The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-01
"REMINISCENCES OF AN EDITOR.
The Value of Loose Political Opinions-Narrov
Escape for Grant

Escape for Grant.
Prentice Mulford, in san Francisco Chronicle
| edited a paper in Stockton in 1868 | believe
it was called the Stockton Gazette. Gazette as
name is to papers what Smiths are to men,
But no matter. l believe, also, it was Demo
cratic paper. | was not much of Democrat
myself when | accepted the position as editor.
nor Republican, either. I was without any
stable political convictions. Consequently,
being elastic. could write we'll for either party.
The people who hired me did not care much
whether had any convictions or not. SO long as
| wrote out plainly the convictions they wanted
other folks to think they had. and which / pre-
sumo, or at all events hope, they had. Indeed,
convictions are not good things for a hired writer
to have in his house. They've ruined many IL
mans success in this world. The most successful
writer | ever knew in San Francisco had no con
victlons on any subject and could therefore
write on all with tremendous facility He was
like one OF those saltwater bottles without any
bottom to stand on, and rolled around with
his pen with equal ease in any direction. knew
a great deal more on many topics when l edited
the Gazette than | do now, and, consequently
could write better and more convincingly upon
them for such as chose to read my thoughts and
opinions. Ignorance seems sometimes the
mother of fluency and conceit the father. |
wonder how many writer's of ordinary common
sense can bear to read the proofs of their own
ignorance, written by them and printed for them
twenty years before. It was pretty good paper
so long as l edited it. 1t may have been better
afterwards. l don't know, because when | left it
| ceased to read it. At that time | read my own
writings with great deal Of interest, whether
they were good or poor, and regarded inGitfer-
emily the writings of others, save when they
commended my own. Some writer's imagine
that the principal use of population is to read
and admire what they write. | had a touch Of
that fever and have now occasionally.
Grant was then running for his second term
He got in, despite al! my efforts on the Stockton
Gazette. ] worked hard to keep Grant out of
the presidential chair. The string twanged on
most persstently was the debt Grant was piling
upon and over the Nation. | alluded in one
issue to the unfortunate Republic Of the future
staggering under its load of debt" The com
positor doubtless in league with Grant, made it
read next morning, Suffering under load of
diet" That knocked me. l think it elected
Grant knew something awful had happened
when | got the paper to read my leader. The
air felt heavy l smelt the coming disaster, and
braced up that morning with two cocktails in
stead of the usual siDglebarreled matutinal
constitutional. There good many mis-
prints of this kind when edited the Gazette l
was a genius then, wrote very rapidly and did
not always understand what [ wrote. Some
OF my worst accidents of this sort on
paper passed. I think, with my readers for
profundlty. Not understanding it themselves,
they imagined it concealed good deal of wis
dom, which might come out some time or other,
Perhaps that was the best thing they could do
under the circumstances. | did not suit every
body as editor in Stockton, because / would not
see everybody who wanted to see and talk with
the editor These last were mostly the Stock
tonans who lived ranches from twelve to
twenty miles out Of town. and who, after coming
in, selling their hay and loading up with two or
three drinks, pointed to the Gazette Office to
unload and have it out with the editor They
were good, hard, dyedin- the-wool Democrats,
warranted with colors not to run through any
amount of soaking, believed the war most
unholy thing when the South got beaten, and
that the only right side and bright side of the
universe was the Democratic side. l am sorry
now that did not oftener see and talk with
these excellent people They could have talked
good DEAL whether they said much or not and
was a good listener. Hence, we could have
fitted well into each other and 1 should have
made of them friends instead of enemies.