The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-29
RANDOM "REMINISCENCES.
Some of the Early Incidents of indianapolis
Editorial Iife-An Old POstOfice Contest.

Some of the Early Incidents Of indianapolis
Editorial Life-An Old PostOfice Contest.
The proposition to submit the selection of
postmaster Of this city to vote of the resident
voters, though never acted upon, was not un-
precedented. In 1853 there were several appli-
cants, the leading couple being the late Judge
William W. Wick, the first judge of our county,
and Jacob Page Chapman, then recently editor
and proprietor of the Sentinel, who gave it the
name and the reputation it has since sometimes
sustained and sometimes not, the father of the
late General George Fl. Chapman. The contest
was we'll sustained on both sides. Judge Wick
was supported by jeff Davis, Secretary of War,
and Mr.. Chapman by our present Vice president,
then the representative of this district.
Between the legitimate demand of Mr..
Hendricks and the influence of a Cab
met minister, the President finally de-
cided to submit the case to the voters.
Mr.. Chapman carried the day handsomely but
the Secretary of War won the appointment.
Judge Wick became the postmaster, and Mr..
Chapman went into the newspaper business
again, starting the "Chanticleer,' weekly. of
which B. r. Sulgrove was associate editor, and
General George e. Chapman city editor. The
paper was quite successful for year, when Mr..
Chapman's health failed, and his associate took
| the journal, with Mr.. Defrees, and so 'an end"
Mr.. Chapman, though decided Democrat all
his life, in his last years of professional life was
very liberal in his opinions, and published an
unusually strong editorial against Douglass
scheme to abolish the Missouri Compromise. 1t
was the first decided expression Of a Democratic
paper against the measure that soon split the
Democracy, and made it try to split the Union.
1t may not be inappropriate to recall in
this connection the fact that the most VIC
lent personal controversy that ever occurred
between any of the editors of this city
was that between Chapman and Theodore j.
Barnett of the Journal. 1t came very near prov
ing bloody, if not fatal, quarrel Mr. Barnett
was f0rcible and not prescriptions writer, and
a fluent and effective stump speaker. He was
called on at nearly every ''poeraising" in the
county to help with the necessary oratorical
work, and supplemented it with vigorous articles
the ''Whig Rifle" Iie didn't spare the De-
| mocracy, and Mr.. Chapman was fully his match
with the pen and didn't spare him. The con-
| tr0versy grew bitter, grew personal and at
| last grew to be so crimson in hue that blood
on the moon" was as visible as an eclipse. 1t
happened, one Saturday evening that Mr.. S. V. b.
| Noel, proprietor of the Journal, was away from
| the Office when Mr.. Barnett wanted some butter
| to take home. If Mr.. Noel had been about he
would have furnished the money or grocery order
| at once. So Mr.. Barnett took the liberty of
| doing what he knew Mr.. Noel would
| sanction, and wrote an order for pound Of but
| ter on David George. who kept grocery store
next to the Journal Office Mr. George was at
| the time, or had been, printer on the Journal,
| and knew perfectly well the relations of the
editor and the owner. He accepted the proxy
| order, and it was all right But the case came
| to ChapmaIs knowledge, and the temptation to
ID e.
of butter was Irresistible. The innocent forgery
| was paraded in all moods and lenses for weeks.
| Explanations, complete and clear as they we're,
went for nothing with the Sentinel. Rancor
never abated single irritating word At last,
one morning, the belligerents met in the post
Office, then kept by Captain John Cain, about
where Bowen e Merrill's book store is, on West
Washington street Without exchanging
word, Barnett drew pistol. Chapman drew
back behind some of the persons present, and
the contemplated shooting was prevented Bar
nett was hustled away, and Chapman escorted
by friends to his Office. In later years Mr.. Bar
nett held position in Washington, and for
some time was correspondent OF the Journal a
year or two before the war.
A queer specimen of the editorial genus"
made his appearance in indianapolis about the
year '46. He published the Indiana Freeman,
an outspoken but moderate and very scholarly
written Abolition paper His name was Depuy.
He was lean, cadaverous looking fellow, with
something of the blank innocence of counte-
nance of Horace Greeley, sham bling in his gait
and careless in his dress, poor, laborous and
earnest, but we'll educated and quite the equal
of any man Of the profession then or since.
He had little support In iowa and county that
were as safely Democratic as New York is now,
but he struggled on, not only against fair and
legitimate opposition, but against such mean
and sneaking hostility as was never shown by
any party or faction but the dough face"
Democracy of the North the most servile,
fawning and contemplate faction, that ever ex-
listed in any country AS an illustration,
night in AZ some of these precious Democrats
took the sign of his office down and set it over the
door of privy on an alley back
of Washington street, and daubed his Office front
and his house door with tar and ordure, the fit
ting and fragrant implements of creatures of
their kind The most conspicuous of his friends
here were DR.. Ackley, son-in-law of DR.. Bald
prominent member of Mr.. Beecher's church and
Mr. Beecher himself, who had then offended
some of his leading members by his open hos
tity to slavery and provoked a newspaper quar-
rel in the Journal with Mr. Comegys, who had
previously been a clerk of Nicholas McCarty, but
at that time was proprietor of large dstillery
at Lawrenceburg, in this State. Mr.. Comegys,
finding himself getting little into the voca-
tive" with the eloquent preacher, in wordy con-
flict, threatened personal chastisment, to which
Mr. Beecher retorted that 'in case of fight
with the distiller he would have Quaker and
woman as seconds" Beecher was then, and for
Farmer, published by the Journal establishment.
Mr.. Depuy kept up his paper but year or So
THE CITY In BRIEF.