USA > Iowa > Johnson County > Leading Events in Johnson County, Iowa, History > Part 47
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paper was largely increased in 1842, since the legislative pro- ceedings demanded much attention.
It was in those days also that the mail came only a few times each month, some say but twice, and then it was carried on horseback, while news from the capital of the United States did not reach the vicinity oftener than once each month. However, when the legislature of the territory met here the service was improved and mail was carried in a two-horse hack. Letter postage was twelve and one-half cents in those days.
It may be mentioned that the Standard was the third paper established in the territory of Iowa. It appears that the Bur- lington Hawkeye, and the Miners' Express, of Dubuque, were the two preceding it. For sometime in the year 1848 the Standard suspended publication and there was no Whig paper. This was during the campaign of Gen. Zachary Taylor when the need of a journal was strongly felt. It was in this emer- gency, it appears, that Doctor Ballard secured the equipment for the newspaper which he called the Republican.
One man, Mr. Lathrop, who was for many years identi- fied with the public affairs in Johnson county and who at one time had a part in the early struggles of the newspapers and has been a contributor of many histori- cal sketches, moved from the scenes of the greater part of his life to spend his last years in the Dakotas. On, his departure, Captain S. D. Pryce said of him as editor of the paper now called the Republican: "In the early forties he was editor of the Republican, or more proper- ly speaking, we believe it was the Iowa Standard. These were the happy days of the art preservative when newspapers were printed by the editor and edited by the printers. When the editor wrote his leaders with a quill plucked from the eagle, stood up the printers' towel in the corner, and then worked up the gastric juices by pulling the lever of the old Washington hand press. However this may be, those who have followed in the footsteps of the pioneers of Iowa journalism are great- ly indebted to them for the inspiration to do whatever they were enabled to do even moderately well." 418
Between the Standard and the Iowa Capital Reporter there was a paper called the Argus, no files of which are available.
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T. S. Parvin wrote in his diary for August 2, 1841: "Brought home the first issue of the Iowa City Argus, Dr. Jackson, editor." This plant was bought by the first publishers of the Capital Reporter.
The Capital Reporter issued in 1841, before moving to Iowa City, a prospectus indicating its purposes and setting forth the claims for consideration, which was the custom of all papers at that time. In other instances before any copy of the county papers came before the public a neighboring sheet ad- vertised it, and these advertisements furnish interesting reading during the first decade of Iowa's independent history. Accordingly the Reporter states its own case under the owner- ship of Van Antwerp and Hughes, who moved to Iowa City in 1841.
"PROSPECTUS, IOWA CAPITOL REPORTER
"In compliance with the solicitations of numerous friends in various portions of the Territory, the undersigned have concluded to establish themselves in Iowa City in the pub- lication of a weekly newspaper bearing the above title, the first number of which will be issued immediately upon the meeting of the Legislative assembly in December.
"The political complexion of this paper, it is scarcely necessary to say, will be democratic, - decided and thorough- ly so, but at the same time temperately. To elucidate and sustain the leading principles of the great republican party as generally understood, and acknowledged throughout the Union, will be the constant effort of the undersigned, nor will they, under any circumstances, suffer themselves to be divert- ed from the course here indicated, by entering into a discus- sion of new hobbies, false issues or visionary projects of util- ity, come from what quarter they may. While the Reporter will give to the measures and men of the democratic party a firm and zealous support, it will be the purpose of the editors to establish for it a character for fairness. They doubt not that such a course will extend the influence of their paper, and add strength to the good cause they support.
