The Sweetwater forerunner. [volume] (Sweetwater, Tenn.) 1867-1869, 1868-03-20
Talk About Newspapers.


Thirty years ago, when the press was in
/ its teens,joumalism, as We understand the
term, belonged to the res incogaitae of
this country, and, in fact, Of the world.
In those days stage coaches and the .Ma-
tioaaI Intelligsncsr logged about the
country together, and Niles Register
was rather advance Of the age. Major
| Noah was conspicuous figaro. Young
Mr.. Blair, of Kentucky, who had recently
come to Washington, rising in favor and
Ireppte,, There was q Yankee chap out
in Louisville, said the more recondite of
gossips, by the name of Prentice, who
was a famous wag, and right-hand man
of Mr., Clay. Mr., James Watson Webb,
sometimes facetiously denominated Gen.
eral, had not got into the row that begat
the duel between Cilly and Graves. He
was tolerably we'll known, however, as a
party writer. None of the heavy swell of
the New York press had yet appeared;
nor any Of the great dailics. The value
of a newspaper was estimated, not accor-
ding to its intrinsic merit, but according
to the influence and standing of its editor.
People were never heard to quote the
opinions Of the Transport or the Miro
Gle. They referred to Browns paper or
Jones' paper, the Importance eff Jones
and Brown arising either out of their in
dividual superiority, or out of their con-
nection (most commonly this latter) with
some leading politician,whose views they
represented, whose course they foreshad.
owed, whose interests they defended with
ccaselcss and incorporate zeal. Journal
ism was the last thing thought of; and
the idea that q newspaper was or could be
made popular necessity, as Indispensable
as tea and coffee, entered the mind of no
Zone. ,'.5r.....'....r ......,.
Nor was this primitive condition of
the press, as we remarked, confined to
our own land. In London, though more
advanced, it was crude and second rate;
and in Paris many of the original petty
features remain to this day. With us
New York was not an emporium of news
papers, The fight between Baltimore,
Boston, Philadelphia, and even Charleston,
for commercial supremacy, went on act
lively, and was still undecided. Therefore
news not being the staple of newspapers,
but opinions, and the conflict of rival cit
les dividing and diTusing trade and tray
ell, the papers of the interior often drew
more attention on themselves than those
of the seaboard. Prentice made won
derful power out of his Journal, which
was quoted far and near as the organ Of
Mr.. Clay; and Gales and Seaton were as
familiar as any two names from the Pc
nobscot to the Balize. u
Five-and-twenty years have obliterated
almost the memory of this early period
We turn back among our old files (the
: Banner was published three times a weel
then, the Hon. Ephraim H. Foster and
the Hon. John Bell, when he was at home
contributing it's editorials) and in spite
of the venerable and dignifed aspect OF
the dying pages, grow merry over the
pompous absurdlties, the clumsy wit, thu
sarcasms, the, inyectives, which meet u,
everywhere. Fashions change in writing
as in dress. But little while ago, they
wore knee-breeches and buckles, cooked
> hats and plumes and there was a prevail
ing mode in the cut of newspaper which
reflected the smaI-elothes and feathers
= In the days Of which we speak the tailor
were more progressing than the editors
: People had put aside the toggery of tn
}, preceding century. The press had not
1t stillappeared in top boots with a swor'
n by its side, doing little work indeed, blu
ready to do any amount of fighting, tn
Y political knight-errant of its day.
n = A change came over the spirit of tn
: press. AS New York began to gain upo
|, the rivals in trade it contributed its grow
: ing prosperity to its newspapers. Thus
g standard was gradually created. Th
e field that newly opened widened and invit