USA > Ohio > Hardin County > A twentieth century history of Hardin County, Ohio : a narrative account of its historical progress its people and principal interests, Vol. I > Part 40
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In April, 1880, the late George W. Rutledge bought the paper from the administrator. On May 6, 1880, Mr. Rutledge's name appeared in it as editor and publisher. Mr. Rutledge, who was the father of E. E. Rutledge, of Kenton, was a descendant of one of the first three families to settle in this eonnty. Men hereafter financially interested in the two leading papers were all Hardin eounty men. Mr. Rutledge held several positions of public trust in eounty and state in his day, and became well known throughout the state. Mr. Rutledge conducted his paper alone for two years, and on May 25, 1882, he sold a half interest to Ellis L. Millar, who had been connected with the Ada Record.
Mr. Rutledge, who at first conducted the plant in the quarters now ocenpied by Held's tin store, soon moved it to the Dougherty block, where Hart's bakery now is, on the east side of North Detroit street, three doors north of the first alley above the Square. Two floors were
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occupied here. In this location power was supplied by a motor operated by water from the city mains. The paper's subscription price then was $2.00 per year, and the paper was issued every Thursday.
In 1885 Mr. Millar became the sole owner of the paper. his name appearing as editor and proprietor. In October, 1887, he moved the plant to the Augustus W. Munson building on the west side of North Detroit street, first door south of the present library, where more com- modious quarters were offered. A steam engine was installed and the importance of the plant augmented in various ways.
Under Mr. Millar's management the Republican plant inaugurated a daily paper entitled The Daily Republican. It appeared on the horizon in May, 1892. The weekly edition continued to be known as The Hardin County Republican. After conducting the papers as sole owner for about ten years, Mr. Millar in July, 1895, sold them to General James C. Howe, a life-long and experienced printer; and E. L. Millar then went to Duluth, Minnesota, where he established The Duluth Trade News, a commercial periodical in the interest of "The Head of the Lakes." He still edits that journal. General Howe was once adjutant general of the state. After conducting the Republican plant and its daily and weekly issues here for a year, General Howe sold the property to William M. Beckman in 1896.
After Daniel Flanagan sold The Hardin County Demoerat, he published the Union Demoerat at Urbana, Ohio, for over three years, and the Delaware Herald, at Delaware, Ohio, for more than eight years. He, however, did not move his family from this city. On January 1, 1885, Mr. Flanagan re-entered the local newspaper business. Mr. Fisher sold his paper back to Mr. Flanagan and the latter associated with him- self, as partners, Alfred Mathews and Thomas J. Flanagan, the former a brother-in-law and the latter a brother. They soon moved the plant to a brick building owned by them on the south side of East Franklin street, southwest corner of the first alley east of the Public Square.
In the month of October, 1892, the proprietors of the Demoerat founded a morning daily paper. At this time there were two other dailies here, but this was the first and only morning daily the county has had. This was, of course, issued from the same plant as the weekly. This daily was soon afterwards changed to an evening issue, and has remained thus since.
In the year 1898, the partnership incorporated under the name of "The Kenton Democrat Printing Company," with Daniel Flanagan president and general manager ; Alfred Mathews. secretary, and Thomas J. Flanagan, treasurer. Daniel Flanagan continued as editor-in-chief and was a prominent and picturesque figure in local journalism until his death which occurred in February, 1901. Mr. Flanagan was a bold writer and shrewd manager, and was well known throughout the state. Upon his death, his son, Curran E. Flanagan, succeeded him as president and
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general manager of the company, and editor of the papers, the remainder of the organization remaining practically the same. The company enlarged its building in 1907 to accommodate its big growth, and made other improvements to inerease the value of the paper. This company holds the franchise of two newspapers besides a plant for doing com- mercial printing. Each of the papers is a seven-column, eight pager.
There have been various Democratie weekly journals of an independ- ent nature here. Jacob Forbing was once the leading spirit in one sueh paper. Mr. Flanagan's office, in 1897, purchased the plant of the Free Lance, a local weekly Democratic paper which had been established in 1895 by Louis Schloenbach and C. E. Clark, and was edited by Dr. .J. W. Binckley. This paper advocated the election of William Jennings Bryan to the presidency. The Flanagan Company took possession of its press, materials and mailing list after the paper had been discontinued.
