Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. II, Part 9

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1166

USA > Georgia > Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. II > Part 9

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THE CONSTITUTION.

"The Constitution" deserves a chapter of some length. It was started in the summer of 1868 by Carey W. Styles and J. H. Anderson, with W. A. Hemphill for its business manager. Col. Styles made it a strong anti-reconstruction paper, and it became the leading organ of the democratic party in Georgia. In the course of a few months Col. Styles retired, and the paper was conducted under the firm name of W. A. Hemphill & Co. J. R. Barrick, a Kentuckian of fine literary ability, edited the paper until his death in 1869, when Col. I. W. Avery took editorial charge. Various changes occurred, and finally Capt. Evan P. Howell purchased an interest and became editor-in-chief. Col. E. Y. Clarke was man- aging editor for six years, but in 1876 he sold out his interest to Capt. Howell and

LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM.

retired. Mr. N. P. T. Finch, who was one of the proprietors and editorial writers, sold out his interest in 1888 to Mr. S. M. Inman. Henry W. Grady purchased a fourth interest in 1880 and became managing editor. Upon his death in 1889 Mr. Clarke Howell succeeded him, and still retains his position. In the course of ten years Mr. Grady made "The Constitution" the leading southern news- paper. His methods increased the weekly subscription list to 150,000 and the daily was proportionately successful. He was a journalist Napoleon, and no department of the paper escaped his close scrutiny. He had no superior as a political editor, but he never lost his interest in the literary features of the paper, and the local reporters never made a scoop or did any exceptionally good work without receiving substantial encouragement from him. No man could be more imaginative, and yet none was more matter-of-fact. For years Grady was the life and soul of "The Constitution," and under his control it became one of the chief factors in the upbuilding of the new south. He selected his men with care, and when he was satisfied that he had infused something of Iris own spirit into them he would sometimes cease writing for a long period of several months. His assistants thoroughly understood him, and in his absence it was a point of honor and a matter of pride with them to come as near as possible to his expectations and requirements. The important incidents of his career will be found in a more extended sketch of his life in another part of this work. Carey W. Styles, who was "The Constitution's" first editor, was at that time about forty years old. He was a bitter hater of everything that he considered inimical to the south, and his editorial denunciations of republican rule and the reconstruction measures were the fiercest ever known, even in that period of heated passion and strife. Styles was- absolutely fearless, and with practically the entire community at his back, he risked his life every day in what was then a perilous profession. Nor was he satisfied with denouncing those who differed with him through the columns of his paper. He frequently appeared on the platform and, meeting his political opponents face to face, he heaped upon them the most furious abuse. When he retired from "The Constitution" he edited at different times "The Albany (Ga.) News," a weekly at Brunswick, the "Evening Commonwealth" in Atlanta, and "The Constitution" at Weatherford, Texas. Gen. I. W. Avery was the most brilliant of the early editors of "The Constitution," and his literary and journalistic work is still eagerly sought for. On "The Constitution," "The Herald" and "The Evening Capitol" he rendered splendid service to his party, and was largely instrumental in building up the material interests of his state through his policy of bringing prominently before the outside world the natural resources of the commonwealth. His style is remarkably fluent and graceful, and is characterized by dash, vigor and enthusiasm.

Capt. Evan P. Howell, "The Constitution" editor-in-chief, was born in Milton county in 1839. He had only, commenced the practice of law at Sandersville when the war broke out and he went to the front with the First Georgia regiment as orderly sergeant of his company. During the last three years of the struggle he was captain of Howell's artillery, and was in nearly all of the leading battles in Virginia, and in the Georgia campaign. Although a mere youth at the time he exhibited those traits of indomitable courage and determination which have made him so influential in journalism and in politics. He has been repeatedly elected to both houses of the state legislature, and has declined the urgent requests of his fellow citizens to serve them in the gubernatorial chair and in the United States senate. He has had an extensive experience in public life. As the solicitor- general of his circuit he made a fine record, and as a democratic campaign

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

organizer he has long been regarded as the best in the state. In the campaign which resulted in the permanent location of the capital in Atlanta, Capt. Howell was an indefatigable worker. With his multiplicity of business cares he does not find much time for writing, but he outlines the general policy of the paper, and when he writes an editorial its pointed, pithy and vigorous style generally causes it to attract public attention, and it is frequently copied from one end of the country to the other. His work in behalf of Atlanta's expositions and the various great industrial enterprises which have developed and benefited Georgia, and the south has been generally recognized. Personally, the captain is one of the most genial and magnetic of men. He is as well known and popular in Washington, New York and other political and commercial centers as he is in Atlanta.

