The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1880-11-18
THE STAR OF THE WEST.


Allusion was made yesterday TO the fact that Rev
j. = Cantwell the surviving partner of the firm OF
Williamson a. Cantwell, publishers, made assign.
ment 10 Mr.. X. w Carroll. This event is of marked
Importance in the history of of the Oldest reig
IOus journals in the Central States of the Union
The Star Of he West now in its iftythird year. was
established IN lS2 as monthly, at Eaton, u. As
published at that time il consisted Of eight pages ot
two columns each, the numbers for two wears when
bound making thin volume that would not be diff
cult to stow IN ones pocket. The publisher at that
time was Samuel TiZzard. aud the editors Rev. Jon
athan KidweIl and ID. ID. Hall The articles verp
almost exclusively Of controversial character Mr.
hidwe, vigorous defender of the doctrines of Uni
Nersalism, usually signing his contributions with his
name in full. Within few years the paper was re-.
moved TO this city. where il has been published ever
since. Among its editors the Hon. John A.
GErley, subsequently, "A member of Congress from
Hamilton county and finally Governor of the Terri
tory OF Arizona under appointment from President
Lincoln. Later editors were the Rev. q. w Ouin-
by, ii. X. Nye, and G.. l.. Demarest. Messrs vii
hanson q Cantwell assumed control some sixteen
years ago, Rev. |. ID. Williamson being editor-in-
chief, though Dr. J. 5. Cantwel had great part of
the work Ia do, and since his partners death has
been IN charge. The paper from the beginning
the organ of the Unversalist Church Throughout
the West. and for years there other paper TO
dispute its control in the denomination. Now there
are Universalist papers published at Boston, Chi
cago, Augusta, Me-, and one in the South Speaking
OF having had entire control of the Journal for the
past sixteen Years, DIR. Cantwen said Yesterday that
members of the secular press were.hardly aware of
the amount of work the editor of reli gious paper
all those years, said he, - have been editor re-
porter editorial writer, business manager solicitor
of subscriptions, and besides all that the general
missionary for this whole region of country. On
secular Journal there is division of labor but
there is such thing with us, ut least not i'm the
greater nuUber of weekly religious journals In the
of papers that have been long under
lax credit system of subscriptions there is rarely
money sufficient to meet any expenditures except
what the time renders necessary Such papers carry
many delinquent subscribers from wear to wear
When dull season comes IL il ALWAYS difficult and
have found II in the present instance impossible TO
keep up until the beginning of the next wear when
the paying patrons renew their subscriptions IL
was simply account of the lack of present funds
that the work had to stop. There is no suit no len
no attachment, no mortgage against the concern
and not creditor was pressing in his demands upon
me. No man could have been treated more magnifi-
Gently by creditors than have been. | might have
made an arrangement with them. and continued the
publication, but felt that such a course would not
have been right in isous paper and besides it
would have done no good. 1 should have found nv
self next year in the same prc,cament, and now I
am relieved
The Star ofhe Vest has been identified with the
hest part of the literary history of Cincinnati and the
West. DIR. Cantwell understood that Horace Gree
ley at one time took great interest in il. The ear
hest poems of Alice and PhGbe Cary printed
IN ITS columns, and whenever any poem of merit or
brief piece of prose writing of real excellence came
10 light amOnghe Cniversalists of the West il usi-
ally found place in this Journal Throughout its
whole existence II saneh defender of the doe
trines of Cniversalism, the last number lacking in
those points little of the vgor first infused by Jona
than kidwel Its future is of course in doubt but
as Dr. Cantwell remarked, it could be said of a
newspaper as of a monarch, "1he King is dead
long live the King" The Star Of The West might be
continued by other hands, Ii was more likely how
ever that its subscription lists would be transferred
to one Of the other denominational papers. The |
plates and copyrights of some sixteen or twenty de
nominational books published by the firm would |
probably 20 the same way.-CiReiiHdh Ga-sHe Sepf |