History of Linn County Iowa Part 20

The _Independent_, started at Springville, editions also being printed for Prairieburg and Central City.

The _Stylus_, started at Cedar Rapids by Ralph Van Vechten.

1882 The _People_, started at Cedar Rapids by A. J. Huss.

The _New Era_, started at Springville by J. F. Butler, pa.s.sing the same year into the hands of C. S. Shanklin.

1883 The _Walker News_, started at Walker by David Brant.

The _Daily Gazette_, started in Cedar Rapids by Otis & Post.

1884 The Gazette Company organized in March and takes over the _Daily Gazette_. In July all the stock purchased by Fred W. Faulkes and Clarence L. Miller.

The _Sat.u.r.day Evening Chat_, started in Cedar Rapids by A.

J. Huss.

The _Linn County Pilot_ becomes the _Marion Pilot_, Rev. J.

W. Chaffee, editor.

1886 The _Linn County Independent_ removes to Marion.

1888 _Kvinden og Hjemmet_, monthly ill.u.s.trated magazine for the Norwegian and Danish women in America, with a Swedish edition, _Quinnan och Hemmet_, started at Cedar Rapids by N.

Fr. Hansen.

The _News-Letter_, started at Central City.

1889 _Town Topics_, started in Cedar Rapids by Ernest A.

Sherman.

The _Monitor_, started at Coggon.

1891 _Sat.u.r.day Record_, started in Cedar Rapids by Sherman & Hatmaker.

1894 The _Herald_, started at Lisbon by W. F. Stahl.

1893 The _Record_, started at Mt. Vernon by Lloyd McCutcheon.

1902 _Iowa Post_ brought to Cedar Rapids from Iowa City by Henry Gundling.

1903 The _Tribune_, established by the Cedar Rapids Federation of Labor.

1906 The _Cedar Rapidske Liste_, Bohemian humorous weekly.

The _Optimus_, started at Cedar Rapids by E. C. Barber.

1909 _West Side Enterprise_, started December 30th by W. I.

Endicott, owner and publisher.

Much of the early history of Linn county, and more especially of Cedar Rapids, is interwoven with the history of the _Progressive Era_, which afterwards became the _Cedar Rapids Times_. The _Progressive Era_ was established by D. O. Finch in 1851. It was democratic in politics and claimed to be devoted to the interests of Cedar Rapids and Linn county.

It was a seven column, four page paper, and rather a credit to the town at that time. Worse papers have been published since.

It was but a short time until Mr. Finch had all the newspaper experience he wanted. Joseph Greene then purchased the paper and ran it until 1854. During this time Ezra Van Metre, James J. Child, Esq., and James L. Enos were successively its editors.

James L. Enos had something to do with nearly every paper that was started during the early days of Linn county. He loved the smell of printer's ink. The types had a fascination for him. He delighted to see his thoughts reproduced in print. In September, 1854, he and F.

Augustus Williams purchased Mr. Greene's interest in the _Progressive Era_. They changed the name to the _Cedar Valley Times_. They changed the politics of the paper from democratic to the new Americanism of that time. Then came the organization of the republican party. Like other adherents to the American party living in the north, the editors of the _Times_ cast in their lot with the new republican party and warmly advocated and defended the principles on which it was founded.

One J. G. Davenport figures also in the early history of the _Times_.

He had acquired an interest in the paper, and during the campaign he was its nominal editor, although there were not wanting those who declared that he had not the ability to write a three line notice of a church supper, let alone an editorial. Anyway, he made the _Times_ his stepping stone into the postmaster's seat, and his conduct of that office was such that an investigation of his shortages followed. His bondsmen, one of whom was the late J. J. Snouffer, made good the loss, and shortly afterwards Davenport, after some more operations of a minor character and similar nature, left Cedar Rapids.

They were rare old political fighters in those days. Politics, rather than news, was the chief end and aim of the owner of a newspaper. When Greene, Merritt & Co. closed out Davenport, having held a bill of sale on the _Times_ office, the Times was made the personal organ of Colonel William H. Merritt in his campaign against Kirkwood. To do this it had to change from republicanism to democracy, but it waged a hot fight, Colonel Merritt being its editor. However, Kirkwood was elected and in 1862 C. M. Hollis purchased the _Times_ and he made great success of it up to 1866 when he disposed of the paper to Ayers and McClelland.

