant with all the resources, needs, and political questions of the country. With these qualifications, he made the paper very inter- esting, and gave it a powerful influence, although limited to a sparse population and a small circulation. He de- clared his determination to be the organ of no party nor set of men. In this manner, with such ability, and eco- nomical management, the Tribune survived.
But it did not maintain the field without contest. The Pioneer had occupied the field before the Tribune's birth, but when that paper became a Democratic organ, its popularity declined and its strength departed; and, after a struggle of two years, ceased publication, in December, 1869. Soon thereafter a joint stock association was formed, who issued the following :-
PROSPECTUS
OF THE SAN LUIS OBISPO DEMOCRAT.
Appreciating the wants of the people of San Luis Obispo County, we have organized ourselves into a joint stock company, for the purpose of issuing a reliable news- paper in this county. We are determined to spare no expense to present to our subscribers a first-class county paper. It will be our constant effort to search out and lay before our readers the truth on all questions of inter- est. The politics of the San Luis Obispo Democrat will be, as its name denotes, Democratic; but we will always endeavor not to let our politics influence our judgment of men or measures. The chief object of the paper will be to advance the prosperity of this county, and to advise and if possible influence the people for their true good. In furtherance of this object, a portion of each issue will be devoted to the farming and stock interests of this county-in fact, it will be our object to present an instructive as well as an interesting sheet to our readers. We have put the subscription down as low as possible- $4.00 a year; $2.50 for six months -- payable in advance. All we ask of the people of San Luis Obispo is a trial, and, if we are worthy, a continuance of their support. We have engaged as editor, C. P. Porcher, Esq., who will have the management of the business of the paper. The first number will be issued on the second Saturday in January, 1870. We will send a copy to all the sub- scribers of the Pioneer, and those who wish it continued will please notify us. All communications addressed to
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HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
the San Luis Obispo Democrat will receive prompt attention.
[Signed]
J. P. ANDREWS, D. W. JAMES,
P. DE LA GUERRA,
F. F. LETCHER,
JOSÉ A. DE LA GUERRA, G. F. SAUER,
BRYCE PATRICK,
P. W. MURPHY,
JUAN CAPPE,
J. H. SMITH.
S. A. POLLARD,
The declaration to publish a "reliable" paper was a reflection on the Tribune.
In October, 1871, Mr. Murray sold his interest in the Tribune to Mr. James J. Ayres, a prominent journalist of California, and that gentleman took charge of its editorial columns, the firm name being, as before, H. S. Rembaugh & Co. Mr. Ayres, however, did not remain but a few months, closing his connection with the year, when Mur- ray again assumed control, and so continued until April, 1872. Then H. S. Rembaugh & Co. became proprie- tors and publishers, Mr. Rembaugh stating that previously he had been employed by Mr. Murray, and that he had loaned the use of his name as the title of the firm. Who the "Co." stands for is not told. The paper then an- nounced that it would be free from politics, "wearing no man's or party's collar."
Mr. Ayres, who was one of the founders of the San Francisco Morning Call, removed to Los Angeles, and published the Express in that city until December, 1882. He is now Superintendent of State Printing, residing at Sacramento.
The following, taken from the Tribune, of April 20, 1872, by Judge Murray, gives a sketch of newspaper his- tory up to that date :-
VALEDICTORY.
Previous to January 4, 1868, no newspaper had ever been published in San Luis Obispo, except the so-called San Luis Obispo Gazette, which, for a brief period, being printed in San Francisco, professed to have a circulation here. On the day stated, there appeared the San Luis Obispo Pioneer, published by Rome G. Vickers. It was started as a neutral paper, and enjoyed as ample a sup- port as might be expected at the time. The leading mem- bers of both parties assisted in its publication, both pecunia- rily and by literary contributions. Seduced by promises, which the proprietor afterwards declared to be illusory, on the 18th day of July, 1868, Mr. Vickers hoisted the Seymour and Blair standard, and declared the Pioneer thenceforth to be in harmony with the Democratic Party. This course lost to that paper the Republican assistance which it formerly enjoyed, and it was thrown back upon the party subsidy, which is notoriously the most unrelia- ble support for any journal.
