Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1884-12-19
THE LATE FREDERICK MAR.
RIOTT.
Some OF the characteristics Ofthe
News Letter Proprietor.

day before yesterday in San Fran
cisco in his 90th year.
He was in many respects re
| markatle man and in the conduc1
of his newspaper copied from no
body.
He came to San francisco from
Australia in early days, and pub
lished condensation of the news
of the week on the back of a sheet
of writing paper. These he sold
for good price to the persons who
wanted to give the news of the
slope to the old folks at home, adj
ding the private portions of the let
ter to the other side. These were
in great demand, and Marriott
gradually added market reports and
financial news, until his little sheet
gradually extended into the News
Letter.
Then he became interested in
aerial navagitions and for years he
Rugged this hobby, or pretended to
hug it, for many Of his friends were
of the opinion that he published
his paper as the organ Of the Aerial
Navigation Company as joke.
1t was in the News Letter that
Ambrose Bierce, now editor Of the
Wasp earned his first reputation as
a caustic writer. He began at a
salary of so week, and gradually
struck" on the ''Old Man as he
was generally called. until he was
paid $50 week for filling two
short columns. He then asked for
$75, and not getting it resigned.
Since that time the famous Town
Cryer" column of the News Letter
never satisfied its old admirers.
It lacked the origial snap and vigor
that Biercc's breezy and cutting
pen gave it, and when anybody met
Marriott in the street and growled
over the decay of that department
he would almost invaribly say:
'Bierce will be back in a few
days. | got a letter from him this
morning" or he would state In the
greatest Of confidence that his fly
ing machine had been tested the
day before and the days of rail
reading were over.
He was always on the alert to
secure singing paragraphs for his
paper, and the regurlar reporters
were constant contributors. He
would generally ask for only FIVE
and ten lines a week from each and
hold out the inducement that the
particular person to whom he was
speaking was the only one allowed
to enter the sacred ground of the
Town Cryer column. Thus each
man of the dozen who contributed
thought himself particularly fay
ored. He sometimes contemporary
threw ont dollar for column art
icle and then in the most genial
way would pay s. for a five line
squib that tickled his fancy. Regu-
lar reporters on the daily papers
were not allowed to contribute to
other journals and Marriott made
good use of them. When some of
these reporters began to growl
about not getting paid he would
show them proof-sheet containing
something like this:
Mr.. - Of the Chronicle is now
a regular contributor to the News
Letter, and his bright and caustic
work is fast becoming feature of
this journal.
The reporter knew that such a
paragraph meant his discharge
from the Chronicle, and he would
agree to continue his contributions
if Marriott would keep mum.
Then the old man would laugh
all over and say:
Write! you galley slave, you are
in my power. Let's go out and
have dinner. "
The men whom he had in his
literary tolls would often go and
abuse him roundiy, but he only
smiled anu with breezy quotation
from Shakespeare, or a pleasant
jest he would put them in good
humor, and the two would be
drinking cocktails together in the
little English saloon just door
above on Merchant street, where
Marriott drank glass of ale about
fifty times day.