[Ill.u.s.tration: UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH, LISBON]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAIN STREET, MT. VERNON]

Much might be written about some of the old printers who helped to publish those early Linn county newspapers. There has been a host of them and they have included some notable men. One was no less a personage than Mr. Rosewater, of the Omaha Bee, who once worked as a journeyman printer in the office of the _Slovan-Americky_. It was when he was on his way to the west. Some of the old printers have long since pa.s.sed away. One of the latest of them was Stephen M. Jones, who died at Hampton four years ago. Concerning his work here in Cedar Rapids, Captain J. O. Stewart, himself one of the veteran printers of the state, writes interestingly as follows:

"Stephen Jones commenced to learn the trade in the _Progressive Era_ office in this city, in the year 1851, serving a four years' apprentices.h.i.+p, at the end of which time he went to Vinton and worked in the _Eagle_ office, at that time conducted by Fred Layman, I believe. The office of the _Progressive Era_ was located on the corner of First street and Third avenue, where the Warfield-Pratt-Howell wholesale building now stands, and was the first paper published in Cedar Rapids. It was an old frame building erected by the Greene brothers and formerly used as a store room. At the time of this story the lower floor front was used on Sundays by the Episcopal church for service, the printing office was overhead and the back part, three stories, including bas.e.m.e.nt, was used as a store room for dressed hogs. 'Steve,' as he was called, and your correspondent were what was known as 'printer's devils.'

After some years residence in Vinton Steve got about a wheelbarrow load of material and started his paper in Hampton and christened it the _Hampton Chronicle_, which is still among the live, able newspapers in Iowa. He was later appointed postmaster of Hampton, which position he held for twelve years.

"There is one other who would rank with us if he is still living, and he was a few years ago, on his farm near Lone Tree in Johnson county. His name is Dan Shaffer. Dan, with a Mr. Foster, whose first name I have forgotten, were employed in the office doing the work on the Iowa Supreme Court Reports by Justice George Greene, formerly of this city.

This was a book of some 600 or more pages and an edition of 500 volumes. This book can be found on the shelves of many of the Iowa lawyers, especially the older pract.i.tioners.

This work was all done on a Was.h.i.+ngton hand press and 500 impressions was considered a good day's work. Steve's princ.i.p.al business, until he was relieved by the writer, was to ink the forms from which the impressions were made. This was done by pa.s.sing over the type forms two large rollers made of glue and mola.s.ses, leaving and returning onto a large wooden roller revolved by a crank at one end, which process equally distributed the ink which was applied to the two rollers by a still smaller one and designated the 'brayer'--old printers will recognize the article. For nearly two years this was the princ.i.p.al part of the writer's duties, interspersed with hunting up and down the banks of the river dragging out floating slabs that got away from the saw mills up at the dam, for fuel for the office, the proprietors being too poor to buy cordwood at $1.75 per cord. The paper was published by Dan O. Finch who later became distinguished as a lawyer of high ability. The last I knew of him, a few years ago, he was still living, making his home with a son some place on the Pacific coast,--Seattle, I believe. The other publisher was William Williams, son of Chief Justice Williams of this state. The material was owned by the Greene brothers. Some time later the _Era_ office was moved to the building that stood on the corner where the Rudolph store now is. The proprietors changed hands pretty often, and finally the paper came into the hands of Robert and LeRoy McCabe, older brothers of the famous Chaplain Charles C. McCabe, who then clerked for Greene Bros. in their store under the printing office. The Masonic lodge room was in the third story of this building.

While the McCabe brothers conducted the paper your correspondent graduated and started out as a full fledged journeyman printer. It may be of interest to the craft of the day to give your correspondent's salary. The first year he was to receive $35, second $50, third $75, and the fourth the princely sum of $100. Out of this he was supposed to pay his board and furnish his clothing. The first job he secured after his apprentices.h.i.+p was $10 per week and pay his own board. This was in the year 1856.

