Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-06-24
Vermont Editors and Publishers
Association

Newport on thursday evening, June lotn.
At O'Clock, in the absence of either Vice
Presidents, the Association was called I'd
order by David NJ Camp, Recording Secre-
tary. who nominated Hon E. P. Walton OF
Montpelier, as President pro tempore, which
was unanimously confirmed. Mr.. Walton
returned his Acknowledgements for the cleo
ton, and directed the meeting to the regular
order of business. The roll was then called
and the following named gentlemen re-
sponded E. p. Walton of the Journal, c.
W. Willard of the FREEMAN, Eli Ballou Of
the Repository, Hiram Atkins of the Argus
Montpelier Grenville G. Benedict of the
Free Press, Burlington; VIM. IL. Whiting
I of the Messenger, St. Adams /; Henry Clark
J. DEF. Bracket of the Herald, John Cain
of the Courier, J. K Mclean of the indie
= pendent Rutland A. \. Swain of the Times
, Bellows Falls f. p. Alderman of the Record
e Addison Brown of the Phoenix, +. G. Crowel
of the Household. Brattleboro; VIM. Ii
Cook of the Banner, Bennington {. NJ
+ Stone of the CALIFORNIAN, St. Johnsbury G.
= VI. Chase of the Union, Lyndon; A A. Earle
81 the Standard, Barton ID. NJ. Camp, Mr.
Cummings of the Express, Newport George
O. Newman of the Bulletin. Poultney; T
z. Ripley of the Eagle, West Randolph
Letters were received from Geo. FL. Bigelow
Of the Times, Burlington ; Ill. ID. Foster OF
the Gazette, Ludlow Luther o. Greene OF
the Standard, Woodstock, expressing their
regret in being detained from being present
at the meeting, and wishing the Association
| success
The minutes of the last meeting were read
and approved. c. NJ. Chase was appointed
treasurer pro tempore. On the motion of
Mr. W Hard, it was voted that any member
OF the Association who may not be present
may be represented by proxy. On motion
OF Mr. Clark, the further order of business
was suspended until after the delivery of the
address and poem.
g. W. willard, the appointed essay
Ist. remarked that he had not nren rare l. .
writer. r.OI..UofOn, IOr the reason that he
had requested Mr.. Walton to occupy por-
ton Of the time in giving "reminiscences of
the Vermont press, and called upon MIR.
Walton TO respond.
Mr.. Walton said that Mr.. Willard had
mainly tated to the Association their con-
vcrsation, but had not told the whole, and
that Mr.. Willard had promised to follow him.
Mr.. Walton spoke substantially as follows
MR. wALToN's SPEECH.
[ think can recollect the newspapers and
the proprietors and editors of newspapers in
| Vermont As far back as 1920. | fix the date
| in this way: I should then be eight years of
age only; but | recollect very well when my
| father first took me into the Office and put
composing stick into my hands, that | was
obliged to get into chair in order to reach
the case. | was thus brought directly into
a position where [ could see all the newspa-
pers 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 weekly-located in
the following towns, viz in Bennington, by
| Anthony Haswell. an enterprising and ener
gctic man. He started the Rutland Herald and
| Courier, thus making him the originator of
the two political papers that are now pub
lished in that place. At Rutland, Mr.. Viii
liam Fay at Middlebury, Samuel Swift, now
| living; at Burlington, +. a. F. Miles at
St. Adams, Wyman 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 previously and previous
to my recOllectiOn) at Danville, Ebenezer
Eaton, man of more brain and more force
| than he ever received credit for, man who
would, if placed in a position to call forth
his powers, have made his mark in the world,
4 brother Of Gen. William Eaton of Massa-
chusctts at Windsor, Alden Spooner and
Simeon Ide; at Woodstock, David Watson,
making nine weekly newspapers. | men
ton this to show you the progress of the
newspaper business within my own recollec-
ton In 1920, nine or ten in 1868, forty
was, possibly, a paper in the State which had
reached the dignity of royal sheet, but
some were mediums. | certainly recollect
the brass head of the old Vatchnldn paper
of four medium pages.
There was then no daily paper in the State.
There are now six dailies, equal to thirty-six
weeklies all told, sixty-one newspapers in
the State, which average much more than
double the size of papers in 1920. The aver
nInt of trar Shad ooh
| each paper is double now what it in
1920, thus multiplying the power of the
press sixteen times. L can recollect when
very few papers were taken in the State of
Vermont that were published outside of the
State. A Boston paper was hardly known
| until Thos. Green Fessenden went there and
started the New England Farmer.
| apprehend that if We could get at the
exact statistics now of the newspapers pub
lished out of the State and read in it, we
should find that we have so educated the peo-
pie to become reading people, that they
take more newspapers published out of the
State than they do of those published within
the State. If so, we have increased the
power of the press since 1920 thirty-two
times Truly, the profession of editor and
publisher has been dignifed one, i'm
portant, useful, honorable and effective one,
and to that is greatly due the high character
OF our people
There are some other remarkable char
acterstics connected with the early history of
our craft in Vermont the early history
of the newspapers of the State. The bust
ness of printer, publisher, editor and book
seller was combined in every one of these
papers printed in 1920. What was the re-
. suit? Each man being his own publisher
printer and bookseller, the demand upon him
TO attend to the mere details of his business
were such that the editorial department was
last considered and last attended to of all.
E Get, if you can, files of the old papers, and
venture to say you will not find, once a year,
unless it be on some special occasion of great
excitement, what is called a % leader. such
as YOU find now in almost every weekly paper
in Vermont every week, and in the dailies
almost every day The result was not, how
ever, that the newspaper did not have a
powerful influence upon the people and the
politics of the State, for party spirit ran
high previous to 1910, perhaps never higher
than during the Adams and Jefferson cam
paign but the men who stirred up the pop
ular mind were not SO much the editors of
the newspapers, as the public men-the
greatest men of our State of both parties
| They were contributors to the papers. If
there was anything to be written of peculiar
| importance, they were the men to write it..
| [ can remember as contributors to the Watch
man such men as William Jarvis, Thomas
Tollman, Hezekiah Bailey, Nicholas Baylies,
Samuel Prentiss, Elijah Paine and Thomas
Reed Whereas, if you go into other parts
of the State, you will find as contributors
such men as William c. Bradley, Chief JUS
tice TYLER, Governor Williams, Norman Will
liams, Norman Williams, Jr., and men of
| that character strongest men, the ablest
writer's and the ablest lawyers in the State.
Il e - IL 4