From July, 1868, to Angust, 1869, the Pioneer con- tinued its party advocacy, in a manner which it is not deemed at this time necessary to qualify further than to say that the members of the Republican Party became daily more and more convinced of the necessity of the establishment of a newspaper which should serve as a counterpoise to the one then in existence, and as a de- fense to men and measures which they deemed to be worthy of support. With this view the undersigned, on August 6, 1869, issued the first number of the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Its material was purchased and paid for by the voluntary contributions of leading Republicans in our county, and was freely presented to its editor and
manager, upon the condition that the paper should be published for at least one year as a Republican journal. That condition has been more than fulfilled, as the un- dersigned, the originator of the enterprise, has carried it on in conformity with the programme proposed, from August 6, 1869, until the 16th inst., subsisting all that time only upon the legitimate support of a newspaper. It is not for him to speak of the manner of its conduct. The bound volumes of the Tribane are on record in the archives of the county, and speak for themselves.
In November, 1869, the Pioneer ceased to exist, shar- ing the usual fate of a party organ, it died of the apathy consequent upon the close of - a political campaign. Supported by subsidy, it expired as soon as the exi- gences of an election no longer existed to charm the sin- ews of war out of the pockets of interested parties. The Tribune continued on, because its proprietor, from the first, determined to look only to legitimate support for the subsistence of his paper, and was ambitious of estab- lishing a journal which should, in very truth, be devoted to the building up of the material interests of the county. He had hoped that as soon as a disposition would be shown by him to lose sight of the party tendency of his paper, and to conform its course more closely than before to the general interest, there would no longer be mani- fested any desire or intention to resuscitate the Pioneer upon a party basis. Some of the former supporters of that paper, however, thought otherwise, and on February 12, 1870, appeared the first number of the Democratic Standard, printed on the old Pioneer material, and edited by Mr. John B. Fitch. Of that gentleman it need only be said that he had evidently mistaken his vocation, and that, notwithstanding the fair promise of his "Salutatory," his course, until his departure, in November of last year, reflects small credit upon his principal supporters. Upon his exit from the journalistic arena of San Luis Obispo the conduct of his paper was assumed by Mr. A. A. Oglesby, who failed to add to the exchequer of the insti- tution he attempted to carry on, however much he may have added to its laurels. The reduction of the regular subscription price to $4.00 per annum under Mr. Fitch, and to $2.50 under his successor, proved a true augury of the demise of the journal in question.
Five dollars per annum is the standard price of a country newspaper in California, and only journals of ex- ceptionally large circulation can afford to make a reduc- tion upon this established price. The Tribune never was offered for less, because its proprietor knew that it could not be offered at any less rate.
The undersigned has long been desirous of withdraw- ing from newspaper enterprise in this section. The Tribune has always been a drag upon his other business. He would have long ago hung his harp upon the willows could he have seen an assurance that the journal he started would continue its existence. He made an at- tempt to do so in October of last year, which failed. Now, however, the Standard having expired, its material having been purchased by the present proprietors of the Tribune, and having confidence that the gentlemen last referred to are men every way worthy of the confidence of the public, and competent to conduct a journal which shall commend itself to the support of all the citizens of our county, irrespective of politics, he takes pleasure in giving away to men who will devote their entire time and attention to the production of a sheet which will strive to be worthy of the undivided patronage of the public. It is now an established fact that two newspapers cannot live in San Luis Obispo; and it is equally an established fact that any paper which pretends to occupy the posi- tion of the only one published must eschew party poli- tics, and take an independent, if not a neutral position on political matters. This the Tribune will henceforth
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do; and if its efforts in this direction shall prove a suc- cess, its former proprietor and editor will not regret the change of base. He believes that the paper which he founded is destined to rise and flourish with the advanc- ing interests of a county whose prospects are second to none in the State; and in this belief he is very willing to resign his position and leave to others the future carrying on of a newspaper, whose conduct heretofore, although extremely onerous to him, has not been bereft of pleas- ure and consolation.