"The tramping jour. printers of those days, like Bret Harte's Heathen Chinee, were peculiar. As a cla.s.s they were the best of workmen; bright and intelligent, knowing the 'art preservative' thoroughly, but possessed of that roving disposition so common to all printers of that time, and many of them given to drink. They would work for a time and get a little ahead and then get on a 'toot' and seek newer fields.

They often resorted to peculiar methods to procure a job. I recall an incident while I was yet the 'devil' of the _Era_ office. It was on the day we were moving the office to the new quarters. The heavy press and material had to be skidded from the second floor to the ground through a large door in the front of the building. When the heavier part of the press was partly down a rather tall, strong built, intelligent looking man put in an appearance. He watched the process for a short time not saying a word. Finally he took from his pocket a slip of dirty paper and wrote on it 'don't you need some help?' and handed it to the proprietor, Mr.

Robert McCabe. He was asked if he could talk. His reply was simply by signs indicating that he was deaf and dumb. He proved an excellent help and stayed for more than three months, never indicating that he could speak. He was a skilled printer, but cross and particular, and often we 'devils' called him hard names to his face. But his time had come and he must have his periodical, and he did. He threw his money to the kids on the streets and had a jolly time, never once indicating he could speak. About the third day he came into the office and took Mr. McCabe to the lodge room above and wrote: 'What will they do to me if I talk?' Being a.s.sured that he would not be harmed and to the astonishment of the boss he reached out his hand and exclaimed, 'How are you, Bob?' The same surprise was waiting for the rest of us, and you may be a.s.sured we 'devils,' who had been giving him such choice names, were looking for a chance to hide. He soon left and I never heard of him again.

"As I have said, the publishers changed often, and for some time after the McCabe brothers left the paper it was hard to tell just who did manage the paper, the Greenes owning the material. After many vicissitudes, which all the papers of that early day had to pa.s.s through, it fell into the hands of Joseph Davenport, a practical printer who a.s.sociated with him James L. Enos, well known and well remembered by the earlier settlers, who changed the name of the paper and re-christened it the _Cedar Valley Times_. Later it was changed to the _Cedar Rapids Times_, and was, after changing hands many times, finally owned by Dr. McClelland and L. M.

Ayers, who published it for years, when it finally died of old age, owned and published by Dr. McClelland. The old _Progressive Era_ was the original progenitor of your present _Daily Times_."

Full of interest are those old files of the _Times_ which deal with the beginning of the war period in the history of Linn county. There is the description of a "democratic field day" in Cedar Rapids, October 10, 1860, when Stephen A. Douglas came over from Iowa City and spoke to the mult.i.tude. Bands came from Vinton and Mt. Vernon; drum corps from Bertram and Cedar Rapids. A local merchant bought a barrel of good whiskey, diluted it sufficiently to accommodate the capacity of the six thousand who made up the audience, sold all of it and counted the meeting as the best thing which ever had happened in Cedar Rapids.

There was a parade of the "Wide-awakes" that night, and the visiting bands remained over to furnish a part of the inspiration. There were big posters, beginning with the couplet

"O, dinna ye hear the slogan, boys?

'Tis Douglas and his men."

That gave the editor of the _Times_ an opportunity to write the first scare head which ever appeared in a Cedar Rapids newspaper. With the true newspaper instinct he remembered that slogan and used it for a sting at the end of the headline. This was the headline the week of the election:

"ELECTION OVER

ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS PRESIDENT-ELECT

Shout the Glad Tidings, Exultingly Sing; Old Abe is Elected and Cotton Ain't King--Secession Rebuked--Popular Sovereignty Now Here--Fusion Worse Confounded--The Bell Tolling for the Dead--Union Preserved--Dinna Ye Hear the Slogan."

Mr. C. M. Hollis, who was editor of the _Cedar Valley Times_ from 1862 to 1866, gives an illuminating insight into the history of Linn county during the early days of the war:

"My office in Cedar Rapids was naturally the meeting place of politicians. There the men who controlled or sought to control got together and talked plainly. And the plain talk of politicians is very different from the phrasings which they use in public speeches. It was thus that our Linn county leaders reasoned. 'This war is becoming something in which the whole people have intense interest. They will judge of men from the fact of partic.i.p.ation or opposition.