Growth of a Century : as illustrated in the history of Jefferson County, New York, from 1793 to 1894, Part 65

Author: Haddock, John A. 1823-
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Sherman
Number of Pages: 1094

USA > New York > Jefferson County > Growth of a Century : as illustrated in the history of Jefferson County, New York, from 1793 to 1894 > Part 65

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Despite his weaknesses, however, he grew steadily in the estimation of the people. While recognizing the absurdity of many of his theories, they respected the honesty, sincerity and ability displayed in advo- cating them. They recognized that his supreme ob- ject in life was to better the condition of mankind. He expressed his ideas in a rugged Anglo-Saxon, which enforced deference if not conviction. He was recognized as a philanthropist snd a philosopher. Even his eccentricities endeared him to his fellow men. Characteristic stories of his integrity, abstrac- tion of mind and kindness of heart, were freely cir- culated; and the old white coat and hat were familiar in every Northern State, and in nearly every Terri- tory. His reception at Bear Valley, Cal., in his trip to the golden coast, was fairly realistic. The rough and rugged miners gathered about his hotel shouting for "Horace." He responded before breakfast. While he was speaking, every button on his old white coat disappeared. They were cut away for keep- sakes.

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All this time, a slavery most horrible was recog- nized, and legally fostered in his own country. At heart a thorough Abolitionist, his sympathies were at first chilled by his devotion to his party The pas- sage of the Fugitive-slave law, signed by a Whig President, pricked him into resistance to the exten- sion of the slave power. This resistance was intensi- fied by the repeal of the Missouri compromise. It was not until the death of Henry Clay, and of the Whig party organization, that he was freed from party trammels. Then he asserted that slavery was the canker-worm of the Republic.

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When the flag of Sumter fell, however, his pre- eminent patriotism put him to the front, and he struck directly at the vitals of the Confederacy. Fremont's emancipation proclamation was only the beginning of one of Greeley's editorial articles, after- ward completed by the pen of Abraham Lincoln.

The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment marked the zenith of his glory, and was the legiti- mate result of his aspirations and endeavors. It raised him into the foremost niche of the temple of fame. It made him a colossal figure in popular esti- mation. No man loved his country and his country- men more than he. When the war closed, his was the first hand outstretched to his vanquished breth- ren. His appeal for universal amnesty rang through- out the land on the morning after Lee's surrender. His sympathies were freely extended to the ruined Confederates.

The rugged patch of ground which Greeley culti- vated at Chappaqua, was to him a miniature world. It was his preserve. In a broader sense he played over the whole surface of humanity. When he came into the world, Webster, at 29, was mounting the ladder of fame in all the grandeur of his wonderful attributes. They were from the same State, sons of the same granite sol. New Hampshire produced no competitors for the place they fill in American his- tory. Webster was called the Godlike; simplicity was Greeley's characteristic. Ample endowments made Webster's rise easy, while Greeley, to all ap- pearance indifferently furnished, had to battle with all the darker aspects of life's struggle. Both aimed at the highest political station. Greeley came near- est to it. Webster's obsequies were simple but sin- cere. The heads of the nation were bowed over Greeley's coffin. Apparently the men had changed places. Posterity will tell which was greatest, but indisputably these striking contrasts were New Hampshire's mightiest sons, and among the nation's greatest idols.

Comrades, men are great practically, and great theoretically. Mr. Greeley's mind was not executive. It was pre-eminently speculative. His exceptional mental power and his sympathetic heart were the motors of his life. There were no currents in his early life to bear him into the iron realm of religious bigotry, or to confine his great heart within the nar- row domain of selfishness.

Fellow-feeling was his guiding star. Calvinism could have no root in his being. The soil was uncon- genial He abhorred intolerance. His conceptions of right and wrong were rooted in a sympathetic heart and nursed by an analytical mind. The logic of events alone could change them.

Comrades, it is to our credit that war veterans should take the lead in erecting this monument to his memory. A true patriot, he merits the attention of men whose patriotism has been tested on the field. Brothers of New York Typographical Union No. 6, it is more than fitting that you should assist in the erection of this statue. It is the second tribute of your love and esteem. Horace Greeley was your first President.

THE LATEST HELPS IN NEWSPAPER OFFICES.