"Especial pains will be taken during the sitting of the Legislature to lay before the public, through the medium of the Reporter, full and correct reports of the proceedings of
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that body. The columns of a weekly newspaper would be en- tirely too circumscribed to contain full reports of the debates, but a weekly analysis will be given embracing much that will be satisfactory and instructive." *19
In 1844 Jesse Williams purchased the interest of Mr. Hughes, he having some time before bought Van Antwerp's interest, and became sole proprietor of the Capital Reporter. He announced his continuation of the policies of the paper, emphasizing the opportunities found at the capital of the territory. It was to continue as the uncompromising advocate of democracy in general and detail, -"The democracy of Jefferson and '98, of Jackson and '32." A portion of the space was to be given "to the development of the immense resources, mineral and agricultural, found in Iowa; to promote as far as possible the cause of education, and to advocate with zeal and industry the great cause of western advancement against eastern monopoly." During the recess of the legis- lature literary productions would occasionally appear, while during the sitting of the legislature and during the holding of the state constitutional convention full and accurate reports were to be published, according to his advertisement or pros- pectus.
Jesse Williams was succeeded by the Palmers, A. H. and G. D., in 1845, and again five years later the paper was pur- chased by Edgar and Edmond Harrison, when Richard H. Sylvester became the editor.
When the office of the Reporter was moved to the Clark building on Jefferson street, it was supposed to be placed in more than ordinary quarters. The building had been but recently completed when in the early spring of 1855, without any warning whatever, the walls fell, crushing men to death and grinding the equipment of presses and other material to bits under the debris. Not discouraged the Harrisons se- cured new material and continued the paper until about the year 1860, when they sold it, only to find it appearing again under the charge of L. D. Ingersoll as a republican paper.
This led to the formation of a stock company, which em- ployed R. H. Sylvester as editor, and the Iowa State Press began its career, in August, 1860. In the following Febru- ary, Van Hosen and Given became the proprietors, and later,
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in 1861, John G. Given took full charge, Mr. Wilkins becoming the chief editor in December of that year, while up to that time R. H. Sylvester had continued to do the editing. In August, 1863, Ira C. Mitchell became the editor, but as expressed by the owner, Colonel Given, "the paper had always been strong politically but was troubled with great financial weakness."
Following, shortly after this period, John P. Irish took charge of the Press as owner and editor, and he held the at- tention of the public for a period of eighteen years, before leaving the state. He began the issue of a daily in 1871, which was published until 1880, when it was abandoned as unprofit- able. On September 6, 1882, the paper was sold by Mr. Irish to Honorable John Springer, now of the Economy Advertis- ing company, and A. J. Hershire, whose widow resides in Iowa City. Mr. Hershire was county auditor and county treasurer prior to his editorial incursion. Mr. Springer was a practical printer, and had been identified with the mechanical success of the Press for a decade and a half before he invested there- in, and became the editor.
Messrs. Springer and Hershire gave the state one of its best newspapers and most potent apostles of democracy, until 1894, when they sold the flourishing journal to Throop & Co. The latter firm, in turn, disposed of the paper in 1895 to S. W. and C. S. Mercer. C. S. Mercer returned to Indiana, whence these enterprising brothers had come. The Mercers conducted the Press until 1904, when it was purchased by its present owner, S. E. Carrell.120
It was stated recently that the R. H. Sylvester mentioned above is now chief of police in Washington, D. C., but the chief of police referred to is the son of R. H. Sylvester, for- merly editor of the Reporter and Press. A letter from Mr. Sylvester of Washington has the following :
"My grandfather on my mother's side, Rev. W. W. Woods, was a pioneer of Johnson county, having settled there in 1847 and owning what is known as 'Woods' Division,' besides a farm in the county. He established the Presbyterian church in Iowa City and Johnson county."
This may be understood as a branch of the Presbyterian church, the Old Stone church on Burlington street. The letter continues : "My mother [Martha Woods] married R. H. Syl-
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vester, who was a reporter of debates in the Iowa legislature about the year 1854, who afterwards established the Iowa Re- porter, together with W. H. Harrison, and which paper be- came the Iowa State Press, of which my father was editor and publisher, disposing of the property to John P. Irish during the war."
There are some errors in conclusions as to dates and the time of establishing the Reporter, which are evident from pre- vious statements in this sketch, and there is an apparent dis- agreement as to the first name of the Harrison mentioned.
