Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-02-20


eff Clinton county. He had a valuable
horse. I proposed that he sell me the
horse and that reimburse him for his
advancement out of my fees for adver-
tising sherif7s sales. He agreed to do it.
Elias Dal1in, of Oakland, with whom 1
boarded, lent me the money necessary to
pay my expenses to Springfield, and also
to hire Israel Johns team to convey the
material. succeeded in effeeting the
exchange, and purchased an old Ramage
press and enough time to issue my paper.
I called it the CgintOntqn. was aided by
William A. McGregor, now of Peru, In
diana. This was in my nineteenth year.
Considering the facilities for printing, it
was a very reputable venture. The
paper was well printed and the typogra-
ply, so far as errors are concerned, will
compare fayorably with any paper of the
present day. On account of my father
and mother, and my youth, L was well
received and as literally patronized as
could be expected in village of four or
i've hundred inhabitants. In 1881, I fell
into the Pike temptation and sold out to
John Chrifeld, County Auditor, for
$500. He changed the name of the paper
to the Co1astitutionaItst. After brief pc
riod, he found a successor, and taking
Horace Greeley's advice, seYoung man go
West,'' he departed for Indiana, and was
never heard of again. 1t is supposed he
was murdered for the $500 he had with
him to purchase land. He was man of
talents and good performer on the vio-
lin. I took lessons of him, on that instru-
ment, but soon found that nature never
intended me for fiddler. soon gave
up ''the fiddle and the bow'' and took to
the sFballs, . with which it was customa-
ry, in those days, to beat Yankee Doodle
and other national airs on the forms.
From Wilmington, I went to Louis
vile, KY, in 1881, and entered the office
of the Louisville Journal. Ny stay there
was accidental. 1 was on my way from
Cincinnati to New Orleans, but had not
quite as much money as 1 wanted. So I
asked one of the proprietors, Mr.. Bux-
ton, for a few days. work. He asked me
if I worked at press. I responded in the
affirmative, although was far more eff
cient as compositor. ''Will you work
off the first side of the paper, with a ne
gro roller-boy, on Sunday P'' I replied
that 1 would; that I would work night
and day, anytime, when necessary, to Sc
cure employment. The next morning,
bright and early, was at work, and sue
eeeding in pulling OFF, during the day
the entire edition of two thousand copies.
And though the rollers were buckskin and
somewhat out of order, the job was well
done, and pleased the proprietors. They
then gave me a case, and by the time the
paper went to press, on Monday night,
had set up ten or twelve thousand ems.
Mr.. Prentice, particularly was astOnished
at the celerlty and accuracy with which
set up his editorials, and the next day
invited me to accept the position of fore.
man, which did. This established be-
tween us close relations of intimacy and
friendship, which continued to the day OF
his death. In one of his letters, he fat
teringly said: 'sYou were the swiftest
and best compositor we ever had in the
Louisville Journal office.'' Mr.. Prentice
barring one weakness, was one of the best
men ever knew. He was man of great
powers as writer, and as a wit, he ha6
no equal in this or any other country.
It is fifty years since issued my frs
paper; have been the publisher and ed
itor of papers, with an interval of only
about five years, all that time; and it il
isixty years since I first learned to sci
TYPE. There are few printers, now 1iv-
ing, who can say this.
In 1884, I came back to Cincinnati, anC
worked in the book Office of F. S. Burton
on Chase's statutes. The labor required
great skill on the part of the compositors
Chase's handwriting was, even then,
dreadful puzzle. The most of the book
however, was reprint.
Learning, in 1896, that a half interes
in the Lebanon Star could be purchased
, went to Lebanon, and bought out tht
interest of A. H. Dunlevy, Esq, for $4OO
My partner was Jacob Morris, singu
larly good man, and, in all respects, on'
of natures nOblemen. He and I, witt
the aid of two boys, did all the work ol
/ the Star. It was large and fine-lookin,
paper, with broad columns, and small
: type, somewhat resembling the Nattono
: IateEEigencer. We did, in those days, som
extraordinary days work, especially il
the matter of getting out the President
9 Message. We made it rule never to pub
, lish that document the succeeding wee
: of its delivery. We always sent an ez
: press to Cincinnati for an extra copy c
! it. On one occasion, when the thermon
f eter was ten degrees below zero, we ser
4 a man, with a horse and sleigh, to tn
d Enquirer Office for copy. He drove ther
o and back, sixty miles, and when he g
+ to the Office, at four a. M, his ears wei
n frozen. We gave him So and compromise
Il the matter. 1t was Polk's message, Oh
O Of the longest ever sent to Congress.
e filed the whole inside, in BREWER, an
IS then we were compelled to omit about
l. column. We resolved, that day, att
N getting our breakfasts, that we wou
Is neither eat nor drink until the paper w
a up; and, if either of the boys broke tt
te law, we would whip him with the ''sid
of sticks My oldest son, George, suffer,
70 the penalty, and always considered it ;
e. unmerited act of severity. l am of
ne opinion now, but then what right had
l. more than Adam and Eve, to partake
or the forbidden fruit9'' I give this as
at specimen of the industry and painstakil
IL which prevailed in the Star Office.
Mt had one mar, who as apprentice and jor
1d neyman, served twenty-one years. F
a. name was William Bunsten. He was
e. telligent, industrious and reliable. The
Al. was no use for dictionary in the off
when he was there. He not only kn,
ed how to spell all the words but he und
ell stood their definition. In photography
at never knew him to be mistaken. HC
Ig- A. P. Russell, of Wilmington, was one
IS: my good men, who served me with gr