In Col. Evans' excellent article (see p. 42), he makes a more extended allusion to im- proved machinery for setting type, than he does to the daily newspaper itself. These in- tricate and now fairly developed machines seem to have sprung up from the necessities of daily morning newspaper offices, which demand a large amount of type-setting in the hours between 7 p. m. and 2 a. m. To accomplish the required results by the com- paratively slow process of hand work, called for a small army of trained men, and in news- papers like the New York World or the Philadelphia Press, the force required to do this work became so large as to be almost un- manageable, for type-setting by hand is a complicated matter of detail, and the hurry and push of a daily paper greatly enlarge the opportunities for errors, to say nothing of the labor and expense of overseeing the 100 to 200 men needed for so large a work. These new machines threaten to revolutionize the business of type-setting, for each machine can set as many type as five experts, thus not only ex-

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THE PRESS OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.

pediting the process, but lessening the cost of production, besides giving brand-new type for each issue, as is done by the Mergen- thaler solid-line machine.

To get a fair idea of how the Mergenthaler machine works, It is only necessary to stand behind the oper- ator for a few minutes and watch hhn. Then one realizes that the linotype is only a sort of overgrowni typewriter with a melting pot and type mould at- tached.

The operator sits down in front of his little key- board, which very closely resembles that of a type- writer-differing only in having a larger number of keys for fractions, punctuation marks and various signs He slips his copy under a little clip at the top of the key-board, reads a line and goes to work pre- cisely as a typewriter. Every time he touches a key, a matrix-a thin piece of brass about an inch and a quarter long, by an inch wide and an eighth of an inch thick, bearing on its edge an Imprint of the letter touched on the key-board-drops down from the magazine at the top, and slides into the place where the line Is assembled. As fast as his fingers move over the keys, new matrices drop into place until the line is full, when a bell rings.

Between each word the operator has touched what is known as the space-bar, and for every time he has tonehed this, a thin bar of steel about a sixteenth of an inch thick at the bottom, and tapering up to a sharp edge at the top, falls into place between the matrices. When the bell rings, the operator pulis a lever, and these space-bands are forced up until the line is tightened, or justified. After that the oper- ator has nothing more to do with it. The machine works automatically, carrying the line of matrices to a point in front of the metal pot, which has a long, narrow opening just the length and width of the face of a line of type. The metal pot, containing molten type metal, is slightly tilted forward so that the metal runs into the impressions in the line of matri- ces, and at once hardens into a complete line of type.

By this process, instead of having a number of separate pieces like the old-fashioned hand type each line is one solid piece, with the faces of the letters cast on the edge.

So nearly perfect is this machine, that with ordi- nary care there is very little danger of Its getting out of order; no matter how fast the operator may strike the keys, it is not possible for him to bring the letters down in the wrong order. This provision in the mechanism is absolutely necessary, as an expert operator will often have four or five matrices on the way from the magazine to the assembling point at one time, and these must be brought to the assem- bling point at the same time, or there will be a trans- position of the letters. The space-bands are deliver- ed to the assembling point from a magazine much closer than those containing the matrices, and to re- tard their delivery, the channel into which they drop is supplied with a stop lever which effects delay enough to make the time of movement of the spaces of the matrices equal.

As soon as the line has been cast, the melting pot is tilted backward and the cast linotype is trimmed off perfectly smooth by a rapidly revolving knife.

The completed linotype is then pushed ont by a plunger on a frame, beside the line just previously completed.

The metal used is an alloy of lead, antimony and bismuth, which has a low melting point, and solidifies very quickly. The outside of the pot is covered with a jacket of asbestos, and between the jacket and the pot circulates the heat of the Bunsen burner, which is especially directed at the nozzle.

To secure perfect casting, the metal must not be so hot as to take an appreciable time to solidify in the mold. To keep the metal at the proper temperature, an automatic mercury governor is attached to the gas-jet, which controls the supply of heat.

Meanwhile other portions of the machine have been attending to the distribution of the line of matrices from which the cast was made. Two slender arıns reach up to the top of the machine at the left. The right-hand one of these swings forward and down, and holds still while other mechanism places the line of matrices within its grasp. Then it swings agalu, taking the matrices, but leaving the space-bands which are promptly swept into the magazine, from which they are taken by a latterly moving hook.

The matrices elevated by the arm are held in line with the distributing channel, and are pushed into it one by one. At the close of this series of movements the mechanismn which drove those complicated oper- ations is locked, and no further movement is pos- sible until the operator again pushes the lever. This whole series of operations is done in abont ten seconds.

