The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-06-01

but Mr.. Childs persuaded HIM to make it a
| popular narrative. Herein Mr.. Childs
| showed his good judgment and knowl-
| edge of what the public wants to read.
| Later on Mr.. Childs made another sue
| cessful venture. Everybody was talking
about Parson Browlow. the patriotic fight
| ing parson of East Tennessee. Without
needing the advice of conservative old
! fogies in the business, young Childs went
| ahead and published the book. The adj
vance sale was SO 900 copies, before single
| volume had been issued. 'Peterson's
! Familiar Science" was another popular
book, and quarter of million copies
were sold by Mr.. Childs' firm.
| In 1868 Mr.. Childs retired from the pub
| fishing business and purchased the Public
Ledger. This was the dream of his youth,
and it was fully realized. At that time the
war ran white paper up to exorbitant fig
ures. The paper alone in many of the
dailies cost more than they sold for when
| printed. The price of the Ledger had been
a penny. 1t had large advertisement
patronage. yet it was losing at the rate of
$4,000 year. Against the advice of ex-
| perienced journalists Mr.. Childs doubled
the price of the paper and advanced the
| advertising rates TO profitable figure.
Mr.. Childs says, of course there was an
instant and not uncomfortable falling off
| of patronage, but the Ledger was an estab-
lished institution, having for twenty years
been the recognized medium of commune
cation between employers and employed,
between buyers and sellers, landlords and
tenants, bereaved families and their
| friends. To many people it was a necessity.
| The bushes that was temporarily lost
soon came back again, and at the end of a
month the public was reconcIled to the
change, and from that day to this the cir
culation and advertising have increased.
Mr.. Chids has made the Ledger one of the
| great papers of the country. He has done
more than that He has made it clean,
| just, impartial-a model Of high toned
| journalism. For over quarter of GEN.
tury it has fulfilled its mission, giving the
business man and the family paper sa-
| gacious, accurate, painstaking, whose
statements can always be relied upon,
whose prescience is often remarkable, and
whose columns contain nothing that is
impure or offensive. In politics it has
always been independent.
In speaking of the Ledger Mr.. Childs
says; Il worked hard to make the paper
| success. For several wears / seldom left
/
| raging from twelve to fourteen hours a
day at the office"
BY the time Mr.. Childs had thoroughly
established the Ledger as a typical Ameri-
can family newspaper he had won the
| friendship of Longfellow, Emerson, Lowell.
| Holmes, Whittier, John Lothrop Motley,
| William Cullen Bryant. George Bancroft,
w. ii. Prescott. Fitz-Greene Haileck,
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington IT.
| wing. and score of other writer's illus
trlous in American literature. Mr.. Childs'
memories of these men. embracing or ginal
and copious extracts from,their correspond
| ence with him. are a most interesting
feature in his book. 1t may be said of Mr..
Childs that both at home and abroad he
has had the friendship and confidence of
representative men, because the aim of
his life has been for the highest and the
best. The best newspapers, the best books,
the best workmen aud the highest wages
have been his motto. A good mans fame
precedes him everywhere Mr. Childs re-
qules no Introduction in America or in
Europe. Statesmen, prime ministers,
members of cabinets, bishops and arch
bishops abroad. saying nothing of our own
lllustrious men. have been his guests
When Mr.. Chiiis visited England in
ls6S the first letters 10 reach him bore
greetings from Charles pickens-"Wel-
come TO England" When ne took his de.
parture Charles Dickens clasped his hands
and said: Good by. God bless you!'
and the tears were in his ewes. Among
| Mr.. Chiids' many rare and invaluable au-
tographs manuscripts and historical SOU
venirs are pages of Our Mutual Friend"
| in Dickens own handwriting.
| Much has been written Of the remark
able friendship between Mr.. Childs and
! General Grant. Mr.. Childs SAYS:
The general was one OF the ttucst aud NOS,
| conseulal friends ever hsd We FIRST met in
| 1868 after the Victory Of Vicksburg The gen
| erAl and Mrs. Grant had come % Philaielphia
| 10 make arrangements 10 put their chill i.en al
| school in Burlington, y, ]. From that time un-
| I'll his dcath our intimacy Erew. In his Life
| three qualities were consp.eiously revealed
| justice, kindness and tEmnesS Much has been
| published abou; General Grant, but there are
many things that have not seen stated, AMI
one IS thst ae had considerable artistic taste and
| talent lie painted very we'll ono OF his paint.
| lngs, twelve By eighteen inches, he gave his
| friend the la'e Hon \. z, Borie. OF Phliadsl-
| ph'a. who was the secretary OF the navy in his
| hFsi eSeinet The picture Is. believe one OF
! the two that he Is known 70 have painted. On
| the death Of M Barie 1t was presented by his
| iaflliF 10 Mrs Grant, and tae engraving of ii
] wa> made from tue original sent 70 me for the
| purpose by Coione. Fred D. Grant
| In th1s connection il may be interesting
TO state that General Gran: was made A
member OF the Grand Army OF the Repub-