Thanking heartily the men of both parties who have heretofore been pleased to honor his labors with their support and encouragement, he gives to each and all of them a hearty farewell. (Signed) WALTER MURRAY.
With the beginning of volume 6, in 1874, the form of the Tribune is changed to eight pages of six columns each, with Mr. O. F. Thornton as editor and one of the proprietors. Under the editorship of Mr. Thornton the paper shows many improvements, and a great deal of very intelligent work in its editor. June 23, 1877, the firm name is O. F. Thornton & Co., with J. K. Tuley and W. W. Waters, Jr., as members. During the first two years of his editorship, Mr. Thornton continued the able advocate of Republican principles, but when the Workingmen's Party arose in 1877, he exhibited an in- clination to advocate the incendiary tactics of that organ- ization, and so offended his patrons that it became nec- essary for him to withdraw from the paper, and on Feb- ruary 16, 1878, the firm name became Tuley & Waters. These gentlemen again return the paper to its independ- ence in politics, and so continue until November 9, 1878, when George B. Staniford becomes a partner and the editor, and the firm name is changed to Tribune Printing Company. Mr. Waters retired from the paper May 1, 1880, and Messrs. Tuley and Staniford continued the publication until January 12, 1883, when they sold the property to Charles Maxwell and Myron Angel, the present publishers.
DAILY TRIBUNE.
On the 6th of March, 1883, the announcement of a daily issue was made as follows :-
We present to our readers this morning the first num- ber of the Daily Tribune. This move we contemplated when we became proprietors of the paper, but wished first to survey the field, to become better acquainted with our readers, their tastes and desires, and with the needs and resources of the city and county. In all the towns of California of the population, wealth, and refine- ment of San Luis Obispo, are daily papers, and we be- lieve that here, also, should be one, and we enter upon the enterprise in the confident belief that we will be sus- tained. The great demand of the present day by readers of news are the telegraphic reports as gathered from all parts of the world. In San Luis Obispo we have been compelled to wait the slow movements of the mail, bring- ing our news to us when near two days old. In no other place on the Pacific Coast of this city's pretensions did such an old-fashioned state of affairs exist. The tele- graph was demanded, and we have engaged to supply the demand. In the Daily Tribune will be found reports of all the important events of the world very soon after their occurrence. The daily news of the town will also be given, and editorial articles and comments in the spirit and manner of a first-class newspaper. The pres-
ent number is a sample, speaking for itself, but will be followed by others, improving day by day.
Throughout the life of the Tribune it has maintained a high reputation for ability, dignity of manner, and per- sistent advocacy of the resources, good morals, and prog- ress of San Luis Obispo County. Its editors and pro- prietors have been distinguished for their gentlemanly behavior and high character.
H. S. REMBAUGH,
So long connected with the paper, is a first-class printer, and was one of the leading members of the Masonic frater- nity in San Luis Obispo. While profiting as a publisher he did not confine his efforts entirely to his paper, but entered into enterprises that proved more beneficial to the county than remunerative to himself. As a strenu- ous advocate of the improvement of the stock and agri- cultural resources of the county, he did not halt at the advocacy alone, but invested his time and money in the practical illustration of his theories. To him is due one of the most important steps ever taken in the improve- ment of the stock of San Luis Obispo. The wild manadas and runts of horses that then existed to the ex- clusion of all others, were an eye-sore to him, and he im- ported the thoroughbred horse, A. T. Stewart, and thus led the way to reform in horse-breeding. This stock is now well known in the county, and while the old horse is gratefully remembered by the farmers, but little is said of the enterprising importer. Mr. Rembaugh's enter- prises, however, were not remunerative, and he disposed of his property and removed to San Francisco where he now resides.
