Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1868-06-24
Mr.. walton,s Speech.
CORRECTED ny THE AUTHOR.

U
father first took me into the office and put a
composing stick into my hands, that was
obliged to get into chair in order to reach
the case | was thus brought directly into
position where could see all the newspapers
Of the State, and | think can give you the
names Of all the different publishers of papers
at that time. There were, then, but nine or
ten papers--all weokly-located in the follow
ing towns, viz in Bennington, by Anthony
Ilaswel, an cnterprising and energetic man.
lie started the Rutland Herald aud Courier,
thus making him the originator Of the two
political papers that are now published in the
place At Rutland, was William Fay; at
Middlehury, Samuel Swift, now living; at
Burlington +. Il 7. Mills; atSt Adams, Wy.
man Spooner, whose son is now, or was a short
time since, Lieutenant Governor Of one of our
Western States; at Montpelier, my father,
there had been two other papers there prcvi-
ously, and previous to my recollection at
Danyilc Ebcnczcr Eaton, a mau OF more brain
aud more force than he ever received credit
for, a man who would, if placed in a position
10 call forth his powers, have made his mark
in the world, brother Of Gen. William Eaton
of Massachusetts at Windsor, Alden Spoon
cr and Simeon lde at Woodstock, David
Watson-makng nine weekly newspapers.
mention this to show you the progress of the
newspaper business within my own recolIec-
ton. In 1890, nine or ten in 1868, forty
five weeklies aud six dailies In 1920 there
was, possibly, paper in the State which had
reached the dignity of a royal sheet, but some
were mediums ! distinctly recolect the
brass head of the old Waterman paper of
four medium pages.
There was then no daily paper in the State.
There are now six daiies, equal to thirtv-six
weeklies; all told equal to eighty-onc of the
weekly newspapers published in the State in
1870 which average much more than double
the size of papers at that date. The average
amounted matter published weekly in each pa
per is double now to what it was in 1920,
thus multiplying the power Of the press sixteen
times. Nor is this all; can reeoect when
very few papers were taken in the State of YER
mont that were published outside of the State.
\ Boston paper was hardly known until Thos.
Green Fcssenden went into the New England
Farmer but think if We could get at the ex-
act statistics now Of the newspapers published
out of the State, and read in ii, we should
find that we have so educated the people to
become a reading people, that they now take
more newspapers printed out Of the State than
they do of those published within the State.
1t so, we have increased the power of the
press since 1890 thirty-two times. Truly,
the profession of editor and publisher has
been dignifcd one, an important, useful
honorable aud effective one, and to that is
greatly due the high character of our people.
There are some other remarkable charac-
teristics connected with the early history OF
our craft in Vemont,-in the early history
of the newspapers Of the State The bust
ness Of printer, publisher, editor aud book
seller was combined in every one of these
publishers in 1890. What was the result ?
Each man being his own publisher, printer
and bookseller, the demand upon him to at
tend to the mere details Of his business were
such that the editorial department was last
considered and least attended to of all. Get,
if you can, files of the old newspapers, and |
venture to say you will not find, once year,
unless it be on some special occasion of great
excitement, what is called "leader," such
as you find now in almost every weekly pa
per in Vermont every week, and in the dailies
almost every day. The result was not, how
ever, that the newspaper did not have pow
eriul influence upon the people and the poll
ties OF the State, for party spirit ran high pre-
vious to 1870, perhaps never higher than dur
ing the Adams and Jefferson campaign but
the men who stirred up the popular mind
were not so much the editors of the newspa-
pers, as the public men-the greatest men of
pur State Of both ~ Ih...
tributors to the papers. If there was any
thing to be written of peculiar Importance,
they were the men to write it, | can remem-
Der as contributors to the Watchman such
men as William Jarvis, Thomas Tolman, Hez-
ekiah Bailey, Nicholas Baylies, Samuel Prem.
tiss Elijah Paine and Thomas Reed Where
as, if you 60 into other parts of the State,
you will find as contributors such men as viii.
liam c. Bradley, Chief Justice Tyler, Dan
iel Chapman, Governor Williams, Norman
Williams, and many men of their character,
the strongest men, the ablest writers and the
abest lawyers in the State. You rarely find
such men in these days contributing to our
newspapers unless it be to apologize, or sole.
it public favor. The influence Of the press in
that day, under the control and with the aid
toned, was quite as great as now.
Another remarkable difference as to the
literature Of the day. You will rarely find in
one of these old papers story with formal
plot, such as we think we must publish now
at least once week, but essays after the Brit.
lsh model some narrative Of stirring event
amongst the Indians terrible catastrophe
a wonderful discovery. The poetry was pref.
ty much all Of sentimental kind, rarely
reaching the poetic standard of newspaper
poetry now. As to news, thirty days, or per-
haps forty days, from New Orleans to New
York or Boston, three days from Boston to
Montpelier, five or six days from New York
to Montpelier The newspaper had to be
made up often from such papers as the Hart
ford Courant and Worcester Spy, and con.
sisted of extracts taken from the foreign pa
pers Of England and France. Every little
event was given in detail. We, now, would
condense in half-dozen paragraphs all the
news they would give us in a weeks issue.
There has been great advance in that res
pect but | can remember one point in which
| am very sure that printers of 1920 had a
very great advantage over you of these days,
and that was in getting more Just reward
for their labor than you do. Not that there
was plenty of money in those days,-there
was but little of it for long time. can re.
member when there were but two banks in
the State. Money was not plenty. Now and
then we got hold of u pistareen, ninepence, or
lour-pence-halipenny,- rarely Spanish dol.
lar But | can tell you what they did get
literally; they got two cords of wood, they
got four bushels ofeorn, they got twelve BUSH
els of oats, t'centytoar bushels of potatoes,
and sixteen pounds of butter, for years sub
seription | can remember when my fathers
cellar was half full of apples, enough to fur
nish one-half Of the village of Montpelier could
they have them now Why he had to feed
them to the hogs. Often he had from six to
twelve barrels Of cider at time, enough
wheat, rye and corn to I'll large granary, a
yard filled with eight-ioot wood, potatoes and
vegetables of every sort,-qute different pay
from what we get now, but infinitely better
He cnull euppnrf k;s g.,