USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > History of the city of Cleveland : its settlement, rise and progress > Part 20
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LITERATURE IN CLEVELAND.
T HE mosaic of American intellectual development pre- sents a formidable task to the historian who is also an analyst, for the bright bits of its tessellated pattern have been quarried from every land in the round earth.
The bedrock was laid by the Puritans and the French Huguenots in high thought and purity, in the North. In the South the Spanish adventurers and French convicts filled a different foundation. The free life, the soil, the cli- mate, the surroundings, all had an influence in managing the mental life of the new world people.
At the time of the revolution a very bright standard of English literature had been attained in England and the colonies, but the interruption of the great war turned public thought into that channel, and the best talent of both countries was absorbed in statesmanship. When peace again prevailed, the independence of the new coun- try manifested itself in literature as well as government.
The infant republic, weakened and impoverished, must devote more time to founding industries than to study,
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and the good wife's maxims were oftener quoted than the immortal poets, so that when leisure was attained for the patronage of literature, much of the ideality had disap- peared from poetry and fiction, the severity of New Eng- land theology was temporized, while the hard won gospel of democracy, the doctrine of all men's equality, had in- troduced into literature a breadth and humanity to which can directly be traced the tenderness of the Longfellow and Whittier school. The rugged discipline of the long struggle gave a realistic tone which the business-like char- acter of the people and the accuracy of science have since preserved. The reaction of the rapid wealth from early poverty has been like malaria-springing from the all too rich but uncultivated soil of primitive fertility but that will undoubtedly yield its sensuous, sensational tone to the upward tendency of educated taste, as the very vines of the swamp, if subdued, live again in the flower and fruitage of the cultivated field. The constant addition of foreign thought is an element of change, and sectional influences have been strong enough to create a local tone in the literature of the far West, the South and New Eng- land.
The high thought and elevated literary purpose of the Western Reserve can be traced directly to the New Eng- land school, broadened and liberalized by the progressive- ness of the West, transplanted to the suggestive beauty of the South shore, and purified by the keen winds of Lake Erie. Cleveland has never been a publishing centre, and its literary products have been without the stimulus, of busi- ness inducement, so that the number of books that have
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spontaneously sprung to life is hardly a fair indication of the literary standard of the city.
That should be judged rather by the number of readers than the number of writers, and taking as a standard the patronage of libraries, schools and churches, and the fact that the largest proportion of mail in the country is re- ceived here, the result is most creditable.
Just how much of the record is due to the literary excel- lence and conscientious editing of the Cleveland papers, it is impossible to say; but the fact that they have been under the control of men of broad scholarship who have not allowed the news of the day to be polluted with the objectionable matter that so often finds its way into the- press, is a cause of much good taste among the people.
The germ of Cleveland literature was the Cleveland Gazette and Commercial Advertiser, issued in July, 1818, and continued for about a year. Although some ad- verse frost cut it down, it sprouted again with a more sturdy stalk in the Cleveland Herald, October, 1819. This. veteran paper, one of the first in the country, flourished without a competitor for about thirteen years. In 1832 the Advertiser was established as the organ of the Whig party, and was afterwards merged in the Plain Dealer.
In August, 1834, the Cleveland Whig was established by Rice and Penniman and was issued for about two years.
In the year 1836 several papers, most of them short- lived, were started. They were the Ohio City Argus, pub- lished in what is now the West Side by T. H. Smead and Lyman W. Hall; the Cleveland Messenger, Cleveland
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Daily Gazette, afterwards absorbed by the Herald; the Cleveland Liberalist and the Cleveland Journal, a religious paper which was afterward united with the Ohio Ob- server. These were enough to arouse the spirit of journal- ism to a high pitch, for in the fifty years intervening between 1837 and 1887 upwards of ninety newspapers and magazines devoted to all manner of interests were unsuccessfully started, and lived from one issue to four or five years, the literary enterprise which started them being more notable than profitable.
In addition, however, to those that failed, is a good number that have been eminently successful and useful.
The oldest of these is, of course, the Cleveland Herald, established in 1819. The Herald's sole predecessor was so frail and short-lived that the former may be called the first journal in Cuyahoga county. It was a weekly paper for the first eighteen years of its existence published by Z. Willis & Company, but in 1837 it was united with the Cleveland Gazette, a daily paper which had been started the previous year, and the joint paper was called the Daily Herald and Gazette, the proprietors being Messrs. Whittlesey and Hull.