The mechanism for distributing the matrice into their respective magazines is remarkably simple. Each matrix contains at the top a notch with toothed edges, a special number or arrangement of teeth being appropriated to each character. A distributor bar extending over the mouths of the magazine chan- nels. is provided with horizontal ribs or teeth varying in number and arrangement, over the respective channels. When the matrices are raised by the arm from the casting mechanism, they are presented be- tween two revolving horizontal screws which cause them to travel along the distributor bar, suspended by their teeth. As each matrix reaches a position over its proper channel, its teeth are released from the bar, and it falls into its magazine, ready to drop down again to the place of assembling, as the oper- ator may desire to use it. So perfect is this system of distribution that no letter can get into the wrong channel, and the matrices are in constant use.

In this way the operator is relieved from the work of distributing the type, which, under the old system of hand-setting, took two or three hours every day, and he can give his whole attention to the making of new matter. In the setting of type he also gains time, as there are no errors resulting from faulty distributing, because the machine cannot make a mistake. It cannot set a letter upside down, neither can it get a wrong font.

The same machine can use matrices for any of the ordinary sizes of type, and can cast lines from one inch to five inches in length.

If the operator desires several casts of a single line, he simply moves a long lever, and the machine goes on making cast after cast from the matrice in- stead of distributing the line.

The machine is also automatically "self-protected" in case of accident, If the casting process should be begin with no matrice in the mold, a movable jaw closes the front of the mold. Should a matrix catch in the distributing mechanism, a clutch is instantly detached, stopping this part of the machine until the injury is remedied. Provision is made that one movement cannot begin until the previous move- ment is completed.

Having thus in a degree "cleared the way" for a fair understanding of the whole subject, we now proceed to notice the newspapers of Jefferson county :

Since 1846 there has been a demand for a daily paper in Watertown, as is evident from the repeated efforts made to bring one into existence.

The Watertown Daily News was started by A. W. Hall, as publisher, in January, 1861. It was edited for a few weeks by L. J. Bige- low, who was succeeded by George C. Brag- don, on March 13. Mr. Hall continued to publish, and Mr. Bragdon to edit the paper until February 21, 1862, when it was sold to Ingalls & Brockway, publishers of the Re- former, and called the Daily News and Re- former, and a few years later to the Daily Times. The News was the first daily of any significance published in Watertown, and from the beginning received the telegraphic news of the New York State Associated Press, which had just been organized. It reached a circulation of 2,500.

The Daily Jeffersonian, issued from the office of the Weekly Jeffersonian. Initial number dated May 10, 1851; was published two and a half years.

A campaign paper, called the Daily Repub- lican, was issued from the office of the Re-

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

former, by Ingalls & Stowell, from May 1, 1856, to the close of election in that year. It was devoted to the interests of the Republican organization, Charles B. Hoard then run- ning for Congress.

The Daily Telegraph was started in 1858, after the successful laying of the Atlantic cable, by J. D. Huntington, who then had charge of the telegraph office in Watertown. The enterprise was aided by John H. Rice, William Farwell and others. It was succeed- ed by the Daily News, as above.

The Daily Reformer was commenced April 22, 1861, while Ingalls & Brockway were the publishers of the Weekly Reformer. The name of the daily paper was changed to the Watertown Times, January 4, 1870. It was then a small sheet with less than 1,000 sub- scribers, but now has a circulation aggregating 3,000.

The Daily Republican, also a morning. paper, was started in July, 1888, by Ingalls, Shepard & Dewey. It lived six months.

The Daily Standard was started March 21, 1894, by a stock company, of which J. P. Douglas is President. It is well conducted, and has become a serious competitor with The Times.

THE WATERTOWN WEEKLIES.