On August 23, 1897, another separate, strong Democratic weekly paper was initiated here by H. B. Williams and William I. Finley, who for six years was editor of the Caldwell Press. They started this news- paper in competition with the Daily Democrat. The homes of both these men had been at Caldwell, Ohio. Mr. Williams at one time was super- intendent of the Kenton schools. He did not take an active interest in the paper. Mr. Finley was the editor and guiding spirit, and very able, too. He had from the first been a supporter of W. J. Bryan.
Following the election of Governor Pattison, during whose can- paign Mr. Finley was secretary of the state committee, the Press was transferred to Lloyd B. Richards. Shortly after the holidays, in 1906, "The Kenton Democrat Printing Company" bought the mailing list and good will of The Press, and Mr. Richards sold its printing machinery and materials elsewhere. Mr. Finley was appointed state oil inspector by Governor Pattison, and later became chairman of the State Democratic Committee for the Governor Harmon campaign. He lately assisted in organizing the Columbus News, and is at present interested in it.
Among the noteworthy independent papers in local history was a German weekly The Wochenblatt. It was founded by John U. Born and David Riffe, January 7, 1882. Mr. Born was its editor at first and later Louis Schloenbach became editor and proprietor. The franchise was sold to "The Kenton Republican Company" in July, 1906, and dis- continued. Mr. Schloenbach moved to Fremont, where he is in other business. The Wochenblatt was the first German paper to be published in the section of the state covered by Hardin, Wyandot, Marion and Hancock counties.
Father A. S. Siebenfoereher in 1878, founded and for a number of years conducted a Catholic bi-weekly, religious paper in the interest of his parish and missions in this part of the state. This was discontinued when, the jurisdiction of the priests having been altered, Father Sieben-
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foereher, therefore considered the Catholic Local News no longer necessary.
In the spring of 1874, during the great temperanee erusade, the loeal "temperanee committee" published a daily organ here called the Temperance Daily Times. This is reputed to be the first daily periodical for Kenton, but it was not intended to be permanent and was not a news- paper. About 1877 A. W. Miller issued a daily from the Republican plant, and this was probably the first daily newspaper for Hardin county. But the experiment was not sueeessful, and it was soon dis- continued. A similar effort was early made by the publishers of the Democrat with the same result. A Kenton daily was onee owned and edited by a woman, Miss Mattie MeConnell. It was four-page four- column, and was entitled The Evening News. It was printed in the Beekman job shop, and was independent. The paper was in existenee only during the summer of 1885. At about that time The Common People, an independent Democratic weekly, was issued here, but it also was short-lived. Fred Childs was the editor, and he published the paper in a small frame building on the west side of South Main street. He soon sold his equipment to Henry Price, who moved it to the Paulneei bloek on West Columbus street, and there twenty odd years ago began a newspaper experience referred to in later paragraphs.
James Ray Stillings, at different times employed by both newspapers here, did for a short time several years ago conduet a Sunday morning literary paper entitled The Light. When he discontinued the same he announced in the last issue that the light had gone out !
There is one religious monthly published and edited here now by Rev. Henry Katterjohn, in the interests of the local St. John's church, The Evangelical News. It began in 1898.
Outside of the county seat, Hardin county has seven politieally neutral weekly newspapers. The oldest and one of the best of these is an Ada paper. The names, dates of establishment, and present owners and proprietors of the seven papers in ehronological order are :
The Ada Record, founded in 1872; proprietor and editor, Agnew Welsh.
The Forest Review, founded in 1874; proprietor and editor, J. C. Shuler.
The Dunkirk Standard, founded in 1875; proprietors, Fowler and Gerhart ; editor, H. F. Gerhart ; manager, C. O. Fowler.
The University Herald, Ada, founded in 1885; proprietors and editors, Ralph Parlette and M. L. Snyder ; business manager, Mr. Snyder. The Mt. Victory Observer, founded in 1886; proprietor and editor, Joe Pennoek.
The Alger Gazette, founded in 1900; proprietors, The Gazette Pub- lishing Company ; H. G. Clark, president ; T. Reed Dunlap, secretary and
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treasurer ; C. C. Clark, vice president ; Paul B. Scoles, general manager and editor.