The firm changed after a time, Josiah A. Harris becom- ing sole proprietor. The population of Cleveland and Ohio City together was then about six thousand, and it was doubtful whether the paper could be supported. The enterprise and devotion to principle of the Herald won the confidence of the people and it lived.
In 1850 A. W. Fairbanks became a partner and a job
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office was added. In the spring of 1853 George A. Bene- dict became one of the partners and editors.
The Herald had grown from a small paper, printed upon a press that it did not own, to a journal of large circula- tion and influence, owning a large building and full com- plement of presses and materials, and employing a large force.
In 1877 it was sold to Messrs. R. C. Parsons and W. P." Fogg, and its literary standard became even more elevated under their scholarly management. In the spring of 1885 the subscription list and good will of the Herald wassold to the Leader, and the building and presses to the Plain Dealer, and thus ended the separate existence of a long, fruitful and honorable career.
An event of some importance in the history of Cleveland journalism was the purchase in 1842 by Mr. M. C. Young- love of the first power printing-press ever operated northwest of the Ohio river. From this press ap- peared the Herald and Plain Dealer of that day. In 1848 it was removed to Ravenna, where, let us hope, it is still preserved as a curious reminder of pioneer typography.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer is second in age of the exist- ing dailies.
In 1834 the Cleveland Advertiser was purchased by Can- field and Spencer. It was continued as a weekly until 1836, when it was issued daily. In 1841 J. W. and A. N. Gray bought the paper and changed its name to the Plain Dealer. J. W. Gray was the editor and proved to be a
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great accession to the paper, as he was a witty and keen writer and careful editor.
The Plain Dealer was always a strong Democratic sheet, but when the civil war broke out it was loyal to the Gov- ernment, and threw its weight upon the side of the Union. Mr. Gray died in 1862, and four years later the paper was purchased by W. W. Armstrong, of Tiffin, and under his control has led a successful career. It is recog- nized as the Democratic organ of Northern Ohio, second to one only in the State. In the summer of 1885 the Plain Dealer was enlarged from a four page evening paper to an eight page morning paper, being quite an important development. It now enjoys a large circulation and employs an able force of writers, many of whom in the past and present have won distinction of an enviable character.
Among those of the past whose names are now widely known are J. B. Boughton, since of the New York Com- mercial Advertiser; Ex-Judge Cleveland, of the Cleveland Bar; Bishop Mclaren, of the diocese of Illinois ; D. R. Locke, celebrated as Petroleum V. Nasby ; the late Charles Farrar Browne, the famous Artemus Ward, and E. V. Smalley, now a well-known writer.
The Cleveland Leader had its birth in 1844 in "Ohio City," being then founded as the Ohio American by R. B. Denis. It was published in 1845 by Edwin Cowles, the vet- eran editor, then a lad of eighteen years, and edited by D. L. Rice. In 1846 Mr. Cowles transferred the publication to Mr. M. W. Miller, who continued his connection with the paper in company with Mr. Rice until 1848. In that year
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the American and the True Democrat, a Whig paper founded in 1846 by Hon. E. S. Hamlin, were consolidated and published under the name of the True Democrat.
In 1848 Mr. Joseph Medill, since of the Chicago Tribune, came to Cleveland and established the Forest City Daily, but it was not successful, owing to the number of papers already flourishing, and in 1853 the True Democrat and the Forest City Daily were consolidated under the name of the Daily Forest City Democrat. Mr. Cowles was takeninto partnership under the firm name of Medill, Cowles & Co. Mr. Cowles had charge of the business department and Messrs. Medill and Vaughn of the editorial. In March, 1854, the name was changed to the Cleveland Leader.
In the spring of 1855 Mr. Cowles purchased the interest controlled by Messrs. Medill and Vaughn, and from that time until 1867 was sole proprietor of the Leader, except for two short interspaces. In 1867 a stock company was organized, Mr. Cowles retaining the majority of the stock. The Leader was the first paper in the world that was printed on a rotary lightning press which delivered the sheets pasted, with leaves cut at top and folded, all in one operation.
Since 1869 the company also issues an afternoon paper, established by Nevins Brothers, and afterwards purchased by the Leader, called at first the Evening News. It also publishes the Tri-weekly, the Weekly and the Sunday Leader, all papers of wide circulation and great influence.
