The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-05-31
FIFTY YEARS AGO.

| REE l. MAIDEN wac iauh'h'' va w.
sea of Journalism. It's Original name
was "ILLINOIs FREE TRADER" which
a few years later, when Ottawa began
to show new signs Of growth, was
changed by substituting OTTAWA" for
"IllinOis.'
The original publishers were George
+. Weaver and John Hise, under the
firm name of Weaver & Hise. They
were two young journeymen printers
from Harrisburg, Pa, who by dint of
hard work had accumulated few hun
dred dollars, which they invested in
this venture at ottawa, Illinois.
1t was not a fortunate time to en-
gage in such an adventure here. With
in few months after the paper was
started work on the Illinois and Mich
| igan canal, in which an army OF labor
ers were employed at good wages,
ceased, and Ottawa, which in May,
1910, contained population OF 300, a
year later barely numbered 800. A
subscription list Of 800 in the fall OF
1910, a year later had dropped to $50,
and rose little above that in the next
| four years. Money was scarce, sub
scriptions were largely paid in 'truck,
and but for one rcdeeming circum-
stance. born of the hard condition Of
the country, it would have been hard
TO raise the necessary cash to keep the
paper aloat-and that circumstance
was, that there wasa fat annual Tax
List to print.
Weaver retired from the paper in
1912, selling his interest to VIM. Os-
man, the present senior editor; who in
1910 had entered the Office as a com
pOsitOr: IIisc retired in 1913, selling
! his interest to Moses Osman, brother
of William, and the brothers contin-
ued the publication Of the paper until
1853, when it was sold to George and
julius Avery, who, however neither
being practical printer, possibly
found the business up hill work at all
events, in 1854, they readily accepted
an offer from the present senior editor,
and the concern was re-sOld to him,
who has ever since maintained his con
ncction with it: 50 that, with the ex-
ception of about eight months during
which he was editor Of John Went
worth's Chicoqo Democrat, and about
eight months spent as clerk in the
Interior Department at Washington,
the present senior editor has main
tanned an unbroken connection with
the FREE TRADER during the entire
fifty years of its publication.
They have been years Of varied eX-
pcriencc-So sometimes pleasant, often
rying, but upon the whole have prob
ably averaged as well in point of life's
cnjoymcnts, as those of most business
men.
Politically the paper has always been
Democratic, never varying from the
standard laid down in the authorized
party platforms. 1t never failed to
support the regularly nominated pres
idcntlal candidate of the party, or the
regular state or congressional ticket
nor is there but one instance rccollect'
ed-thc noted Ryan-Mason senatorial
contest of lS42-when it failed to SUP
port the regular county nomination Oh
the party. (No explanation of the
causes Of that one detection Is deemed
necessary here, as the present editor at
that time had no control over the
papcr)
| 1t might bc interesting, no doubt,
to 60 over those fifty years and detail
the leading experiences OF political
editor but we have neither time OF
space to-day to do the subject half JUS
ticc. 1t must suffice to say that dur
inc that time we have helped to make
and unmake "A good many big as wei
as little men. From the larger VT
| have in the main been rcmuncrated III
the way of gratitude and kind treat
ment from the smaller generally II
curses and annoyance. But upon tn,
whole, perhaps, we have nearly kept
even, by trying to give aS good as W,
received. This we can say with clea
conScience-thc FREE TRADER neveI
sold an opinion or its support for mon
ey, though often Sorely tempted il
that way: nor was il ever bought of
where the editor felt it his duty {,
pitch ill.," 1t at least tried to b,
that which we know is hard to predi
cate of any party shect-a straight
square, honest advocate and exponent
of Democratic principles and clean
truthful and reliable newspaper.
Two Montana miners seeking wives
found their aflinities in "A couple o