The Forest Advertiser, founded in 1907; proprietor and editor, Louis A. Conklin.
The general excellence of the country press in Hardin county is one of the distinguishing features.
The first independent newspaper for Kenton was The Kenton News, established in June, 1881. V. L. Rickett and Company printed the paper at Tiffin and delivered it to patrons here. D. M. Evelands bought the franchise in November of that year, and opened his office in Kenton. This paper lasted about six months. The next venture with an independent paper under this name was made by Henry Price, afterwards "Onion King" of the county. He took up the name of The Kenton News and issued a weekly paper with considerable success. One of the doctrines advocated by this paper was temperance and prohibition ; and there was no "milk and water" policy in existence in its editorial management, either. Fred M. Childs was in the employ of Mr. Price as news man. Mr. Price took care of the editorial column himself. He sold the bus- iness to J. L. Hampton, who published it for a while and then disposed of the journal to Baker and Meyers, who came here from Allen county. They continued the paper regularly, the name having been changed, however, to The Kenton Graphic.
William M. Beckman soon after this appeared in the local newspaper field. He had, in 1883, bought the Robert McCurdy job printing shop which was located over the Rogers drug store on the west side of the Public Square. He later moved this shop to rooms over what is now the P. B. Held store on West Columbus street, which had previously been the Republican quarters. In the year 1889 Mr. Beckman made a con- tract with Baker and Meyers to print their paper, The Kenton Graphic, they still remaining the owners of the paper and its editors. Mr. Beckman then established his printing plant in the Paulucci building at the southwest corner of Columbus street and the first alley west of the Square. These quarters are now occupied by "The Gem Family Theater."
Mr. Beckman at this time simply acquired the printing equipment of Baker and Meyers's paper and not its franchise. Under this arrange- ment the paper was issued for a short time and then suspended. Then, on February 17, 1890, appeared the first issue of The Kenton Daily News, founded by William M. Beckman and Harry Edsell. It came forth from the quarters in the Paulucci building above referred to. It was a new paper for the city. W. M. Beckman and Company was organized to pub- lish this journal, with Mr. Beckman and Mr. Edsell as partners. This was the first daily newspaper to be permanently established in Hardin county.
W. E. Swartz came here from Marion, Indiana, as editor of the
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paper, his name appearing in the editorial column as such. Some of Mr. Beckman's friends thought his attempt to found another paper would be unsuccessful. since there were at the time already two weeklies here. But Mr. Beckman doubtless remembered the anecdote history tells of Benjamin Franklin when he contemplated founding The Saturday Evening Post. Benjamin's mother advised against his project. saying : "Why, Benjamin, there is already one paper in America, and not room for two."
The Daily News was the best independent paper Kenton had known. It was an experiment and something new in local newspaperdom, but it was successful. The policy of the paper was not published, but it was evidently something like this:
First-Pertaining to Politics: (a) Acceptance and support of measures that are worthiest and promise the largest good to the greatest number. (b) Support to the men best fitted in character, experience and ability for office and opposition to the unfit of whatever party. (c) Scientific fairness towards all candidates for office. The purpose to be honest and fair, not to be subverted even by the desire to beat an unfit man or measure.
Second-In General: (a) Transparent honesty in the handling of all news-reporters told to get the news, not to color it. (b) Editorial policy guided by the rule: "The best thing for the community and for the people generally." (c) Editors and publishers unhampered by either party, capitalistic, labor, seetarian, or mere private interests. (d) The dominant motive actuating the entire institution to render service, and to work hand in hand with whatever makes for the moral, intellectual and material good of the people.
The Kenton Daily News began as a seven column, four-pager, selling for ten cents a week. It succeeded The Kenton News and The Graphic, both weeklies. This daily paper was "a town booming organ." The Beekman company soon felt the demand for a weekly paper also, from the office of this daily, and in the fall of the same year, 1890, the now well known Graphic-News was established by Beekman and Company. The words "The Graphic" were taken from the old Kenton Graphic. which had suspended the year before, and the word "News" from the daily.
In January, 1896, Mr. Edsell retired from the newspaper business here and went West, where he afterwards entered the government employ.