There are other interesting items in the letter of Hon. R. H. Sylvester: "My father and uncles all served in the northern army during the Civil War, as well as my grandfather, who was a chaplain, and who died at Camp Nelson, Kentucky. For a time he was President Lincoln's preacher at the Pres- byterian church in Washington City. During the War my father was the accredited correspondent of the New York World, and later went into the insurance business in Memphis, Tennessee, and became secretary of the Iowa association dur- ing the first epidemic of yellow fever in that city, giving care and comfort, among others, to the deceased brother of W. P. Hepburn, late member of Congress from Iowa.
"After this epidemic, my father proceeded to St. Louis and aided in the establishment of the St. Louis Times, and later came to Washington and aided in the establishment of the Washington Post."
The men who established the first newspapers depended upon hand work exclusively and in order to accomplish any results under that system employed many different men in many different capacities. Due and deserved credit must therefore be given to A. G. Tucker, one of the oldest printers in Iowa City, if not the very oldest, and one whose work was quite largely upon the Iowa City Daily Press.
Mr. Tucker learned the printer's art in the east, but came to Iowa City in the early '50s, and was employed on the old Capital Reporter, the predecessor of the Daily Press under the regimes of Sylvester and the Harrison boys.
He was with the paper when Hon. J. P. Irish became the owner and editor and continued with the paper for a number of years afterward. He finally went to Muscatine, and while
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there drifted into the railway service. Later he returned to Iowa City as the depot agent of the Rock Island, a position he held for many years, but he has now retired to spend his remaining years in the city where he practiced his early pro- fession, residing now on East College street.
After eighteen years of active business in Iowa City as editor of the Press, Mr. Irish determined upon removal to California. On the departure of the family a meeting of citi- zens adopted resolutions of regret in reference to the removal after the social relations had been so long established, speak- ing in complimentary terms of his influence through the press and on the platform. In testimony of the sincere opportuni- ties of friends the company presented Mr. Irish with a beauti- ful engraved watch, and to Mrs. Irish a mantel clock.
Under the circumstances, the man who was accustomed to speak to great throngs of people, was for a time overcome and then "in a voice broken and choked with emotion" he re- sponded. Meantime a great crowd had assembled outside un- able to gain admittance, and he spoke his words of farewell to them also.
His opposing sheet, the Iowa City Republican said on the occasion of his departure: "Of the retirement of John P. Irish from Iowa journalism much might be written. For eighteen years he has been conspicious as an editor and promi- nent as a politician. Mr. Irish is no longer one of our citizens. From today we forget the battles of years and think not of acrimonious words, charges and counter charges. We rather join with many others in thinking of Mr. Irish as a fellow citizen whose genial ways, generous heart and pleasant voice drew around him the warmest friends. We think of him as a boy, born and reared in Johnson county, and by his perse- verance and industry beginning when but in his teens, the work of older men. For many years his paper, his voice and his commanding appearance have been before the public, and now they will be greatly missed. His family also, in remov- ing from Iowa City, will leave a vacant place in social circles. Mr. Irish has always been liberal and public spirited in all enterprises, whether municipal, social or otherwise. In the most sincere manner we wish him success in all that he under- takes in his new home - except in politics." 421
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About twenty years ago the Iowa City Citizen was estab- lished with Hubert Remley and Fred Bowersox as editors and managers, but the latter remained in this connection for a short time only. W. H. Conant, who is now with the Boerner- Fry Company, became the editor in December, 1894, and re- mained here until he went to the Republican in 1898. He was succeeded by J. M. Parker, at that time with the Davenport Tribune, who was editor until 1900, when Hubert Remley again assumed editorial charge. S. W. Searle became editor in 1902. During this period from the date of establishment the firm was known as the Citizen Publishing Company. The present editor and proprietor, E. E. Johnston, came into pos- session in 1907.
