The Bennington daily banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1877-1877, 1877-08-15
high school or college, | will only name HOr-

} from the highest to the lOwest-as light
} giyers; from the foreman down through
women to the "smutty little devil" of the
. printing office, they are light
givers, and pre-eminently so. The
statesman, the preacher, the iurist, the au-
thor the editor, are capable of being great
lights in the world, but only through the
, practical printer. Christ personally ad-
dressed a few thousand lOf people, while
through the practical printer he has spoken
TO millions upon millions, and will speak to
them until all shall have heard the glad
news of salvation. Without the printers,
the orator, the statesman, the jurist, no
matter how great, could address at most but
a few thousands of people the poet and his
t0Iian could only go from house to house
aud from iun TO inn and repeat their tales as
Homer and the TroubadouTs or write out n
few copies and deposit them IN libraries; but
the printers make all the world their audi
enee; the publishers aid pratical printers
| then, for their great usefulness are fairly en-
titled to stand in high estimation by the side
of authors and editors whose works they is
sue to the world, erystalized and perpet-
uated on the printed page to instruct or O.
muse not merely the people of their own day
but OF many future generations On another
occasion, this theme may be protitably de-
VelOped by some one more competent than i
am into an elaborate discussion Of the dig
nifty and duties and the responsibilities of
the profession which this association repre-
sents. / have suggested it for your reflection
hopeful that your own considerations of IL
will lead you to higher aims, o better inn
pfOvement of your great opportunities aud
the better discharge of your duties to the
public.
And now, turn tOa topic more pertenent
| to this historical occasion, to wit: the earli-
est printers in Vermont. They were not
large aud brilliant lights, butas candles set on
| bushels Their little light went little way,
for there were but few people then even
within the limits of the whole State, and no
mail routes, so that the subscription list
must necessarily have been small. Never
theless the first light-Rlvers were very use
full to the state which had been compelled to
go elsewhere for the state printing; and use
full also to the people within their reach Civ
ing the news Of the day and discussing sub
Jects OF the greatest public Importance. But
more largely they were useful in stimula-
ting a taste for reading, and a.
demand for more printers, books
and newspapers, so that, in this Cen
tennial year, the profession in Vermont ranks
fully as high as in any other section of the
Let us then accord due h0nOTs to the first adj
Yenturers in the field of Vermont journalism
The first printing press in Vermont was pro-
badly brought by Samuel Gale, who was
married in BrattleborO in 1773 was sur
Yeyor under New York in that year, and APP
pointed clerk of Cumberland (Windham)
county court in 1774. He was an English
man by birth, well educated, a gentleman in
manner, and Tory in politics. As clerk of
the court, he of course fought on the court
side in the Westminster massacre of 1715,
and for that he was arrested and imprisoned
by the Wings and his property was cOntis-
Gated by Vermont. In fact he was in prison
so long under different authorities, that he
abandoned the country on his release BY the
continental congress, and took office in Cana
da, and subsequently q pension from the
British government. The evidence that he
brought the first printing press into Yer
mn 70 xroff ,Ia h L., 90,
The writing Office" so runs the record of
one Pale, at Westminster, was contiscated
to the use of the state by the legislature OF
1850. The name Pale does not appear in
Thomas history Of printing, neither does
that of Samuel Gale; but it is obvious that the
"P" instead of the &c" is a natural clerical
error There is ample evidence that Gale was
at Westminster in 1774-5, as clerk of the
court; that he was man of learning. and
ambitious of authorship at PHILADELPHIA in |
1772, and actually an author subsequently, |
in England. The most reasonable inference |
is that Gale brought the printing materials |
with him to Vermont with the intention of
using them, though by reason possibly of his |
short residence IN this state and the lack of |
printers, there is no evidence that these ma |
teTials were used by him.
The next press brought for the use of Yer |
mont was established at Dresden, now Han |
over, N. II; in IT'S, by Timothy Green and
judah POddOck SpOOner. In both Thomas |
history and Zadoc Thompson's Vermont, |
it is stated that they set up their
press in Westminster in that year.
but Thomas subsequently stated that they
first went to Hanover, printed n newspaper
for short time and afterwards removed to
Westminster, and printed the first newspa-
per in Vermont In October, 1873, Dresden
and Hanover, and nine other New Hamp-
shire towns were represented in the Vermont
legislature, and in the second day of the ses-
sion 1t was " voted and resolved" that Judah
Paddock and Alden SpOOner be and are here
by appointed printers for the general assem-
bly, Of this state"
A proclamation of Gov Chittenden, dated
j une 3, 1779, was printed by Judah Pad
dock and Alden SpOoner, printers to the state
Of vermont" The first union of the New
Hampshire towns with the state of Vermont
was dissolved in February, 1779, and it is
therefore probable that the brothers Spooner
had removed their office from Dresden To
Westminster in that year, and Timothy
Green had taken the place of Alden SpOoner
however that may be, it is certain that the
first newspaper within the present limits of
Vermont, was issued at Westminster. Feb
ruary ~, 1871. ! will describe iC from a copy
In the library of the Historical Society. The
sheet measures 17Xl2 1-2 inches. Isaiah
Thomas called It " Pot paper" Alas, how,
many papers and printing offices in Vermont
have gone to pot the type to the melter
and retner came out new, as brilliant as sill
yer. to print the wisdom that is more pre-
uous than gold and the poor printers 1
NOulu nope WIFI D6nJaI0ln frankllu, aD-
pear in new and more elegant edition, re-
yised and corrected by the author | read ,
the title; Vol l, No. 8, The Vermont Gazette
or Green Mountain POst-BOy, Monday, April
2, 1881.
Plant as reeds where streams of free
dom glide;
Firm as the hills to stem oppression's
tide"
Westminster printed by Judah Paddock
and Timothy Green. i would state its con- !
tents and trst the class most, profitable to
there are four, viz: notice for an
application for meeting of the
of the town of Dorset
commissioners notice; promise ofreward
Tor settlers IN the town of KillingtOn NOW
and the standing advertisement
IN every Vermont newspaper for many years {
Of cash given for any kind of cotton or lin
en- rags" Next turn to the editorial, eight
lines IN all, announcing an adjourned session {
lt the general court, at Windsor, meaning
The legislature, to consider proposed union
Of large number Of New Hampshire towns .
With Vermont, and a report of the capture of
General Arnold, with all his troops And
now for the news. Two columns and ONE
half are given to Revolutionary war news.
and three columns of foreign news, the last
being more than can be found ordinarily in
my numb Der OF Vermont newspaper Of the
present day, On the fourth page is Par y
Hassian Packet" containing an ode on char :
ty and complete the listl of contents by I
noticing a well written political article by 3
the first of series against the an .
lexation of part of New York to Vermont,
which was then proposed in Western Yer S
mont, as a balance to the New Hampshire y
erritoTy that was coveted by Eastern Yer P
mont. And this reminds me of a prominent II
eature in the early newspapers of Vermont,
o which will briefly advert The editors n
Matthew Lyon being an exception, l think, +
N the nRnnrnl rulp-nain liffln aIfantinn 20 | n
political matters, leaving this to their con- n
ributors, among whom were the ablest men =
n the state, the Lyons, Chipmans, Bradleys ,
md RobinsOnsj and in both politics and lit
nature contributions were frequent from
hief justice Taylor, Thomas Green Fessen-
len, the poet, and probably from chief JUS
ice Prentiss, who was an associate with
aud an intimate friend. This
list Of contributors could be considerably ex-