J. K. TULEY.
Through many years of the Tribune's existence Mr. Jacob K. Tuley was one of its proprietors, and part of the time bearing upon himself the editorship and manage- ment. He was born in Missouri, in 1851, learning the art of the printer in his native State, and in 1877, be- came one of the proprietors of the San Luis Obispo Tribune. In September, 1879, Mr. Tuley returned to Missouri on a visit. Upon leaving San Luis Obispo he was escorted to the steamer by a large party of friends and a band of music as an appreciation of the esteem in which he was held by the public. His letters to the Tribune, while absent, were read with much interest, showing a writer of keen observation and good judg- ment. The visit resulted very happily for Mr. Tuley, as the following notice shows :-
MARRIED .- At Brownington, Missouri, September 24, 1879, at the residence of the bride's mother, by Rev. Thomas Bragg, J. K. Tuley, of San Luis Obispo, and Miss Martha Belle Dunning.
Mr. Tuley soon thereafter returned to San Luis Obispo, where he has since resided. He occupies a pleasant home in the northern part of the city, and maintains the popularity he has long borne.
G. B. STANIFORD.
Although yet a young man Mr. George B. Staniford may be classed as a veteran in journalism. He was .
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HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY.
born in Steuben County, New York, in 1838, and there learned the trade of printer. When the great War of the Rebellion occurred he was of sufficient age to do his country service, and became a volunteer in the Union army. After the arduous toils and dangers of the war, which he fortunately passed in safety, he emigrated to California, locating in Alameda County. He took the position of foreman of the Oakland News, often acting as its editor, and in 1866 published the Gazette at San Leandro, the county seat. In 1875, the county seat having been removed to Oakland, he followed the official center and established the Evening Tribune of that city. In 1876 he removed to San Luis Obispo and became the agent of the Pacific Coast Stage Company and of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express. But as a printer and editor he appeared not satisfied away from the type and tripod, and in 1878 became part owner and editor of the Tribune, con- tinuing in this until January, 1883. Mr. Staniford is a prominent member of the Masonic and numerous other fraternal orders, and wherever he is is always one of the first citizens of the town. In San Luis Obispo he has a pleasant home with the companionship of a most accomplished wife and surrounded by an interesting family, and also delights in the title of grandfather.
CHARLES MAXWELL.
In the noble profession of the "art preservative of all arts" there are few more competent, or gentlemen more reliable than Charles Maxwell, one of the publishers and proprietors of the Daily and Weekly Tribune. Mr. Maxwell was born at Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, September 2, 1834. In that quiet old- fashioned town of western Maryland he spent his boy- hood days in the usual routine of the public schools, until, at the age of fourteen, he entered the office of his father, a printer and publisher, to learn the art of printing. Sub- sequently he removed with his parents to Ohio, and at the age of twenty-two commenced his career as a pub- lisher. In 1856 he became the publisher of the Car- dington Flag at Cardington, Morrow County, Ohio, afterward changing the name to Morrow County Her- ald, that being the name of his father's paper in Mary- land and for which he confesses a predilection. While residing at Cardington he married on the 25th of May, 1858, Miss Eunice D. Tucker, daughter of Ira Tucker, Esq., of Westfield, in the same county, and this accom- plished lady, through the quarter of a century of their married life, has shared with him his vicissitudes and triumphs, settling in San Luis Obispo in the bright pros- pect of a pleasant future. On the 25th of May, 1883, the happy couple celebrated the silver wedding of their twenty-fifth anniversary, receiving the congratulations of friends from far and near.
In 1874 Mr. Maxwell established the Modesto Herald, in Stanislaus County, California, making a paper of unusual excellence in the San Joaquin Valley. That paper he continued with good success until 1880, when he sold it and undertook the business of a miller, manu- facturing flour on a large scale. Such a business was out of his line, and in 1882 he disposed of his flour-mill and
removed to San Luis Obispo, purchasing, in company with Myron Angel, the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Of this paper he took possession on the 11th of January, 1883, and continues the publication, having added to it a daily edition.