For six years The Kenton Daily News was published under that name, and during this time it attained to considerable popularity. At the end of the six years it was consolidated with the Daily Republican. When Mr. Beckman bonght the Daily and Weekly Republican and plant from General IIowe in February, 1896, he continued this and his other
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plant as separate institutions for a few months, and then moved the Republican equipment to the quarters of the Daily News on West Columbus street.
The two daily papers were consolidated at once and the name selected for the amalgamation was The News-Republican, a hyphenation of the two names. But the weekly paper of the Beckman company was not merged with the weekly edition of the Republican paper and never has been. Instead, The Graphic-News has continued as a weekly in- dependent paper as usual, and The Hardin County Republican was issued by the Beckman company as a separate weekly paper.
The two weeklies were continued along their original lines but much improved and have held to their original policies until this day, the Graphic-News being edited in a strictly neutral manner in regard to polities, and The Hardin County Republican being devoted to the cham- pionship of Republican doctrine, being the official organ of the Republican party in this county.
Mr. Beckman, soon after the consolidation of the plants, being now sole owner, sold one-fourth interest in the entire business to George E. Crane. This latter arrangement was a partnership under the name of "The Republican Company."
This partnership continued for seven years. Then, in 1903, Mr. Crane sold his interest to Frank B. Wilson, who was at that time adver- tising manager in the employ of The Republican Company. At once the business was incorporated under the laws of Ohio as "The Kenton Republican Company," with Mr. Beckman as president, and Mr. Wilson secretary and treasurer, the company owning, as it does to this day, the franchises of three newspapers, besides a department for commercial job printing. Each of these three papers-The Hardin County Republican, The News-Republican and The Graphic-News-is at present an eight- column, eight page.
The business of the company prospered to such an extent under the adroit management of Mr. Wilson that it outgrew its rented quarters, and in 1903 the company erected a large, brick block at the northeast corner of Main and Ohio streets. The equipment was being moved into those new quarters when the building caught fire and burned to the ground in November, 1903. It was re-erected, however, and has since the fall of 1904 been occupied by the company.
In 1906, Mr. Wilson bought another one-fourth of the company's stock, this from Mr. Beckman, and the two men still held the total 500 shares until October 31, 1907. when Charles D. Kelley and Forest F. Tipton, who were in the employ of "The Kenton Republican Company," purchased all of the stock held by Mr. Beekman, and the latter retired from the business. Mr. Beckman has been one of the newspaper geniuses of this city-shrewd and far-sighted in this, as well as in general business. He is one of the county's best known and influential citizens.
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With the retirement of Mr. Beckman, The Kenton Republiean Com- pany reorganized with Mr. Wilson, president and general manager; Charles D. Kelley, secretary and editor-in-chief, and Forest F. Tipton, treasurer and advertising manager.
In the spring of 1905 the company installed two Mergenthaler linotypes to set type by machinery, and in January, 1908, purchased a twelve-page, Cox Duplex printing press, these improved machines being the first for this county.
While these paragraphs tell something of Kenton's newspaper his- tory eovering a long period of years, the venerable Dr. A. W. Munson, of this city, who died but five years ago, was personally acquainted with the first editors of Hardin county's two first newspapers. After his death his beloved wife found this statement among his writings: "I knew the editors of Hardin eounty's first two competing papers well, and I par- tieipated in the first political eampaign in which there were opposing organs. I have seen the two papers, at first uncertain of issue, grow abreast with, and often ahead of the county. The presses were at first very small and manipulated by a lever or turned by a crank by perhaps the same laborer on different days of issue; but I have seen those presses replaced by rapidly improving makes. I have seen dingy, irregular shops transformed into modern business houses; and small plants grow into grand engines for the dissemination of general information, news- papers with which any people of any city and any county might well be pleased and proud possessors."
The earliest printing machine in Kenton was the old time Washing- ton handpress. On it the flat type-form was linked laborously by hand before each impression. The dampened sheet of paper was laid care- fully upon the type and then with a baek-breaking pull, the lever was swung and the impression taken. With the perspiration triekling down his brow, our pioneer muscular editor pulled out the printed sheet, cautiously, so as not to tear it, rolled his sleeves a little higher and went to work on the next eopy. Each copy had to go through the press twiee. In those days a circulation of 500 copies was large; 1,000 enor- mous, and beyond 1,500, an impossibility. A huge iron form-block from the ancient press of the Robinson Plant, after being disearded from the printing office, was used here for years on Fourths of July and other big public days, as a shooting iron. The loudest noise could be made by exploding powder in a hole in the block-as in anvils. The patriots at Ada borrowed the shooting iron onee, and it still rests in that village as the only relic of early Hardin county printing machinery.
