New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-04-18
THE RECORD. oF FIFTY YEARS
"REMINISCENCES OF A JOURNALIST.
by cHARLEs 7. CoNGDoN.

OLLA PODRIDA.


OLA P0DRIDA.
sRoaRpAs OF ANTI-sLAVERY AGITAT1oN-A GREAT
HISTORIC OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES BEFORE THAT
TiMR-.THR MILLER NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
IN NEw-YoRK IN 1957-TnE puRDEIL MURDER
--TB1SGs WHICH HAvR HAD RUNs-THE FIRST
DRESS IRFoRM-CHEAP BOOKS AND NEWS
PAPERS.
First things are always interesting. have
had the curiosity to go to the files, and there 10
read the first leading article which contriDuteo
TO THE TRIBUNE. 1t was printed upon the flrst
div of January, 1S57-the first, it will be seen,
still predcmnant-and, upon the whole, It was
not badly done. 1t was review OF AID looo-
n Dretty important year, considering that IL
witnessed almost the elimination OF the anti
(, slavery agitation, and that memorable outrage
the assault upon Mr.. Sumner III the Senate
Chamber-a matter small to look at II conSlo-
cred altogether by Itself, but large In Its his
torical importance, and in its influence upon
the pubIic feeling Of the country. AS l look
back at it, recall that evening IN Boston when
the news Of it came TO lis, when taking my pen
in hand to write of it, found to my astonIsh-
ment that I could not write word which aid
not seem tame, and must be content with
somewhat commonplace paragraph, All the
people of the United states snoHld nave IeiC
it "a If the coward blows had ralned down upon
each individual head but we felt II IN Massa-
chnsettS as d coarse insult to the state, ara IOf
moment we were dumb win astOnishinehS
and rage. 1t was not Mr.. sumner WHO nau
heen sm;tten-it was an ancient Common
wealth, which for nearly three hundred years
Ind maintained sPmi-sOverelgn condition,
which boosted of the Pilgrim Fathers OF SamueI
and john Adams, of the massacre OF lLIO' ana
pardon these trite historical allusl0ns-7he
Cannot understand them unless he is by birth
Massachusetts man, as am proud TO De-. me
old State has lost something, indeed great deal'
of its grand ard commanding political position,
as nobody knows, If l must say 1t with some
modification, better than do; but may plead
in extenuatiOn of any undue competency that
Lexington and Concord anu bunker n III h nau
not been fifty years IN history when was colI'
and men still spoke OF these initial oditlcs al
most us if the courage and the carnage were
OF yesterday. oo4
historic period It is everything for a Journalist
to have great topic, which VIII repay constant
attention and to which he can give ms Dest
thought. Newspapers, before the antl-siavery
question cot it's thorough hold upon the popular
thought and heart, were somewhat supeIticlal
and made up in rather tlliilng way. Ihe pol
iiics of the preceding perlod were small
The TRIBUNE was among the first Journals 20
comprehend the grand occasion, as 1t had Deen
about the first to show that newspaper might
be something better than mere diary, ana OF
more importance to the future than an old
almanac. In my early days there wa was no pro
fessi0n of journalism. Men drifted into the
management of newspapers out OF other call
ings Having done this, they tritted. Never
for moment did they think OF leading Ihey
joked aud bantered and nred sqm6s; they uSeu
the scissors and paste-brush much more than
the pen there was 10 method, no system, no
management no earnest purpOse-nothng but
personal scolding and partisan wrath. Inc
anti-slaVery discussion, IL 1 may os give my my
higher class, what 1t is 1t enlarged views and
it diversified methods. The telegraph and the
Midway and the steamboat did the rest.
In the earlier simpler times poor sulu0 In
the newspaper went long way; lean poem
in the Poets Corner cut considerable inquire
ard as for the jests they were much too old TO
be fathered upon that putatiye parent OF many
dubious children, old Joe Miller. good bit
was God-send. The comet of 1949 was, if /
may say so, paragraphed and artlcled to death.
mention 1t particularly because Mr.. Buckle
would have connected 1t, after his philosophical
method, with tho Miller excitement which then
stood at about eighty degrees above zero in the
spiritual Thermometer. Inc hen had Iald eggs
nysteriously marked "1843"i long-bearded
ton from q hundred pulpits, itinerapt lecturers
had demonstrated the Second Advent with
hideous diagrams behind them whereOn were de-
pieted the four great beasts, seen by Daniel IN
his dream the lion with eagle's, wings; the
bear with three ribs in his mouth; 1.-THE four
winged leopard and the fourth creature with
the great iron teeth. If Daniel was grieved by
these geological monsters. BIC. 300, a great
many men, women and children were frightened
almost moitally byl the counterfeit present.
ment of them AID. 1843, especially when some
body in very bad grammar and with many
violent gesticuations, deduced from them the
eDd Of all terrestrial things. What then must
have been the CONSERVATION when blazing
comet came as if to confirm indisputably the
ferocious predictions OF Captain William Mil
lerl The most sceptical began to feel uncom-
Portable. am not ashamed to say that did,
for one. IL l had not been very busy at the
time reporting the misdeeds of the Democratic
party in the Massachusetts Legislature, and be-
iaboiing bad law-making which promised any
thing but the millennium, might have become a
convert and bought myself an ascension robe.
In this, no doubt, had there been occasion,
should have gone up singing as Sweety and
demeaning myself as gracefully as the rest. But
there was no occasion. We had the wonderful
hens and all the rest of the nonsense for some
time In the newspapers; then something netting els else
tain Miller and his sham mlllennlumj and fifty
thousand. believers were grievously dlsap-
pointed.
run on something in the public journals |
have made mention OF one, ridiculous enough
TO look back upon but everything ID the shape
of pablo scare seems absurd when we get far
enough away from II. Tho tTlgn1 u New YORK
during that cold January of 1857 was occa-
stoned by gaIrohng. Elderly gentlemen walk
ing out for q constitutional afterdinner were
fiIst strangled and afterward despOlled OF their
yniuables. Peace men, even the mildest of
non -resistants, bought reviewers. Upon COM
pairing pockets one evening in THE TRIBUNE
Office, it came out that we we've all armed and
ea,iDped as the law of fear directed, aud had
no notion after numbering the Kings English all
night at our desks, of being ourselves unIeslst-
inglY murdered on our way to our welcome
beds The excellent Count GurOwski, remem-
Der, had wonderfully large ffe-arm, which
he iloufished at destiny in a particularly fcro-
cious way. 1t was curious to observe that this
MAS an imported apprehension. We got the
notion of our danger from London, where the
honest citizens were agtated by similar breads,