In 1885 the Leader purchased the circulation and the name of the Herald, to incorporate with its own, and has
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since appeared as the Leader and Herald, while the Even- ing News became the News and Herald.
With this addition to its already large circulation, and under the skillful editorship of Hon. J. C. Covert and a corps of efficient writers, the Leader and Herald is now a recognized power, not only as a valuable newspaper, but a factor in both State and National politics, and the leader of Republicanism in Northern Ohio.
The Ohio Farmer, a weekly agricultural, live stock and family journal, was established in January, 1848, by Thomas Brown. After putting the paper upon a good basis as to circulation and standing he retired from its control, and in 1862 it passed into the hands of William B. Fairchild as publisher, and Sullivan D. Harris as editor. At this time the Ohio Cultivator, established in 1845 at Columbus, Ohio, was purchased and consolidated with the Ohio Farmer, making the latter the only agricultural paper in the State. In 1866 Mr. Fairchild's interest was bought by A. W. Parker. Mr. Parker's death in 1867 left Mr. Harris sole proprietor until January, 1868.
After passing through the hands of Mr. George E. Blakeslee the Farmer was purchased in 1872 by Mr. M. J. Lawrence, who obtained the services of Mr. M. E. Wil- liams as associate editor, and in their hands the paper became a financial success for the first time. In 1874 the Buckeye Farmer was purchased by Mr. Lawrence and united with the Ohio Farmer. In 1879 the American Farm Journal, published at Toledo, shared the same fate. The Farmer is now a successful paper of extensive circula- tion in Ohio and the surrounding States, and is quoted as
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not only the principal agricultural paper of the State but a recognized authority in the country.
The Publishing House of the Evangelical Association was established in 1816 by the enterprise of Father John Driesbach, then quite a young man. It was started at New Berlin, Pennsylvania, in a very modest way, but still sufficiently extensive to supply the demands of the organ- ization.
In November, 1836, at a special meeting of the General. Conference, it was decided to locate a book establishment at New Berlin, Pennsylvania, and it was done the follow- ing year. In 1851 the General Conference ordered the removal of the publishing house to Cleveland, Ohio. This was accomplished in 1854, and the new building was erected on Woodland avenue, where the business is now carried on. The demand for work increased so rapidly that the building at first too large, was entirely inade. quate, and work was refused for lack of facilities with which to do it. In 1874 a handsome new building was erected for store and office purposes, adjoining the origi- nal building.
This, however, would not supply the still increasing de- mand for greater facilities, and in 1877 another building, large, handsome and commodious, was added, fronting upon Harmon street. Thus from the small wooden build- ing in which the book publishing was commenced in 1837 at New Berlin, Pennsylvania, with an investment of about two hundred dollars, has sprung one of the largest and best equipped publishing houses in the country.
Besides the books published, a number of both German
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and English periodicals are issued. They are: Der Christ- liche Botschafter, Rev. W. Horn, editor; the oldest, largest and most extensively circulated religious German news- paper published in America.
Der Christliche Kinderfreund, Rev. C. A. Thomas, editor; an illustrated German Sunday-school paper. It is issued weekly, semi-weekly and monthly.
Die Wandtafel, a weekly publication in the guise of a blackboard, designed to illustrate the International Sun- day-school lessons.
The Evangelical Magazine, Rev. C. A. Thomas, editor ; a beautifully printed and finely illustrated magazine of thirty-six pages.
Evangelisches Lectionsblatt, weekly ; Evangelisches Vier- teljahrshift, quarterly ; Læmmerweide, weekly; three German Sunday-school publications.
In the English are published : Evangelical Lesson Leaf, weekly.
Evangelical Lesson Quarterly, edited by Rev. P. W. Raidabaugh.
The Evangelical Messenger, weekly, edited by Rev. H. B. Hartzler.
The Evangelical Sunday School Teacher, edited by Rev. P. W. Raidabaugh.
The Living Epistle, edited by P. W. Raidabaugh.
My Lesson, weekly, by same editor.
Sunday School Messenger, by the same editor.
The Blackboard, also edited by Rev. P. W. Raidabaugh.
All of these publications have a large circulation and are calculated to be most useful in religious work. Some of
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the German periodicals have an extensive subscription list in Germany. The publishing house is under the authority of the General Conference of the Evangelical Association, and under the direct management of a publishing agent. Its surplus profits are devoted to benevolent purposes.
