New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-08-16
HENRY J. RAYMOND.
AUToBIoGRAPHICAL FRAGMENT
P,o,r The Nev.York Times

mr. RAYMOND COED right g suppS'; that the sysn Of bis life
reer though bf vas ver brilliant aud promise
civic a9s' , asd r.. az SSgp
which though II. most % rs + SH B.e ~ b s'P a
ibis Of MI RyIonds early struggles
.rgy BY which he tumpbd and who are beginning life under sim
Disadvantages will derive from bis example and success s'h sneoa
| / have been very much interested in Mr..
Greeleys recoecons OF MS early eIpereuFes g%S
UNE. For some reason or other, everybody peieVe
fnds something especa but nv connection
with Mr. Greeley at that time makes u quite tnas
my interest in should be sharper than that OF the
public at large The generous appreea1US wHt g e I
Greeley expresses now that more than quarter Vi
fury has elapsed OF my services at that time IS espeehy
grateful TO me was with him less than four years IN
stead OF eight he says; and though did WORK De
as he now gives me credit for having DONE think have
worked stil harder for good many years since that
e,tbs sss did It from no special sense Of duy-st
less with any special aim or ambitious purpose kea
perience then-and am free to say that nave iound
MI Greeley speaks more sigtngy than think is just
of his previous efforts in editing newspapers-and espe
ciay o. what was my earliest IN te
Winter Of 1885, when, being but fifteen ana 700 young 20
go to College LOT which was DSer 10 act as clerk
in country store for the magnificent sum OF no year
did not like the business, and as time hung heaVy on
hands dropped In at the pOstoice and asked what was
the best newspaper to subscribe 1or me Ia ~
threw me half dozen which had been sent 70 MN ny the
publishers as specimen numbers and after due delDera
lion selected me YetC Yorker us the which promised
IN no the most interesting and instructive. sent my "
snbscrptOn received the paper return, and thus be-
gan my acquaintance with it. which was unlntelruplou
until In 1871 aided perhaps, to Kill lt-certahy az nS
Mr.. Greeley speaks deprecatlngly Of its neutrality 10
rotics and ia neaRer election returns Yet those very
teatnTes gave him solid reputation much widely
than he has any notion Of and laid the tOundAloh vi Us
future authority aud There candor IN its
dscussiops-a fair OF both sides OF the poh'
cal topics which divided the country and readiness 70
give due weight to the arguments OF an opponent WHICH,
Combined with great eearness OF thought and command
of the subject for the political articles OF Ihe 9e
Yorker a very high degree OF influence ana respect,
know that they made far greater impression upon p0i
cal opponents than the vehement party datrbes wnen
And the election returns OF The SeT Yorker for years
commanded degree Of respect TO when rb none we're
earded unbiased by party feeling perfectly honest anu
ouarter The Hew. Yorker great an authority IN
that section OF the country on election returns as nc
Mercury the weekly edition OF S oa xsrdic Of
either those journals came TO hand 81 disputes Oh 'o
IKE reputation which Mr. Greeley thus FOR him.
self in TIE Neto Yorker was OF very essential service 10
in his other Journalistic Efforts long barae
fer its articlesher strength OF argument all the more
S on son op Mr. presley degree
OF public confidence sufficient TO set up nan uo1en
| IN any business where confidence was tue man 'n'nS
Mr. Greeley edited The JeGersonan in 1885, and The Log
Cabin IN lsI0 the general principesthOugh as
thew were both campaign papers with less fastdous care
and no pretenson To neutrality The Log OdDi was h
certainly the best OF which had any knowledge
and t was best because II was never afraid or unW
facts we're carefully truthful and always backed by good
authority and s tone that OF earnest anu thorough
Convection It's enormous circulation made the reputa.
tion which Mr. Greeley had won In The hev-fW6er as
wide as il high and laid the foundation LOT rne
| large circulation which THE WEEKLY TRIBUNE
| subseauentiy received. The financial crash OF
| 1881 and the public sentiment which grew 9 h
| Of A. was probably tho real cause OF thse
democratic defeat Of siO but Of all the immediate and
direct agence. IN the wig victory 0s .1Hi ysn
I was not without substantial reason that mr. greeley
had not been properly appreciated by the party no had
sradnntsd in August lsIosnd though could not
vote spent the next months In 'stumpiug the I'M
mediate vicinity OF native town for Tppecanoe and
ZION i'm search OF school teach and was only
upon tho downfall Of all such hopes ana despair 81 ma
which had heard but which had never seen but once
and In which knew but Que human being aud he a
stndent On lawyers office Wallst. had once seen
Mr. Greeley In fhe Journal Office In Albany, while on my
way homo for the vacation after the College commence
| piece OF news, that the College had conferred
mo degree Of LID upon sa ares %5;sn'b both
there-both hard at work aud both greatly disguised nj
eoo Inc shinE had not struck me IN that light before
but began to DO little ashamed Of having supposed
which pleased them so itie but | had sent good
many literary oontributions-mainiy critical though
some then thought pOeticto The heu Yorker; and
therefore felt at liberty on my arrival in Deeen l
ls4o TO call upon Mr. Greeley ana ask him II nc didn
| young man from Pennsylyalna. But he readily as
sented 70 my request 1o c o1 az e g o helm m
| anything that might turn up IN when l Soua ce
| in The Washington HteLhgeHear for school In the
south. and while awaiting replies arranged to study
law" In downtown lawyers. ofice hut was AT me
Ee Yorker office every day, and somehow or other good
deal OF the work fell into my hands added up election
returns read the exchanges for news aud discovered
good deal which others had overlooked made brief no
tees OF new books read proof ana made myself gene,
rally useful QAt the end OF about three weeks received
| n
OF 30 scholars In North Carolina told Mr. Greeley al
once that should leave the city the next morning lie
asked walk with him 10 the Post ONCE, whittier no
always went In person % get his letters and exchanges
az Norm on sne N WAY 10 teach school lie asked me how
much they would pay me. said, Neo year on
my first engagement on the press and decided the whole
course Of my life
once settled down 10 work There was not, as Mr.
Greeley says very much TO do The Seto Yorker though
/ believe did my share OF what there was. But OK,
tended my sphere OF operations considerably secured
what deemed rstclass engagement, 10 write daily
fancy advertisements OF some Vegetable Pills which had
just been invented and which were to be commended to
public favor every morning IN the daily journals by being
ingenousy connected with some leading event OF the
utes Of daily labor received the sum OF my eens
was fortunate enough next 70 get latin class N an up
respondence 10 great variety OF newspapers daily ana
weekly throughout the several Of Tneh were
the daes for which thus engaged were The PhhddeI
pha Standard edited by X. W. Griswold, whom had
known In Vermont and who always my friend; The
Cincinnati Chronicle, edited by f. d. Mansfield, now for
some years tho Veteran Observer" OF The Nep York
TDes Ths Bangor Whig and The BugdlO Commercial a.
rerse edited by ID. FOoe, whom In after years came
90 know, and OF course TO esteem did all who knew
him. daily letter for each OF these papers with my
law studies. my Latin class work on fhe Nec- Yorker
kept my leisure reasonably well employed and gave
fair income OF these journals paid me less than
| s. IA week and one or two Of them gave me 20. .
| picked up now and then Instructive hints during my
studies OF Now-York life While walking down Broad
way one afternoon, before 1 had begun 10 much
money fell into the wake OF TALL handsome, splendid
addressed young man-displayng himself In all the lux
ury OF white kids and diamond studs TO tho general adj
mration fanced him OF the nabObs Of the town,