There are only three papers outside of Iowa City in John- son county at the present time, and of these we have a limited account, some of them having a series of predecessors that have left no available record. The Lone Tree Branch was es- tablished April 2, 1892. It was launched by O. S. Todd, then publishing the Columbus Junction Safeguard, and was printed in his office at that place and sent to Lone Tree where it was mailed out each week. The first local correspondent for the paper was W. E. Horrell, who gave up the task after a few months, and Miss Hattie Underwood took up the work of gathering the local news and sending it to Mr. Todd each week. In this manner the paper was gotten out until Feb- ruary, 1894, when W. H. Younkin, the present publisher, con- ceived the idea that a newspaper office in Lone Tree would prove a profitable investment, hence he purchased a printing outfit and opened an office. He sold Miss Underwood an in- terest in the business and they continued the publication of the Lone Tree Branch, Mr. Todd having turned over the sub- scription list and good will of the paper to the new publishers. The paper was enlarged from a six column folio to a seven column folio and was liberally patronized from the date of its first publication in the home office. The next year the name was changed to the Reporter. Again in 1898 Miss Underwood sold back to Mr. Younkin her interest in the plant but con- tinued her work as traveling solicitor. In 1898 the paper was again enlarged to a five column quarto and later, in 1900, to a six column quarto, in which form it is still issued.
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During the seventeen years W. H. Younkin has edited and published the paper he has never missed an issue and has given each issue his personal attention. By his close attention to business, he has built up one of the best paying newspaper propositions in the county and has prospered as few have in his chosen occupation. The Reporter is now and has been for many years one of the official papers of the county .* 22
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The Oxford Leader is a semi-weekly, established in 1892, with E. R. Doty as editor, who occupies that position at the present time. For eighteen years he has continued as owner and publisher, the paper having official recognition in the county, while practically it is democratic, it has a large circu- lation in its community, among members of all parties. Pre- vious to this publication Oxford has had the Herald, published in 1877, and the Journal, which followed the Herald the next year. The latter was first published in a small way on a job press, but by the purchase of the plant in 1879 by Wilson and Templeman it was enlarged and continued as an independent republican paper. About this time the Oxford Democrat was established with several stockholders, among them, Hon. L. R. Wolfe, Joe Linkhart, H. Vanderlip, and Louis Wagner. How- ever, at the present time the Oxford Leader is the only paper in that part of Johnson county.
The Solon Economy, a very suggestive name for a country newspaper, was established in 1896 by W. M. Martin and Sons, the editor of which outlined his policy in his first number as in line with the name of his paper, which he said was "to instruct in the management, regulation and government of a family." He also adds, "judicial and frugal management of public af- fairs, and the economy of living in general," should be the sphere in which the paper would endeavor to operate. The first issue is dated March 26, 1896. After the retirement of Mr. Martin, his daughter, Mrs. Riedel edited the paper until a recent date. Before this time the Solon Reaper had been published here, commencing its issues in 1882. It had a num- ber of editors, among whom was Dr. L. G. Lawyer, now a prac- ticing dentist in Iowa City.
For twenty-two years the Bohemian newspaper, the Slovan Americky, was published in Iowa City, at the expiration of which period it was removed to Cedar Rapids. It was in 1869
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that it was begun in Iowa City, occupying a room in the same building which the State Press then used and using the same printing equipment in its publication. When Hon. John P. Irish built the Press building the Slovan Americky took a por- tion of the second floor and continued to use the mechanical equipment of the first mentioned paper. The editors, Messrs. Letovsky, left a comfortable record behind them which has been written by a contemporary workman: "We can but bear testimony to the excellent qualities of these gentlemen. They began business in a small way, but with a courage, a patience and cheerfulness that overcame every obstacle and surmounted every untoward circumstance." One of this firm, Hon. J. M. B. Letovsky was an official of the city, a member of the council, mayor, and also member of the state assembly from the county, being a candidate for reelection at the time of his removal to Cedar Rapids. His integrity was unquestioned and his politi- cal influence of the highest type.428
The Homestead, now published in Des Moines, secured in 1882 possession of the Western Stock Journal and Farmer, which was for some time edited and published in Iowa City by Z. C. Luse, Carey R. Smith, and others, who have been men- tioned among the leading stock men of the county. It ap- pears to have been at the time an influential journal in its field.