Brainard's Musical World was first issued in 1854 by the music publishing house of S. Brainard & Co. It was an eight page journal devoted to music. It was gradually enlarged to forty pages as its success became assured. It is now issued in the music houses of the firm of S. Brain- ard's Sons simultaneously in Cleveland, Chicago and Cin- cinnati.
The German Baptist Publishing Society, at 957 Payne avenue, originated in the Conference of German Baptists, held at Berlin, Ontario, in 1866.
Philip W. Biepel was elected editor and secretary of the society. J. T. Burghardt, of Louisville, Kentucky, gave the sum of two thousand dollars, upon condition that the German churches would make up an equal sum, and with this money a building was erected upon Forest street and fitted up for the publication of religious books, tracts, etc. But in 1874 the building was partly de- stroyed by fire, and as it was without insurance the loss was heavy. A new building, however, was erected on Payne avenue, at the corner of Dalton street, and was completed for use in May, 1878.
The following papers are published by the society :
Der Muntere Saemann, a weekly Sunday-school paper.
Der Sendbote, a weekly eight page German Baptist paper, the only one in this country.
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Der Wegweiser, a monthly church publication. Lections Blätter, monthly for Sunday-school work. Unsere Kleinen, a monthly for Sunday-school use.
The German Publishing House of the Reformed Church in the United States was established in Cleveland at 991 Scran- ton avenue in 1860, when the publications consisted of the Reformirte Kirchen Zeitung, a weekly issue. The second venture was Der Læmmehörte, a monthly and semi- monthly Sunday-school periodical. In 1876 Die Abend Lust, a paper for general circulation, was added to the other publications. Since then another monthly periodi- cal has been added, the Missionsbote, and with the Lec- tions Blätter comprise the different publications of the establishment.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers' Journal was published first in January, 1867, at Rochester, New York, S. R. Mudge being the first editor. After re- moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana, Cleveland was selected as the final abiding place of the Journal, and it was established here in 1870. It is a forty-eight page pam- phlet devoted, as its name suggests, to the interests of locomotive engineers. It has an extensive circulation, not only in the United States and Canada but in Great Britian, India and Central America.
The Sun and Voice was first issued as the Sunday Voice in October, 1871, by Messrs. W. S. Robison, L. O. Rawson, Thomas Whitehead and E. C. Hardy. During the first year, however, Mr. Robison purchased the other interests and became sole proprietor.
The Voice was a pioneer Sunday paper in Cleveland, and
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was met by a strong prejudice that for a time made its publication a very doubtful venture. But the enterprise of the paper triumphed, and before the close of the second year it was established upon a good financial basis.
In 1878, Hon. O. J. Hodge having purchased the Sunday Post, it was consolidated with the Voice, becoming the Sunday Voice and Post. It afterwards resumed the origi- nal title-the Sunday Voice. In the fall of 1885 the Sun- day Sun was purchased by the Voice, and the two papers were united under the name of the Sun and Voice. Mr. O. J. Hodge is proprietor, W. R. Rose managing editor, and General A. Robertson assistant editor.
The Cleveland Anzeiger was founded in August, 1871, by Henry Gentz, and issued tri-weekly as an independent Ger- man newspaper until August, 1872, when it was bought by a stock company of prominent Republicans of Cuya- hoga county and issued daily and weekly. Since that timeit has been the German Republican organ of Northern Ohio. January, 1874, the stock company sold out to Bohm, Kraus & Company. Two years later Mr. Kraus became sole owner of the paper, but sold out September, 1877, to Mr. Kaufmann, one of the editors of the Cincinnati Volks- blatt. Since that time the paper has been published by Mr. Kaufmann, who is its editor. Its circulation and in- fluence have become very large. It is recognized as one of the principal Republican German papers in the United States, and has a good circulation in Germany. It is issued as a morning daily, weekly and Sunday paper.
The Cleveland Post was established as Die Biene in 1872. It was Democratic in politics, and edited by Wil-
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liam Miller. In 1876 a stock company was formed and the paper was published as an independent Sunday morn- ing weekly. Another change of name makes it the Cleve- land Post, edited by C. F. Thiele.
