St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1868-07-03

i'tl'N We 9lNc Inc ti''lc>>tS Oh -Nlc~SrS.
Walton and Willard at the meeting Of
newspaper men at Newport last week
Address of Hon. T.. u. Walton.
think | can recollcct the newspapers
in Vermont as far back as 1920 fix
the date in this way could then be
eight years q. age ouly, but | rccullect
very well when my father first took me
into the office and put Il composing stick
INTO my hands, that | was obliged to oct
into Il chair i'll order 20 reach the case.
| was thus brought directly into posi-
tiUn where | could see all the newspapers
of the State, and think can give Won
the names of all the different publishers
OF papers at that time. There were,
then, but nine or ten papers-all weekly
located in the following towns, viz
in Bennington, by Anthony IasweIl, an
cnterpriSiny and energetic man. lie
started the Rutland Herald and Courier.
thus making him the originator of the
two political papers that are now pub
llshed i'll the place. At Rutland, was
y.
Swift, now living at Burlington, f. X
L. Mills at st. AlbanS. Wyman Spoon
cr, whose son Is now. or was Il short
time ago, Lieutenant Governor of one Of
our Western States at Montpelier, my
father (there had been two other papers
there previously, and previous to my re-
cUllcction) at Danvilic, Ebenczer Eaton,
Il man OF more brain and more force
then he ever received credit for, Il man
who would, if placed in a position to call
forth his powers, have made his mark in
the world. Il brother of Gen. William
| Eaton of Massachusetts at Windsor,
Alden Spooner and Simeon Ide at
T Wood,tock, David Watson - maxim.
nine weekly newspapers. mention TIN,
/ to show you the progress of the newepa-
per business within my own recollection.
In 1920, nine or ten; in 1865, torty-fivc
wccklies and six dailics. In 1920 there
was, possibly, 4 paper in the State which
mad reached the dignity OF Il royal sheet,
but some were mediums. | distinctly
rccollcct the brass head OF the oil Watch
man, a paper OF four medium pages.
There WAS then no daily paper in the
s:atr. There are now ,iI dajli.-. ruu;L
:, ihuty-,ix wrrkiia,: AIT. ii ,uu.H Ia
,,,,i,tv-n,.,. trl, ,v.,.lI. ,,.,,..,.,.. ,,I,-
/ iI-!. J in lie State III $50. which i...r-
/. mach more than dmy!. the -jz. of
/ yap,re at ;Aat date. T.. a,-ra-c .:u...ut
/ 'i matter ,.nIn.b.t ,yo,l.I, j., .o.. M
/ nor d,uiI. !, ,,.,.;,, lo,n
/ iLus multiplyinr the power of TIN, press
sixteen ,iut,... \nr !. iii, All c.,,
,,.,.pll,r wir.n very few, ,,.,,,,,. ,y,.r.. t.l-
en- in the State Of Vermont that were
.,ll;.l.l .,r,..i,I,. ,t;r... So. H.
tom uan,r va- handy known until Ta,-
Green F,.,,rnd.n went info ,b,. New
/ }.nu,,uJ kormrr but thint +. NJ.
ror,J get al the exact statistics now OF
,br urw.pauers nubli-h,.d ont of lG..
Safe. and read in il. we should nad that
we h.,y, 80 ,,Iu,4,lrI fine u.,p,. T., be-
come :" reading r,oplr. and that the.
now take more ncw,p.prr- printed uui
of the STATE than .Lcv do of !ha,c I.b-
ii,hcd within the State. Ii -. We have
increased the power of the pre,, since
1920 tnirty-two times. Truly. the pro-
tc,sion Of editor and publi,her has been
/ identified one, an imuortaut. useful
honorable and effective one. and to thai
/, greatly due the high character OF our
nr0ple.
There are some other rrnarkalIe char
acterist,e, connected with the carly his.
t,,ry ot ,,,r craft IN Nermout in III,
.,rlv history of the uew,papers of tn,
S,.te Th. h,sin,.. of printpr. publish.
nr editor and bookseller WAS combined
in .verv o,,. Of these publi.hcr, in lS3O
What was tbe result E,ach man h,.
mo- his own pullisher. printer and book.
s,iIrr the demands upon him TO attend t,
tn, mere details of his bl,iues, were sucl
rLat the editorial department was Ias
c,u.idared and Iesst attended to of all
Get if YOU can, files of the old newspa
ncrs. and | venture to say YOU will no
tind once a wear. unles, it be on som,
sperial occasion of nrcat excitement
what i called a .leadcr." such As vo,
find now in almost every weekly papc
IN Vermont every week. and in the dai
lies almost every dav. The result wa.
not, however, that the newspaper iii,
not have a powerful influence upon tn
people and the politics of the State 10
partv spirit ran high previous TO 1920
perhaps never higher than during til
Adams and Jefferson campaign but tn
men who stirred up the popular mine
were not so much the editors of the news
papers, as the public men-the create,