The American Eagle was the first paper published in Watertown; founded in 1809 by Henry Coffeen. Its politics were Republican [Democratic], supporting President Monroe. In 1807, however, there had been started at Martinsburg, Lewis county, by James B. Robbins, the Black River Gazette. Robbins soon gave up the paper and removed to Watertown, and it is conjectured that the material for starting the Eagle was the same as that used by Robbins at Martinsburg. It is said that Robbins once brought a bundle of paper from Utica on his back, for use in printing his newspaper. In 1812, Jairus Rich purchased the plant from Coffeen, changing the name to the American Advo- cate, and continued in it until 1817. He was the father of Capt. Henry D. Rich, well known as a local politician from 1850 to 1868, and as a soldier in the Union army. In the spring of 1817, Seth A., and Dorephus Abbey came to Watertown from Albany, and finding the Advocate for sale, bought it, and started the Jefferson and Lewis Gazette. This name was continued until 1819, when Dorephus Abbey went to Oswego, and S. A. Abbey started the Independent Republican, continuing until 1825, when both the home and office of the proprietor were burned, and the paper suspended. Previous to this dis- aster the Watertown Freeman had been started by W. Woodward, under the backing of Perley G. Keyes. This paper survived until 1833, when, on the death of Keyes, its name was changed to the Democratic Stand- ard, with T. A. and A. L. Smith, editors and proprietors. In this office John A. Haddock began his apprenticeship, following the Smiths to Syracuse, where they removed in

1835. Soon after, the Standard was consolid- ated with the Watertown Eagle, that had been started in 1832 by John Calhoun, who afterwards printed the first newspaper in Chicago, and whose wife's short biography may be found on pape 152. The new paper was called the Eagle and Standard, and Alvin Hunt was the editor, it becoming the organ of Orville Hungerford. and holding undisputed sway as a Democratic newspaper for many years, its name being for a time the Jeffersonian, and uniting at last with the Democratic Union. It would be a hard task to identify any of its belongings with any newspaper now in existence-though if any such could be traced they would most likely be found in the Re-Union.

Under date of March 2, 1841, the Jeffer- sonian contained the following account of a " talking machine," then being used in Eng- land, which suggests the idea that the tele- phone was in use before its introduction in America:

RAILWAY TALKING-MACHINE.

" A late English journal, in referring to the London and Blackwell Railroad, mentions a 'talking machine' constructed with galvanic wires. by means of which conversation could be carried on between London and Blackwell, with the greatest ease and precision. By way of illustrating the efficiency of this talking machine, Mr. Stephenson said that he went to the station in London one day to inquire for one of the assistants. He was not there, but the attendant said that he could inquire if he was at the other end; he did so. In a few seconds the answer was that he was not there. But about five minutes afterwards the talking machine informed him in London that his assistant had arrived at the Blackwell terminus; upon which he instructed the attendant to say by the same agency: . Tell him to come here directly.' In ten minutes he arrived; the distance being seven miles. If the distance were 100 miles, the conversa- tion could be carried on just as readily, for the con- versation traveled at the rate of twenty miles a second."

December 5, 1851, J. W. Tamblin became the associate of Mr. Hunt. March 15, 1853, J. C. Hatch purchased Mr. Tamblin's inter- est, but re-sold the same in the following Sep- tember.

August 29, 1846, the first number of the Democratic Union was issued, Thomas Andrews and James Swindells. publishers; Lysander H. Brown, editor. Swindells was in the paper only one week. April 15, 1847, Stephen Martin became an associate pub- lisher. September 2, John A. Haddock suc- ceeded Martin. In June, 1848, Mr. Brown withdrew from the paper, J. C. Hatch taking his place, when the politics of the paper were changed from the support of Cass to that of Van Buren, for the presidency. It subse- quently passed into the hands of Charles A. Stevens and John A. Haddock. In the great fire of May 14, 1849, the office was destroyed, but in one week the publication of the paper was resumed, Haddock having become sole proprietor and publisher. October 15, 1851, Lysander H. Brown again became connected with the paper, and continued with Haddock till November, when he became sole publisher. January 9, 1853, Lysander H. Brown and E. R. Pollard became the pub- lishers. Mr. Brown continued in the con-

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THE PRESS OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.

cern till 1854, when Haddock again obtained possession and soon after transferred it to Elon Comstock, who consolidated it with the Jeffersonian, styling the combined papers the Jefferson-Union. In December, 1855, Mr. Comstock sold the Jefferson-Union office to J. W. Tamblin, who, in May, 1856, sold two- thirds of the concern to John A. Haddock and Royal Chamberlain, of St. Louis. In the fall of 1656, E. J. Clark purchased this estab- lishment, and changed the name to Jefferson County Union, associating with him Royal Chamberlain. Three years subsequently he purchased Chamberlain's interest, and was sole proprietor until January 1, 1865, when he sold the paper to R. A. Oakes.