The South Cleveland Advocate was started in 1873 by Harry H. Nelson, and called All Around the Clock, but the name was afterwards changed to the South Cleveland Advocate. It is a thirty-two column Republican weekly, still under the proprietorship of Mr. Nelson.
The Earnest Worker first appeared in June, 1874, under the editorial management of Miss Emma Janes. It was established by the Women's Christian Association as an organ and a source of revenue, and has been successful in both ways. Miss Janes was succeeded by Mrs. Howard Ingham, who was a successful editor: Now in the hands of Mrs. H. C. G. Arey, it is a flourishing paper, warmly received and well supported.
The Catholic Universe was established in 1874 by Rt. Rev. R. Gilmour. It is edited by Manley Tello and has a large circulation.
The Catholic Knight, edited and published by J. J. Greeves, wields no small influence in Catholicity.
The Christian Harvester was established in 1872 by Rev. Thomas K. Doty.
Dennice Novvoreku the name of a Bohemian paper, published entirely in that language. It was founded in 1877, and is now edited and published by Vaclav Snajdr.
The Press was established as the Penny Press in Novem- ber, 1878, by Scripps and Sweeney of the Detroit Evening News. It was quite an innovation among the staid and
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proper Cleveland papers, but won its way with surprising rapidity, bravely surmounting all obstacles. It has from the first been independent in politics, cutting and lashing alike the foibles of all parties. Its utter fearlessness and its disregard of person and position make it a terror to those so unfortunate as to offend its sense of fitness. It has been avowedly the advocate of the working people, and many a prominent official has cringed before its merciless stroke. The broad views of the managers are visible in the keen, concise editorials which give the Press its power. Its influence and circulation are large.
The Sunday Journal was started by gentlemen on the Plain Dealer in 1883, and after several changes of proprie- torship and of fortune, it fell into the hands of these gentlemen, among them James S. Cockett, who assumed the management and retrieved the lost ground. In 1886 W. Scott Robison purchased the interests of Mr. Cockett's partners and became editor of the paper. In the winter of 1887 the name was changed to the Sunday World. The paper has grown rapidly in circulation and influence during the past year, and has a bright future before it.
The Magazine of Western History was originated in the fall of 1884 by W. W. and L. A. Williams. It is, as its name suggests, devoted to the historical literature of the West, and endeavors by its biographical sketches of prom- inent men to keep alive the memory of the benefactors of the West who laid the foundation of its prosperity. It is now edited by Mr. J. H. Kennedy.
The Freie Presse, an independent German weekly, was
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founded in 1885 by Henry Gentz, the founder of the Anzeiger.
The Cleveland Volksfreund, a German tri weekly paper devoted to the interests of labor, was started in 1886 by the Knights of Labor and is published under their auspices.
The Silver Dollar, a semi-monthly paper, was founded in 1886 by Mr. E. J. Farmer. It is now recognized as one of the standard supporters of Bi-metallism in the United States and Europe.
Grip is the suggestive title of a West Side paper founded in 1886.
In addition to these periodicals of general circulation are a number of papers published by various companies, devoted to special interests and valuable in their respec- tive lines, which cannot be enumerated from their number and the limit of space devoted to this subject.
Not less creditable than the journals they represented has been the record of the Cleveland journalists, a group of intelligent and advanced thinkers and courageous writers, whose history is inseparable from that of the community they helped to rear. Of these the veteran is probably Mr. Edwin Cowles. Descended in a direct line from the Puritan thought and liberal principles that came over in the Mayflower, and born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, the nursery of Western Reserve eminence, the spirit of progress was an instinct, an inheritance to him. His newspaper career commenced at the age of eighteen, when he embarked in the printing business with Mr. T. H. Smead, and from that time he has never been without an interest in the Cleveland press. Mr. Cowles has been a
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pioneer in political advance, and through the Leader has foreshadowed several great reforms at times so much in advance of public feeling that their realization has been considered impossible. Of these were the first plan which led to the organization of the Republican party, and the suggestion of the abolition of slavery, nearly a year before the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The need of the Cleveland Viaduct was first agitated by Mr. Cowles, resulting in the great bridge that is now a necessity as well as an ornament to the city. The secret of Mr. Cowles' progressive action has been his life-long ambition that his paper should take the lead in the work of reform, the promulgation of progressive ideas and the elevation of humanity, and to oppose tyranny and injustice of every form.
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