Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-08-20

England COurart. 1t was edited
Jointly by James end Benjamin
Franklin, and was started to supply a
longfelt want. Benjamin edited the
paper a part Of the time and James a
part of the time. The idea of having
two editors was not for the purpose of
giving variety or volume TO the edi-
torial page, but IL was necessary for
one to run the paper while the other
was Ia jail. In those days you couldn't
sass the king, and then when the king
came in the office next day and stopped
his paper and took out his ad, you
couldn't put it off on ''our informant"
and 90 right along with the paper.
You had to 90 TO jail, while your sub
seribers wor1ered W by their paper
lid not come, and the paste soured in
the tin dipper in the sanctum and the
circus passed by on the other side.
How many of us to-day, fellow
journalists, would be willing to stay
IN Jail while the lawn festival and the
kangaroo came and went. Who of
all our company would go to q prison
double column ad. of sixteea aggre>
gated circuses and eleven congresses
of ferocious beasts, fierce and fragrant
from their native lair, went by US.
At the age of II Ben got disguised
with his brother and went to Phila-
delphia and New York, where he got
a chance to Sub" for a few weeks,
and then got regular "sit." Frank
lin was good printer, and finally
got to be a foreman. He made an
excellent foreman, sitting by the hour
in the composing room and splitting
on the stone, while he cussed the
makeup and press work of other pa
pe-s Then he would 60 into the edi-
torial rooms and scare the editors 10
death with a wild shrek for more
copy. He knew just hsw to conduct
himself as foreman so that people
would think he owned the paper.
In 1870, at the age of "a, Franklin
married and established The Pennsyl-
vania Gazette. He was then regarded
as great naan. and most everyone
took his paper. Franklia grew to be
a great journalist, and spelled hard
words with great fiuency. He never
tried to DO a humorist In any of his
newspaper work, and everybody re
spected him.
Along about 1746 he began to study
the construction and habits of light
ming, and inserted local in his paper
in which he said that he would be
obliged to any of his readers who
might notice any new or odd speci~
mems Of lightning if they would send
them in to The Gazette office by ex~
press for inspection. Every time there
was thunder storm, Franklin would
tell the foreman to edit the paper, and
armed with a string and an old fir ait
jar. he would go out on the hills and
get enough lightning for mess.
In 1853 Franklin was made posts
master general of the colonies. He
made good postmaster general, and
people say there were less mistakes in
distributing their mail than there has
ever been since. If a man mailed
letter in those days, old Ben Franklin
saw that it went where it was address,
ed
Franklin frequently went over to
England in those days, partly on bus
mess and partly to shock the king
He used to delight in going to the
castle with his breeches tucked into
his boots, fguratively speaking. and
attract a good deal of attention. 1t
looked odd to the English, of course,
to see him come into the royal pres
ence and, leaning his wet umbrella
UP against the throne, ask the king:
Flows trade?" Franklin never put
on any frills, but he was never afraid
of a crowned head. He used to say,
that to him king was no more than
a seven spot.
He did his best to prevent the rev.
dictionary war, but he couldn't do it.
Patrick Henry had said the war was
inevitable and given it permission to
come, and it came. He also went to
Paris and got acquainted with few
crowned heads there. They thought
a good deal of nina IN Paris and Offer
ed him a corner lot if he would build
and start paper. They also prom>
ised hir. the county printing, but he
said no, he would have to GO to Am
erica Or his wife might get uneasy
about it.
Franklin wrote "Poar Richards AL
manac" in 1882 81, and it was repub-
lished in England. Benjamin Frank
lin had but one son, and his name was
William.