Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-11-29

grdpnlcallY tnaG MS NAME DecdIIt
known to the reading world, and he
had laid the foundation for his future
success as correspondent.
For five years after the war Mr..
Townsend wrote for the Chicago ITi-
batge, and his letters were part of the
means of increasing the value OF that
paper to such an extent, that it sold
for 800, 900 shortly before he ceased
writing for it.
In 1868 Mr. Townsend went to Wash
ington to study the government. While
there, he, with Mr. Piatt, founded the
Capital Since 1874 he has resided in
New York, where the field for his pc
culiar labor is wider even than that
offered by Washington. Mr.. Town
sends services are in such demand that
he is able to choose his employers, and
writes for few representative papers
only. He writes over his signature,
Cath, s" for three papers. The Times,
in the east; the Cincinnati Enquirer, in
the central states, and the San Francis
co Chronicle, in the extreme west. A
newspaper has to be enterprising and
liberal to secure SO successful and pop
ular a correspondent. but results prove
that it pays i'll the end. The circula-
ton of the Enquirer has grown from
10, 600 to 90, 900 since Mr.. Townsend s
connection with it,
While Mr.. Townsend was in Wash
ington he hit uron the signature,
Cath, " which has become so widely
known. He has given me the follow
ing account of the manner in Whiuh he
developed the name:
"Applications for my letters came
pouring in from all sides I was writ
ing for the Cleveland Leader over my
initials, for the Cincinnati Commercial
over the name Swede, and for the St.
Louis Democrat over the name Finn,
and was using my initials besides in
the New York I'riJune, and in a PhiIa-
delphia paper. Suddenly the New
York Tribune applied too. [ put down
G. A. T., and then balanced my pen
and said: i am tired of writing that,
SO tried to make some monogram of
it, and the only cOnsonant that would
make a syllable with it was H. which
| added. Hello, said |, that is Philis-
tine city. Hello, again, | said, it is
written in the Scriptures: Tell it not
in Gath Chat Goliah has fallen). So
/ wrote Gath below the letter. Soon
after that Mr.. Horace White bought
my whole correspondence up at a sal
airy, and Gath became my only known
signature for years, so that | found last
winter, when | went west lecturing,
that [ had written my own name out of
existence, like q married woman. and
was merely Mr.. Gath.
''PostOffices, race horses and cigars
have been named Gath, and my wife
wanted me to call my last boy by the
same name, but [ presented my
original name to him, and he now says
his name is George Alfred Townsend,
jr."
In addition to the letters which he
contributes to the excellent papers l
have named, Mr. Townsend does a
large amount of miscellaneous literary
work, and his writings are more widely
copied than those of any other journal
ist living. He writes the broadway
Note Book for the Sunday New York
Tribune each week. He is the author
of several books, and has written sew
eral volumes of travels, stories, short
novels and poems. He also does some
work in the lecture field, and has just
written Confidence, charming do
nestle lecture, and Came Hutchinson, :"
a mastery resume of the life and char
acter of one of the most interesting
women in our early history. This lee
ture is very happily concluded with a
beautiful original story of which she is
the heroine. Mr.. Townsend has writ
ten novel, treating of one of the i'm
portant epochs in American history.
He sketched the plot to me, and recited
some passages of the dialogue. 1t is an
absorbing tale, and it's exciting Incl
dents, dramatic situations and careful
ly elaborated plot, are strongly sugges-
tive of the best novels of Alex. Dumas,
the elder, but, it is more natural and
more faithful to scenes and times, than
are the works of Dumas. To a lay
and new experience to hear good
novel read before it has reached the
public. | am not at liberty to state the
title of the story, but it is in the hands
of the publisher, and the public will see
the whole work in due time.
Mr.. Townsend is an occasional poet
of merit. His poem on Abraham Lin
coin, read before the Army of the Poto-
mae, last spring, was received with IA
vor by the reading and literary world.
He has essayed play writing, but has
not met with success in that line.
One secret of Mr.. Townsend's con-
tinued success may be found in his
habit of intelligent observation and his
judicious use of books. He has large
and wisely selected library of history,
politics and American biography.
American history is his great study,
and on his shelves will be found his
tory of every state, and of nearly every
county in this country. His literary
productions are always satisfactory,
scholarly; his constant use of standard
books accounts for it. Frequently
when he is debating letter some rele-
want passage that he has read will oc-
cur to him, and quick as a flash he
takes down a book, scans the table of
contents, turns to the desired passage,
and in another moment has the SUBJ
stance of it incorporated in his letter.
L