Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1880-02-04

but Kendall remained rs editor until
succeeded by the Chases,
These two papers, tho Wing aud
Courier united in opposing jackson
but were opposed 10 each other In the
masonic fight which ragged 10 violent
" here at the time, and fought with
the utmost vigor and feroclly, their
columns fairly brlstling with capital
letters and strong language. Kendall
was what tho opposition called a
"iackmasou,' that is, he acted with
the masons but did not belong
belong order llc was u better
editor than the Wing ever had, and In
fact tho Cosrier under his mandge-
ment was considered tho sharpcst pa
per ever published In Vermont
While conducting the Courier Ken
dali was twice sued for libel, one OF
the parties, Titus Hutchinson, getting
u small Judgment
About the year 1880 Thomas f.
Powers, John d. Powers, Thomas
Russell, Nahum Haskell, Thaldeus
H,skoll, Bcn.jamin MclcaIi and a few
other young men organized Il clob for
free religious discussion which IL re-
membcred as the in6dcl club, which
for year or more published u small
monthly magazine called "Liberal Ex'
tracts" oi inidcl character. 1, e.
Powers was the active spirit in the
club and in editing the magazine and
as both + Haskell aud Melcali were
practical printers the work was all
done in the family, so to speak,
Melcalt invented two power printing
presses at about this time, one OF
which was pertccting, but neither
proved successful. or course these
men mostly ontgrew their inildel
notions.
About the year 1891 an agricultural
paper called the "Workingman's
Gazette" was started here by William
W. Prescott, but was short lived.
In the Summer Of 1888 Silas Esta-
brook published small anti-masonic
campai gn paper entitled the "Vi''age
Balance"
In 1886. the Wing being dead, an
anti-masonic campaign paper called
"The Constitution" was published for
few weeks, Martin Flint Of Ran
dolph and Titus Hutchinson of Wood
stock being the chief movers IN the
business, and Henry S. Hutchinson
acting as editor. The opposition call
ed it IN derision Martins Tuppenny.'
The same season another campaign
paper called "The Hornet a small
sized affair, was published by elm
othy Tickle & Co.." with the purpose,
as set forth in the prospectus. "to
blow that musty concern, The Con-
s,itution, sky high" b. f. Kendall
aud r. E. Powers were the editors.-
Neither of these papers were issued
more than five or six weeks.
Pretty much all Woodstock news
papers in these days were largely flll-
ed with personal abuse Of political op.
ponents of such character as would
have found lNtle favor in the absence
of extraordinary political excitement,
and the little campaign papers were
often fairly scurrilous.
Iu 1887 the "Vermont Mercury
was started by Nahum Haskell and Au-
gustps Palmer, the first number beng
issued April 6, and had tolerably
long and prosperous life. In about
ten Yeats the name was changed 10
"Wocdstock Mercury" and in 1858
the paper was given the additional
title of "Windsor County Advertiser"
Ire last number of the Mercury issued
was at the close of it's fourteenth year.
|ly volume, March 8, 1885, 1t was
always Wing in politics and was pub
lsbed throughout by Haskell q Palm
mer and Mr.. Haskell appeared as
editor, but as he was a most IN.
dustrious boUkbinder and book
seller, much of the editorial work
came to be done by other persons
shiet among whom were Norman
Williams and Thomas +. Powers
,TPending the State election in 1912 {
paper was published called the "WhiE
/ Advocate" with Charles L. Marsh
: then law student. as editor, which
: was in fact campaign edition of th'
, Mercury, and which had quite larg'
. circulation.
r The first number of the esprit o
!, the Age" was issued Nley 8, lS4O
Charles G. Eastman, editor and pub
, Usher. AT the end of the third yea