Clark Howell, the present managing editor of "The Constitution," is at the present time just entering the thirties. He began his journalistic career when a mere boy after leaving the state university. He served with distinction for so young a writer on "The New York Times" and "The Philadelphia Press," and then became night editor of the paper which he now manages. Succeeding Mr. Grady at his death, he gave most of his time and attention to the details of his office work, and is probably the most painstaking and industrious managing editor in America. He has several times represented his county in the legislature and has served as speaker of the house, and is at the present time a member of the National democratic executive committee. He inherits many of his father's best characteristics, and has made a reputation as a political organizer and campaign worker. Mr. Howell frequently appears on the platform and is a very popular and effective speaker. He has a legion of devoted friends in Georgia and through- out the Union, and his election last year to the presidency of the International League of Press clubs is an evidence of the warm regard entertained for him by his brother journalists. Among other notable men on the staff of this great news- paper are Joel Chandler Harris, the chief editorial writer; Frank L. Stanton, P. J. Moran, Frank Weldon, J. K. Ohl, E. W. Barrett and R. L. Adamson, Julian Harris, E. C. Bruffey, Remsen Crawford and R. H. Newell of the local depart- ment; also Mr. L. L. Knight. Mr. Harris, the author of Uncle Remus, has been sketched elsewhere in these pages, but it may not be out of place to mention the fact here that he is considered the financial authority on the paper, and his editorials in favor of the remonetization of silver during the past few years have been widely quoted. Mr. Stanton's work is now famous throughout the country. His verses are in thousands of scrap books and his bright paragraphs are very popular. Two editions of a volume of his poems have had a large sale and have received highly favorable notices from leading reviewers in this country and in England. Mr. Moran is one of the ablest correspondents and special writers in the United States, and his capacity for work is apparently unlimited. Mr. J. K. Ohl, the assistant managing editor, is a clear-headed, well-equipped journalist. His special articles and his dramatic criticisms are popular features of the paper. His wife, who writes over the pen-name of Maude Andrews, is the society editor. Her work in prose and verse is always brilliant and thoroughly readable. Her poems have appeared in "The Century" and "The Cosmopolitan," and her short stories have met with a very favorable reception. She ranks with the most accomplished literary women of the continent.

Frank Weldon, the night editor of "The Constitution," is a young Baltimorean who has made a good record in the journalism of Baltimore, Savannah and Atlanta. In Savannah he was for some time on the staff of "The Press," a bright and successful afternoon paper. He makes an admirable night editor and is

LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM.

equally at home in other departments of newspaper work. His letters, stories and sketches are among the best produced by the younger generation of southern newspaper men. Walter G. Cooper, who was a special writer on the paper for several years during Mr. Grady's management, and after his death, is a writer who has already come to the front. As the editor of "The Rome Tribune" and chief of the department of publicity of the Cotton States and International exposition he has made a fine reputation for so young a man. He is an industrious worker, and when he writes an article dealing with facts and figures he is never satisfied until he has verified every important statement. He has a clear, pleasing style, and his little book on the Piedmont region is regarded as a valuable and interesting volume. Mr. Cooper's journalistic ability has enabled him to greatly aid the expo- sition in bringing its salient features before the public.

Mr. L. L. Knight, the editor of the religious department of "The Constitution," is a young man of exceptional gifts. His historical and biographical articles are full of merit and give promise of more ambitious work in that line. He is also a graceful poet and eloquent speaker, and inherits much of the talent of the Walton and Lamar families, whose blood flows in his veins. Mr. W. A. Hemphill, the business manager, and the owner of a large interest in the paper, has been promi- nently identified with it from the first, and its success is principally due to his forethought, economy and enterprise. He is a graduate of the state university, a gallant ex-Confederate, the president of a bank, and an ex-mayor of Atlanta. He first suggested the Cotton States and International exposition, and stands in the front rank of Georgia's progressive and public-spirited citizens. He is now in the prime of life and bids fair to enjoy a long career of honor and usefulness.

