St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1884-06-21
Starting a Newspaper.

Well, you ought to try #. Failing
down stairs with stove on top Of
YOU is nothing to be compared to it
in point Of excitement. The name
of the paper was the Review, and it
was started to ell a long-felt want. !"
Jerry Cochrane was my partner.
There were several very comfortable
things about that paper. For in
stance, Jerry and | always knew on
Monday that we wouldn't have
enough money to pay the hands off
on Saturday, and we never did. The
hands knew it too, and SO their
nerves were never shocked by a
disappointment. We ran that way
for awhile, getting more deeply in
debt all the time. At last, one
morning, | entered the office and
found Jerry looking rather solemn.
Jerry" says ], "You want q part
ner.' eyes, we need a new one,
Bob" he reioined. "a business
man, said lie. "A fnancier" [ OBJ
served. "A man who can take hold
of the thing and turn it into mon
ey,," he concluded. ''Then I've got
the man you want" | said, and in
troduced Frank Hitchcock, the
Sheriff. Jerry said Frank was the
very man he had been thinking of,
so we installed him at once, sir. He
ran the paper with the greatest
success until he had turned it en-
tirely into money. When we wound
UP the concern, there was nothing
left but two passes-one to Cincin-
natl and the other to Burlington.
We divided them, and went in diff
ferent directions.
81 got to Burlington feeling pref
ty bad. I was about 10000 miles
in debt, having managed to owe ev-
erybody / knew. / would have
owed the strangers too, only I had
no way Of making their acquaint-
ance. One day | remarked to Mrs.
Burdette, that I'd go over and see
if couldn't get a job On the
Hawkeye. I postponed it for
awhile and one day the business
manager came over to offer me a
place. I could have Rugged the
man, but I didn't want to be de-
monstrative, SO I held back rather
coyly. He asked me if / had any
thing in view, and I told him [ had:
I was the truth, as / had an idea
Of going out to the poorhouse, if |
could get ride on the cars ! was
too proud to walk. Well, he urged
me, and I finally agreed to take the
matter into consideration. I was to
90 in at 6 o'clock the next afternoon,
and I bid him a chilly good day.
For fear I'd miss the train, | was
down there at a quarter to four, but
when I entered the Hawkeye Office
I walked in like a lord and called
the business manager ''Charley,"
and slapped him Familiarity on the
back. / tell you his offering me the
place gave me a great moral advan-
tage, aud I used it, the result being
that I was allowed the usual
princely salary Of a reporter.
II worked along for awhile, and
finally got an interest in the Hawk
eye A curious thing happened,
after awhile, which has caused me
to laugh many a time. There were
four Of us Oh the editorial page,
Frank Hatton, John T. White and
John Burdette, my brother. Frank
was the first one taken from that
glorious band, and he became First
Assistant Postmaster-G General. John
White followed by becoming post
master Of Burlington, and my broth
Ell was then appointed collector in
the frt internal revenue district Of
Ohio. Frank was born in Cadiz,
White in Rayenna, and my brother
in Cincinnati, all in the same State.
I was from Pennsylvania and didn' t
get anything. It takes Ohio men for
! Offices, Burdette.
The Picayune stated the other
LIZ. 4 T.,