Mr. Maxwell is a genial member of society, he and his wife being members of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He is a member of the Masonic Order, also of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the encampment I. O. O. F., of the Order of United Workmen, and of the Knights of Honor. He has passed the chair in each of these orders, and has been representative to the Grand Lodges of the I. O. O. F., and of the Order of United Workmen. In politics he is intensely Republican, but has never sought or held a political office, working like a true and high principle i journalist in the ranks for the good of the party. Since his arrival in San Luis Obispo he has been followed by many of his friends from Stanis- laus County, who have made their homes in this city and county, making quite a colony of high respectability and influence, much to the honor of Mr. Maxwell.
MYRON ANGEL.
In January, 1883, Messrs. Maxwell and Angel became the proprietors of the Tribune. In the "History of Journalism in Nevada," published in 1881, is the follow- ing biographical sketch of the last-named gentleman :-
Myron Angel was editor of the Reese River Reveille during the most exciting and prosperous period of its history, and after severing his connection with it was for a number of years, first, editor, then San Francisco cor- respondent of the White Pine News and other Nevada papers. This gentleman is a native of the State of New York, born in Oneonta, Otsego County, December 1, 1827, a descendant of the first Puritan pilgrims who landed on Plymouth Rock. His father, William Angel, desiring to advance the prosperity of Oneonta, established a newspaper in the village, and in this office the subject of this sketch often assisted in the mechanical and editorial departments, although then very young. In 1835 his mother died, and in 1842 his father, leaving him an orphan in his fifteenth year. The boy, inheriting a fair property, was enabled to acquire a fine education from district school to Hartwick Seminary, thence, in 1846, to the Military Academy at West Point, from which institution he resigned to join the excited throng bound for the gold mines in the newly-acquired regions of Cali- fornia. At the date of the discovery of gold his elder brother, Eugene Angel, was practicing law in Peoria, Illinois, having recently been admitted to the bar, and was anxious to join the "Peoria Pioneers" in the journey overland. Urging the cadet to join him in Peoria, Mr. Angel, in January, 1849, started on his journey, crossing Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh by stage, that being the only conveyance at the time, the New York and Erie Rail- road only reaching to Port Jervis, on the Delaware River, and from Pittsburgh to St. Louis by steamboat, thence a short distance up the Illinois River by boat, and a toil- some journey in mud-wagons to Peoria. In April the pioneers left that city, destined for St. Jo, on the Mis- souri, on the "utterly utter" verge of civilization. The treachery of the Captain of the steamboat on which was that part of the company in which was Angel's party. changed the fate of the young emigrants by landing at Weston and refusing to proceed to St. Joseph, this deciding the party to take the Arkansas and Gila
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route, instead of the direct route to the gold mines via the South Pass. On the steamer was Captain William Kirker, an old mountaineer, who had been guide to Colo- nel Doniphanin his march through New Mexico a few years previously. He told of gold mines in the Rocky Mount- ains, far richer than those of California, and a large sum was paid him by a collection of Illinois and Missouri people, who then made up a company. Late in May the journey was undertaken, and in July prospecting parties entered the Rocky Mountains on the Rio Sangre de Christo, and other localities which have since become famous for their mineral wealth, but, being entirely igno- rant of the occurrence of gold or how to obtain it, found nothing. The mines of the Pike's Peak region were then condemned, and the route taken again for California, or somewhere, the travelers hardly knew where. Captain Kirker, the guide, said he knew of mines on the Gila River, and he would take them there. The Captain was only playing his party, as he had a family at Albuquerque, and he only wished to have an escort to take him safely there. The long journey was pursued many hundred miles south, along the Rio Grande, then westward into Sonora to the head of the Rio Santa Cruz, then northerly through Tucson to the Pima villages on the Gila River. From this point the two brothers Angel, becoming impa- tient to reach their destination-it being then October- went in advance of the train, each taking a small pack of clothing and food; and, after a journey of severe fatigue, reached San Diego about the middle of November, rag- ged and famished. The train which had been left be- hind dragged its weary way along, and in the spring of 1850 reached the mining region in Mariposa County.
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