Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1870-10-11
THE PROGRESS OF JOURNALISM.

The name Of John Faust will neve,
be forgotten by grateful reading
public. The body of this distinguish
ed inventor may moulder in the dust
mingling with its original elements
but his noble and undying soul il
marching On with firm, majestic
tread. To him society will Away
be indebted for that most useful o
inventions, the printing press ant
also movable type and bound
books.
From the suspicious day when the
unlettered sheet received its first i'm,
preston from the new invention
fresh from the hands Of genius, 8
new era dawned upon the literary
world. Dark clouds Of ignorance, err
ror and superstition began to break
and roll away, revealing to a fetter
ed and unlsttered world the guiding
star of literature, ready to conduct
inquiring and aspiring minds to
higher walks Of wisdom and more
inviting fields Of thought.
Next 50 Faust stands Queen Eliz-
abeth. TO her belongs the glory
and honor Of publishing the first
newspaper in the history Of the
world. TWAS printed in London by
Christopher Barker, the Queens
printer, in the year 1888, and emit
tied the English Mercurie a copy of
which may be seen in the British
Museum Library, differing in no i'm
portant particular from newspapers
Of the present day. 1t does not
seem to have been published at reg
ular intervals, but as occasion re-
qured, or circumstances seemed to
demand its influence. During the
civil wars which divided and almost
distracted the people Of England,
quite q number of newspapers were
published in the kingdom the Bit
t.r autagonism of belligerent parties
ueccssitating their existence as me-
Giums through which to bring the
respective claims of combatants be-
fore the public eye, in hope Of accu-
mulating greater numerical strength.
Men of acknowledged ability were
generally found in the editorial chair,
such, for instance, as Marchmont
Needham, Sir John Birkenhead, and
Sir Robert LEstrange. But daily
newspapers were exceedingly rare
in those times, there being only one
published in Great Britain during
the reign Of Queen Anne which was
entitled the Daily C0Want. The
first newspaper issued in Scotland by
Cromwell ia 1862. A fortuitous cir
cumstance led to the publication Of
the first public journal in France. A
Paris physician by the name of Rem
andot who habituated himself to
collect items Of news to oniven and
cheer the hearts of his patients,
meeting with great popular favor,
conceived the idea Of publishing a
weekly paper containing intelligence
from every available source both at
home and abroad. Having sought
and obtained a charter, he embark
cd in the new enterprise in 1852,
which, it is needless to say, exceeded
his most sanguine expectations.
In the year 1000 an attempt was
made to publish a newspaper in
America, but unfortunately after the
first issue the dangerous intruder
was suppressed. After fourteen
years of patient endurance, another
and more successful effort was made
at American journalism. With John
Campbell postmaster OF BOSTON, as
editor and proprietor, and Nathaniel
Green, printer, the Boston NelcS Let
ter, s by - inches in size, began its
weekly issues in the year 1904. For
full fifteen years this was the only
newspaper published in the Colonies,
until William Brooker began the
publication Of the Boston Ga-ette
employing as printer, James Frank
lin, brother of the illustrious Bena-
min Franklin. The success attend
ing this undertaking induced James
FRANKLIN to start a periodical of his
own under the title Of Ne'c England
: CoVrdat, which was distinguished
for It's mastery editorials and bril-.
liant original essays. The editor,
having offended some of the colonial
officials, was thrown into prison anc
ordered 20 either discontinue hiI
paper or publish nothing without
the approval of the powers that he
but being too determined and indie
pendent to submit TO either require
ment the Courdat was for some time
continued ostensibly under the pro-
prietorship of Benjamin Franklin,
one of its ablest contributors.
With what gigantic strides has
journalism marched forward since
those cventful days. There are now
published in the United States 5,24l
public journals, of which 542 ar,
daily, 1925 weekly, and pa month
". Some Of these have an immens,
circulation, the New York Herald
alone issues over 10000 copies daily
In 1860 the London Times published
10000, 00Q the advertiser 2,400, 900
the Ner& 100000; the Herald /,
100000.
The subscription price Of weekly
paper in the United States, in 1880
was fifty dollars per year which
when compared with that of the
present time, indicates the marvellous
change that time has wrought.
Christian missionaries have lee
the van in introducing this grea
civilizing agent into heather and un
enlightened lands, until Turkey
Africa, China, the Sandwich Island:
and almost every part OF the globe
has its periodical literature. Surely
the world moves, and in this partic