January 20, 1862, Hall & Bragdon had founded the Weekly News, which they sold to J. W. Tamblin. January 19, 1865, Stephen Canfield purchased the interest of Tamblin in the News, and the paper was merged in the Jefferson County Union. July 1, 1865, Mr. Canfield bought the interest of Mr. Oakes. The name of the paper was changed to the Democrat; and, in August, Henry S. Munson bought the interest of Mr. Canfield, and a daily was started called the Daily Democrat, with Young & Munson editors. It was continued till February, 1866, when it, with the weekly edition, was suspended. This left the Democracy without an organ. In May following, however, Anson B. Moore purchased the plant, and with H. H. Young as editor, revived the Democrat. In 1868 A. H. Hall purchased the paper and changed the name to the Re- Union, and continued the paper till 1870, when he sold to George Moss and Walter A. Boon. In 1872 they started the Morning Dis- patch (daily), and it was continued until May 7, 1881, when the plant was sold to D. Kelley and Charles W. Clare. who run the daily one year, when Kelley retired and the daily was discontinued. The Re-Union has since that time been under the management of Mr. Clare, who has made it an entire success.

When the Abbeys came into possession of the American Advocate, there was very little party feeling Mr. Monroe had been chosen President the previous year, and there was little opposition to the Democratic, then styled Republican, party. It was therefore up-hill work for a purely party paper, and their paper stopped at the end of two years. Another, however, was soon after started by one of the firm, Seth A. Abbey, which was called the Independent Republican, probably because there were men of adverse political views. This paper, it is believed, was the first one in Watertown which ventured to avow sentiments antagonist to the Republican organization, though there was one at Sackets Harbor, established in 1817 by George Camp, (father of Mr. P. H. Camp and Col. W. B. Camp) which was undisguised in its opposition to so-called Republicanism. The Republican was kept running until February, 1825, when the office was burned. The next year Theron Parsons & Co., established Thursday's Post, and continued it until January 17, 1828, when

H. L. Harvey purchased the establishment and changed the name of the paper to the Register. May 1, 1830, he took Benjamin Cory into partnership with him. Two weeks later the name of the paper was changed to the Watertown Register and General Adver- tiser. In May, 1831, Mr. Cory became sole proprietor. Up to this date the paper had been neutral in politics, but soon after became the organ of the party opposed to President Jackson. In the meantime, in 1828, a paper was started which was called the Independent Republican and Anti-Masonic Recorder, which lasted until the Censor was removed to Watertown from Adams, January, 1830, and was called the Watertown Censor, pub- lished by Abner Morton, and anti-Democratic in politics. It was succeeded by the Anti- Masonic Sun, published by Enoch Ely Camp. It was soon changed and published 39 weeks by Dr. R. Goodale, as the Constitution. Subsequently it passed into the hands of Mr. Morton, who called it the Jefferson Reporter, and published it from 1832 till 1834, when he removed to Monroe, Michigan, taking his press with him.

September 19, 1831, Mr. Cory dropped the words General Advertiser from the title of his paper, and it appeared as the Watertown Register till 1835, when it was changed to the North American, with John Haxton, editor. Under this cognomen the paper con- tinued until 1839, when H. S. Noble became the publisher, and restored the name of Watertown Register. Noble kept in the Register until March 12, 1842, when he sold to Hugh Hough. On the 9th of April, Hough sold to William Welch, who conduct- ed the paper until 1843, when he discontinued it. Subsequently Joel Greene purchased a half interest in the concern, and the paper was continued until 1845, when Welch sold out and went West.

In the spring of 1846, Joel Greene commenc- ed the publication of the Daily Journal, ran it a short time, then changed it to the Watertown Tri-Weekly Journal, and as such it was con- tinued till 1846, when A. W. Clark became the purchaser, aud established the Northern State Journal. Two years later, George W. Smith and H. S. Noble became the publish- ers, the firm being styled Smith & Noble. John Fayel subsequently bought into the concern, and was joined by A. W. Clark, Smith & Noble retiring. In 1856 Clark & Fayel sold the paper to the "American party," but after a few months it came back into their hands.

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Growth of a Century : as illustrated in the history of Jefferson County, New York, from 1793 to 1894, Part 65

Author: Haddock, John A. 1823- Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Sherman Number of Pages: 1094

Author: Haddock, John A. 1823-
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Sherman
Number of Pages: 1094