From 1874 until a recent date Samuel W. Small was one of the most con- spicuous men in Atlanta journalism. He came to Atlanta from Texas, where he had conducted an afternoon paper, which he had started shortly after resigning his position as ex-President Andrew Johnson's private secretary. "The Consti- tution" people soon found that he was the best short-hand writer, the best reporter and the best all-round man that had ever been on the staff. He has made a notable record in the past twenty years. No man on the Atlanta press has done more work and better work, and none is to-day better equipped for journalism. Mr. Small found time to visit Europe in an official capacity at the Paris exposi- tion. He wrote pamphlets, started daily and weekly papers, acted as court stenog- rapher, traversed the country as an evangelist and lecturer, started a paper in Oklahoma, and one in Norfolk, and at last accounts had opened a law office in that city.

In the reconstruction period Dr. Samuel Bard was quite prominent in Atlanta and in Georgia. He came to Atlanta from Memphis, and after running "The New Era" a short time as a democratic paper, suddenly turned it into a republican organ. When he sold it he started "The Daily True Georgian," on the republican line. President Grant appointed him governor of Idaho, but he soon resigned the office, and during Grant's second term accepted the postmastership of Chat- tanooga. About 1876 he started a daily paper at Pensacola, Fla., and during that year fell a victim to the yellow fever. He was a man of talent, tact and personal magnetism, and in the most heated political warfare he managed to retain the friendship of his opponents.

Col. E. W. Clarke, one of the early editors of "The Constitution," was in his active days one of the most popular journalists in Georgia. He was patriotic and public-spirited, and his efforts in behalf of the development of the state have never been sufficiently appreciated. He has at various times embarked in other

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

newspaper ventures, and his History of Atlanta is still regarded as a work of great local interest and value.

ATLANTA SUN.

"The Atlanta Sun," a daily in existence between 1870 and 1874 had the dis- tinction of being edited first by the Hon. Cincinnatus Peeples and later by the Hon. Alexander H. Stephens. A. R. Watson, the poet, Mr. P. J. Moran, and Mr. William H. Moore were brilliant members of the staff. Watson died in Macon, where he had accepted a place on "The Telegraph;" Moore died in Augusta while editing "The Evening News," and Mr. Moran is now one of the most active members of "The Constitution's" staff. Mr. Stephens was not successful as the managing editor of a newspaper. He wrote his editorials at his home in Craw- fordville, more than 100 miles distant, and it was a common thing for one of his leaders to fill five columns. He could write able political essays, but short and timely editorials and paragraphs were beyond his reach. The paper was a financial failure, and when it suspended Mr. Stephens lost a considerable sum of money.

DEAD DAILIES.

It would be a difficult matter to enumerate all the dead Atlanta daily news- papers within the past thirty-five years. Shortly after the war "The Intelligencer," "Opinion," "Commercial," "Sun" and "News" gave up the ghost, and they were followed by "The Times," "Telegram," "Transcript," "Nickel," "Evening Herald," "Commonwealth," "Tribune," "Post-Appeal" and others. The "Post-Appeal" was at one time a profitable newspaper. Maj. D. E. Caldwell sold it to Col. Marcellus E. Thornton, and the experiment of changing it from an afternoon to a morning paper brought about its suspension. Maj. Caldwell is dead, but Col. Thornton, who is a man of large wealth, owns and edits "The Press" and "Carolinian" at Hickory, N. C.

ATLANTA JOURNAL

"The Atlanta Journal," started in 1883 by Col. E. F. Hoge, who died a little over a year later, is one of the leading newspapers of the state. When Col. Hoge's ill health forced him to sell, Col. John Paul Jones, of Toledo, Ohio, pur- chased it. He afterward sold it to a stock company, and it is now owned by the Hon. Hoke Smith, Mr. H. H. Cabaniss and several other gentlemen. Mr. Smith directed, and is supposed still to direct the policy of the paper. His first managing editor, Mr. Josiah Carter, resigned after holding the position a few years and started an afternoon paper with the unlucky name of "The Herald." In the course of a couple of years it was forced to suspend and Mr. Carter went on the staff of "The New York Morning Advertiser," while his partner, Mr. Black- burn, started "The Commercial," an afternoon paper which has achieved a very gratifying degree of success. "The Journal" has had on its editorial staff such capable writers as Mr. F. H. Richardson, Mr. John H. Martin, Mr. Howard Williams, Mr. Thad Horton, Mr. Gordon N. Hurtell, Mr. Stanhope Sams, Mr. A. W. Bealer, Mr. W. H. Howard, Mr. J. H. Johnson, Mrs. Lollie Belle Wylie, Miss Corinne Stocker, and Miss Mary Lou Jackson. Mr. Martin retired some years ago, having served forty-eight years on a number of newspapers in various states. He is now a resident of Atlanta, and in his serene old age enjoys the competency which he has so well earned. In his time he was one of the most influential editors in the state, but he never courted publicity, and much of his best work has been

LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM.

inadvertently credited to others. Mr. Richardson and his associates make an able staff, and Mr. Smith, the present secretary of the interior, is acknowledged to be a masterly director of the paper's editorial policy. He frequently writes a strong editorial, but the pressure of his public and professional duties leaves him very little time for such work. He is a man of great intellectual energy and power, and he is a potential force in journalism as well as at the bar and in politics. Mr. Smith at an early age made a reputation as a brainy lawyer, having been admitted to the bar at the age of seventeen. For some years he has enjoyed the most lucrative practice of any lawyer in Georgia. In journalism he adopts the same original and daring methods which have made him a leader at the bar and in politics. Since he has held the office of secretary of the interior he has not appeared prominently in the management of his paper, but it is well known that he is still the master spirit of "The Journal," and whenever it makes a decided hit in politics the people are quick to credit Secretary Smith with it.

EVENING CAPITOL.

"The Evening Capitol" was started by Charles S. Atwood in 1888 and at different times it was edited by I. W. Avery, James A. Gray and Judge Kit War- ren. Mr. Atwood's bad health, resulting finally in his death, caused the paper to suspend. "The Commonwealth" was another paper that made quite a reputation under the ownership and management of Col. B. F. Sawyer, in the early seventies. Sawyer, who is still a prominent citizen of Atlanta, has been a gallant Confederate colonel, the editor of several newspapers, the author of several popular novels, and the inventor of a number of valuable articles. He is a native of Alabama, and from the time when he went to Cuba with the ill-fated Lopez expedition down to the present hour he has led a very active and busy life. It is by no means unlikely that he will again be heard from in journalism.

OTHER WEEKLIES AND MONTHLIES.

Atlanta had and still has many weeklies and monthlies of some reputation and influence. The Christian Index, a Baptist paper, now owned and edited by Mr. J. C. McMichael, was at different times edited by some of the ablest of the southern Baptists, among them the Rev. David Shaver, D. D., who before coming to Georgia was prominent in religious journalism as the editor of the "Richmond Religious Herald." His successor, the Rev. H. H. Tucker, who died a few years ago, had few equals as a strong, bold writer. The "Wesleyan Christian Advocate," a Meth- odist weekly which was moved here from Macon a few years ago, is an influential journal under the editorship of the Rev. W. F. Glenn, D. D. The "Southern Cultivator," an agricultural monthly, was edited for many years by Dr. W. L. Jones, but his successor, ex-Gov. W. J. Northen, has ably taken up the work, and the magazine is doing a great work for the agricultural and other interests of this section. The "Southern Farm and Home," owned and edited by Mr. J. R. Holli- day, and one or two others, also enjoys a good circulation and is very popular among the farmers. "Dixie," an industrial monthly, owned and edited by Thomas H. Martin and J. H. Allen, is the handsomest periodical in the south. It is a fine advertising medium, and is working wisely and effectually for the development of the resources of this section. The "Atlanta Medical and Surgical Journal" and the "Eclectic Medical Journal" are among the professional periodicals of Atlanta of long standing. The "People's Party Paper," edited by Thomas E. Watson, is a strong populist organ. It is vigorously edited and is said to have a large circula-

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

tion in the rural districts. "The Looking Glass," an illustrated weekly, edited by Orth H. Stein, is a somewhat sensational paper, which lashes the follies and crimes of private and public circles in a fearless way. The latest daily in the field is the "Commercial," an afternoon paper, started by Mr. B. M. Blackburn in the early part of 1894. It is a democratic paper, but it is very independent and fearless in its policy. Apparently it has met with gradually increasing prosperity from the start.

Gen. I. W. Avery in his History of Georgia claims that taken all in all the state has as bright, independent and gifted journalists and as newsy and vigorous papers as any state in the Union. This is doubtless true, but the historian goes so far as to say that "more notable and brilliant men have adorned our journalism than any other state can boast, and that there is now a larger endowment of superior press writers connected with the papers of this commonwealth than any other can show." Perhaps this is claiming too much for a sparsely settled state, the youngest of the old thirteen. It is true, however, that some of our ablest statesmen, lawyers and business men, have been journalists or writers for the press. Among the names most prominent are those of Alexander H. Stephens, Henry W. Hilliard, L. Q. C. Lamar, H. V. M. Miller, Albert R. Lamar, P. W. Alexander, A. R. Wright, H. Gregg Wright, Cincinnatus Peeples, H. V. Johnson, Mirabeau B. Lamar, James Gardner, Henry R. Jackson, William M. Browne, Joseph Forsyth, William T. Thompson, James R. Randall, William L. Scruggs, Patrick Walsh, Henry W. Grady, Evan P. Howell, Clark Howell, Joel Chandler Harris, Henry Edwards and P. A. Stovall.