The early University papers date from 1868, when the Reporter was first issued in October, as a monthly, later be- coming a semi-monthly. The Vidette appeared in the fall of 1879, and the two were finally combined in 1881 as the Vidette- Reporter, but this ceased to exist when the Daily Iowan was projected.
When the first number of the Reporter appeared it was not commended on its neatness, nor mechanical work, and an ex- perienced writer of 1868 cautioned the editors "to be very courageous in the rejection of matter that was unworthy."
The first managers and editors of the University Reporter included the following students : E. Branson Cowgill, John A. Pickler, Albert Loughridge, Miss Nannie Anderson, Miss Pris- cilla Milliken, and Smith Hanna.
At the time of the consolidation of the Vidette and the Re- porter in September, 1881, the paper was continued as a week-
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ly, as the Vidette had begun its publication in the school year before. A company was formed to manage the affair, the members being S. B. Howard, C. N. Hunt, T. O. Newcomb, I. B. Richman, and A. J. Craven.
The Quill was first issued September 19, 1891, and these papers continued until September, 1901, when the Daily Iowan was established.
Several minor publications, at least so far as the life of the publications was concerned, have appeared in the years of the press history of the county. Many names are probably entirely unfamiliar to the present generation, because not a trace of the papers has been left for public inspection. The first colleges, so numerous in the forties, endeavored to make themselves felt through the printing of papers as well as through the forms of instruction. The Snethen Seminary in 1844, published a small monthly paper, which has the credit of being the first religious paper in the borders of the present state. There was another paper of the same nature called the Colporteur, which contained the interesting statement in its time that this was the location of the "great city of the west," and giving the reasons for such statement as this: "The in- habitants of between one and two thousand, are, for intelli- gence, morality, and urbanity of manners not one whit inferior to the cities of the Atlantic coast."
The Iowa Medley was the name of a college sheet put out by the Iowa City University, a copy of which is now in the pos- session of Hon. Milton Remley. During the days of the Know Nothing party the "organ" was conducted for a short time by John Kennedy, the man who issued the first directory of Iowa City. This, of course, was in 1856, when that party existed for a brief period. Another short-lived journal repre- sented the Anti-Monopolists, and was edited by Jacob Seahorn. In 1874, Henry Brede established the Volksfreund, for the German population. The Iowa City Post also, coming under the same classification, was begun in 1881. Other ventures were the Herald, a file of which may be found in the library of the Historical Society, the Democrat, and the News, as well as the Clarion, all short-lived affairs.
About the year 1845 Charles R. Fisk issued an announce- ment, really a prospectus, of a newspaper to be called The
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Watchman, an exponent of the Bible and its teachings, which was to "exhibit brief expositions of different passages of scrip- ture, to watch the progress of truth and error, to record inter- esting facts and to contain religious news and friendly exhorta- tions."
It was designed, it is said, to be issued monthly, "com- mencing as soon as it should receive sufficient encouragement to warrant the undertaking." Rev. W. W. Woods was to be the assistant editor, the same minister who was mentioned as the founder of the congregation that erected the Old Stone Church.
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CHAPTER XXXV
Entertainments - Lectures - Libraries
I N a new country entertainment may take on various forms which depend upon the characteristics of the settlers, their previous training having much to do with their plans for the public comfort or private social life. In this respect the new capital of Iowa territory had an advantage in being settled by many people of high ideals, and it was more than an ordinary town from the beginning in its demands for the intellectual and literary. To repeat the often mentioned statement of the num- ber of houses and population in 1841 is sometimes necessary in order to make the proper background for what one would say about the development of some special phase of the social life. The time of the following advertisement is in 1841, when only a score and a half of cabins were found on the site of the city and Butler's State House was then in active service, while the Reporter and Standard, forerunners of the Press and Republican respectively, were the only newspapers on the ground. The notice mentioned appeared in the Reporter for December 18, 1841, and read like this :
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