The first "power press" for Hardin county was purchased in Jan- uary, 1868. Hardin county was ahead of this seetion of the state in securing one of the then-new Campbell presses. Black face and heavy cuts in advertisements were used for some time; were dropped in 1866 but became "style" again a dozen years later.
A four horse-power
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Eureka steam engine was the first "steamer" to drive a printing press in this county ; that was in 1878. Local enterprise was not slow to avail itself of the much improved flat-bed cylinder presses when they came upon the market, and there have probably been at different times a half dozen of these presses brought to Kenton in the past quarter of a century. Hardin county has never had use of any of the new Robert Hoe octuple perfecting presses that will produce ninety-six thousand eight-page newspaper copies per hour. But Hardin county is neverthe- less well acquainted with the Cox Duplex two-color web-press that devours the blank paper in two continuous ribbons, prints both sides in the same process, and can fold, cut, paste and count the completed copies at the rate of 6,000 twelve-page papers an hour. The local presses are now driven by gas engines. The Simplex machine which actually sets type was first used in Kenton a half dozen years ago and is still used in parts of the county. Hardin county is also now well acquainted with the linotype machine for type-setting. Ottmar Mer- genthaler invented this machine after innumerable experiments, in- volving infinite toil and wasted fortunes, had been made by several men along this line. The linotype, instead of setting type, sets the moulds for casting a whole "line of type" at once; hence the name linotype. In 1894 there were 200 linotypes in use in this country; now there are a hundred times that many. Man's greatest mechanical ingenuity is said to have been demonstrated in newspaper machinery. Hardin county's first newspapers were printed on rag and straw paper. Reanmur, the man who invented the thermometer, saw that wasps made paper nests out of wood and since then paper for news has been made of trees-spruce forests being ground into powder, transformed into pulp by chemicals and made the friend of the common people in low priced newspapers. Our present daily paper would be an impossibility without this comparatively modern invention. The railroads and newspapers have kept pace in civilization's advance. In 1843 there were only 6,000 miles of railway in our country and only about 2,000 periodicals. Now there are about 250,000 miles of railway, about 25,000 periodicals and over 10,000,000,000 copies for the people annually.
As E. L. Shuman, newspaper authority, has said: "Only when free thought went into partnership with steam and electricity did the modern newspaper become possible." The first Hardin county newspaper was born in the same year that Samnel F. B. Morse the, inventor of the telegraph, put his invention into use. It was not till five years follow- ing the date of Kenton's first newspaper that the "Associated Press" was organized to get the news of the world for American newspapers. Now this association, the greatest cooperative enterprise in the business world, transmits at its central points 50,000 words daily at a cost of two million dollars annually. This association cooperates with other newer associations-Reuter in England, Havas in France, Wolff in
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Germany, ete., and now Kenton's daily press is in touch with the whole world as result of the telegraphs and the railroad, and what dignity this adds! Our first local papers had the advantage and power of no such gigantic search light.
If some prophet had told the pioneer American newspaper man, Benjamin Harris, or even the pioneer Hardin county editor, John Shrenk, that 1909 would see all these things, doubtlessly the daring prophet would have been sketched in "the next issue" as an escaped lunatic ! But here they are; and the Hardin county press is playing a part in the new journalism of new responsibility. The responsibility of the press has increased so as to lead President Hadley of Yale to declare that now "responsible government rests on responsible news- papers " and the student would probably find it true that "without the telegraph, the press and the railroad the United States could not exist," for a certain unity of thought alone can hold together so mild and bene- ficent a government. Who can say that this development has not been according to Divine program? "History," doubtless, "is philosophy teaching by example." When did our new journalism begin ? The early press in Hardin county like its contemporaries in the nation was mainly a purveyor of views and not news. M. deBlowitz's dictum, "One good comment is worth ten informations," is probably right, but the present day newspaper is distinguished as an independent great purveyor of news, and is an advertising medinm. Our early press was one of advocacy; today it is one of publicity.
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