Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1885-04-04

by an order issued in the court of COM
mon pleas by Judge Van Brunt, in June,
1881, Miriam Florence Leslie became
! Frank Leslie. Mrs. Leslie before being
enabled to carry out her husbands
wishes fought her way through nine
different law suits, winning in all. She
is thorough woman in business. Every
morning she is found in her Office at 10
o'clock, and there she remains until or
$50 in the afternoon. She signs all
| checks and money orders, makes all
contracts for supplies of every sort, LOOK s
over proofs of all articles before they are
published, and approves the makeup CT
every periodical before it is sent to press.
She is the head of the whole establish
ment. When she assumed control she
found the business suffering the natural
effect OF having been without head for
nearly year and half, and she did not
rest until she had overhauled and reOr-
ganized every department from top to
bottom. Mrs Leslie's mettle was soon
put tothe test. 1t was only short time
after she came into possession of the
property that Garfield was asSassinated.
The first rumors of the event reached
her about $50 Saturday morning, July 2.
Within an hour tw o artists were on their
way to Washington, and before sunset
were diligently at work sketching the
scenes of the tragedy. One of them re-
turned to New York by the midnight
train with their united sketches. The
whole staff had been ordered to report
for duty early Sunday morning. and by
dilligent work that day, the following
night and through the 4tb of July the
paper was able to come out Tuesday
morning with fui. illustrations of the
chief events and persOnages. The fol
lowing Friday an extra number was
issued and on the next Tuesday the reg
ular edition, with fuller details and
Illustrations liking three illustrated
papers publisne; in single week, an
achievement without parallel in news
paper history. The death of Garfield
made a still severer demand on Mrs.
Leslie's ability to grapple with a crisis.
1t occurred late on Monday evening,
September 10, and the illustrated news
paper had gone to press when the news
arrived. She Immediately ordered the
presses stopped, destroyed the part of
the ed ton already published, set the
whole force of the establishment at work
preparing a new edition with engraviDgs
of the sketches sent over early Tuesday
morning by the artists at Elberon, and
before Wednesday night had on sale a
paper full of illustrations of the death
bed scenes. A week later she seized
another opportunity. The body Of the
dead President Garfield was to be con-
veyed to Washington on the Wednesday
after death, and funeral services to be
held in the capitol on Friday, before the
removal of the remains 20 Cleveland for
the final ceremonies. Mrs. Leslie re
solved TO anticipate the usual day of
publication the following week, and
deposit in Cleveland papers containing
full illustrations of the scenes at Wash
ington on Monday morning. She sent
for the president of the American news
company and communicated her pur-
poses. He was incredulous and doubtful;
she insisted it could be done and should
be done, and it was. Not less than 80 900
copies of the Weekly were sent to Cleve-
land, where they sold so readily it is
believed as many more could have been
disposed Of Such achievements as
these soon vindicated Mrs. LesIie's claim
to succeed the founder of the great pub
fishing house. The expenses were
enormous, but the outlay was more than
returned in circulation higher than the
paper had ever before reached and in
The establishment OF public confidence
in the new publisher. There is nobody
in the business who possesses more thor.
oughlc the confidence If the heads of
the great news companies with whom
publishers of illustrated papers must
have the most intimate relations. In
her personal appearance and manner,
Mrs. Leslie would be conspicuous any
where. With shapely and we'll poised
head, wondrously expressive gray eyes
that seem to pierce through all exterlorS
to the inner humanity of sense and
motive; and a mouth extremely mobile
in its play; the whole contour immediate
" attracts admiration and remark. In
her speech sae is singularly winning
and direct, and there are few of the
keenest couversationaljsts who can
match her in scussion of any subject
of soc al, political or business interest.
The achievements and success of such a
woman are an honor not only to her
eek, but to the institutions which afford
such enlarged possibilities to American
women; and her future, in the sphere