AUGUSTA CHRONICLE.

"The Augusta Chronicle" is the oldest paper in the state, having been founded in 1785, and "The Constitutionalist," which was consolidated with it, dates from 1799. Mr. James M. Jones was the chief editor of "The Chronicle and Sentinel," as it was called, for many years, and Mr. V. M. Barnes assisted him just before and during the war period. Barnes edited "The Constitutionalist," under James Gard- ner, during the last two years of the war, and sat in the constitutional convention of 1865. Gardner made his paper a power in Georgia for the ten years before seces- sion, and narrowly missed the governor's chair. James R. Randall edited the paper after the reconstruction period until it consolidated with the "Chronicle." On this latter paper Gen. A. R. Wright and his son, H. Gregg Wright, made national reputations. Connected with them was Patrick Walsh, the brainy Irishman who for more than twenty years past has been the chief proprietor and the dominant spirit of the paper. Walsh is a self-made man, but he acquired a first-class educa- tion and for more than a quarter of a century he has been prominent as a writer and as a speaker in state conventions and other deliberative assemblies. As United States senator, filling the unexpired term of the late Senator A. H. Colquitt, he made a greater reputation in a few months than was ever made in the same brief period by any other member of that body. He is never happier than when he makes his paper advance the material interests of the south, and no man in all the region has a greater command of statistics relating to our water-power, cotton mills, mines, agricultural and other industries. He is a vigorous writer and an eloquent speaker, and his public spirit, loyalty to his friends and devotion to his state are proverbial.

COLUMBUS ENQUIRER.

In 1828 Mirabeau B. Lamar established the "Columbus Enquirer." In 1830 he yielded the editorship to Henry W. Hilliard until 1834, when Gen. Lamar resumed control for a while, and then went to Texas, where he became the first president of

LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM.

the republic. S. M. Flournoy was editor from 1834 until his death in 1857. John H. Martin was editor from 1858 to 1876. In 1874 Maj. Alfred R. Calhoun, an ex-Union officer, bought the paper and later purchased the "Sun," changing the name of the venture to the "Georgia Sun." Calhoun's style was too independent and personal to suit the community, and he sold out to W. L. Salisbury, who employed J. G. De Votie as editor. Salisbury was assassinated in 1878, and John King purchased the paper. De Votie remained editor until he died in 1881, when King assumed editorial management. It is now edited bv B. H. Richardson, an able editor, who was formerly city editor of the "Savannah News." The "Columbus Sun" was at various times edited by Hon. John Forsyth, Hon. William L. Scruggs and other prominent men.

MINOR WEEKLIES.

The De Wolfes, of the "Times"-father and son-were among the well-known journalists of Columbus, and E. T. Byrington in recent years made a notable success of the "Ledger," an afternoon paper. The "Athens Banner-Watchman," started as the "Banner," a weekly, in 1816. As a daily the "Banner" was owned at various times by Hopkins Holsey, James Sledge, S. A. Atkinson, T. W. and T. L. Gantt, H. H. Carlton, Chapman & Ingram, John T. Waterman and a stock company. The "Watchman," a weekly paper of some renown, conducted by John H. Christy, was consolidated with the "Banner" years ago. In 1826 the Macon "Telegraph and Messenger" was established, at first under the name of the "Tele- graph," but about 1870 it absorbed the "Messenger," another old paper, started by Simon Rose, and edited by Gen. William M. Browne. Among the leading editors of the "Telegraph and Messenger" at various times were Joseph Clisby, H. H. Jones, A. R. Watson, A. W. Reese, Albert R. Lamar, Harry Edwards, F. H. Rich- ardson and A. A. Allen. Lamar was the most brilliant and best equipped editor of his time in Georgia. He was a student and a thinker, and his style had been polished and pointed to the very last degree. His editorials were read with delight. by all cultured people whether they agreed with them or not, and the writer's half cynical, half humorous vein invested his articles with an additional charm. His death a few years ago deprived Georgia journalism of one of the few men who had made a national reputation in it.

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Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. II, Part 9

Author: Publication date: 1859 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association Number of Pages: 1166

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1166