The herald., 1893-10-08
TWO VETERAN NEWSPAPERMEN
George w. Childs and Major
Truman Meet.
They Exchange "reminiscences About
Papers and Men.
The Major Tells Something About His
Csresr-Made Lots OF Money and
Spent It--Hfs Relations with
Colonel Forney.
The following appeared recently in

tu0 OuichHO lIlpuucs
Truman" said Thorpe, yesterday,
"won't you take Mr.. Childs down into
the dome and show him all his plants,
especially the caladiums ?"
1t was pair of them, in many re-
spects. Each had known Grant and
johnson and Blaine intimately, and
multitudea of the more prominent
actors between '61 and the present time.
and both were newspaper men, each in
his own way. Everybody knows George
w. Childs personally or otherwise, and
Ben Truman is known as an army man,
journalist and author, and as the best
authority on dueling in the world.
$50 you worked for Forney in 1850
and '61?"
s'Yes, and there were Mike Hart,
Ringwalt, Jim Dunn, r. Shilton Mac
kepzie and"
Gan dead-all dead-but you and |.
We are still living; we can do great
deal OF good vet. You ard are about
the same age. l was born in 1899.
How old are you?"
81 was born in 1885,
"Whet have you been doing since you
left Forney?"
Written good MANY years for the
New York Times and other leading
newspapers, published 10 copyrighted
books, owned daily or weekly papers in
California nine wears and did the liter
ary work for the S,uthern Pacific COM
pRny for IL years"
Saved any money? You must have
made good deal"
Have something lsfs But l have
lived we'll and travelled largely and been
LIBERAL"
"Wiie and daughter, whom I have
fixed for life."
did you know Townsend and Russell
Young?''
1--WE all three worked on the Phila-
delphia Press in 1861. George was city
editor. John was the editor, and | was
correspondent from the western battle
field. and once in while from Wash
ington. In March, 1862, Forney got me
on Andy Johnson's staff, with whom ]
staid until October, 1866, and then went
to California
"Did you know Forney well?"
"Ishould say 80. Socially. you know
he was always in touch with his EN-
ployees, from composition to press
rooms. He sent me out to Nashville
with Andy (then military governor)
Johnson, who made me captain and
provost marshal, and l wrote for the
Press year for $50 week and ex-
penses, and three years for the New
York Times for $50 week. and occa
sionally wrote letters to the Chicago
Tribune for 500 each."
"You made loIs of money. Whai
did you you do with it?"
sSpent it,"
"How?
"Sine living, costly wines. good dress
ing ="
.'Nearly ALL"
"How else did you spend so much
money!
''Oh, don't know--various ways"
"You ought to have eaved some OF
that money, and you would have owned
big newspaper somewhere, now"
s'But l always stuck up for Forney
When he and johnson fell out Forney
sent for me, and found him in bed at
the old Kirkwood hotel in one room,
Logan in an adjoining room, and there
were lots of bottles around, and Forney
said: johnson is cruel and ungrateful
But can save him if he will go half
way with me in mending matters. If
you cannot succeed in q mediation,
then stick to Johnson, as he likes you
and has done great deal for you.' 1 in
formed the colonel that could be true
to Johnson and that the world could
not make me unfriendly to him.
never spoke to Mr.. Forney ON the mat
ter afterward. But in trying to diesuade
the president from referring to the colo
mel in an unfriendly way again, he said
that Forney had misrepresented and
traduced him, and that he could get
along without his love-that he and
Dana were mad because he would not
turn over the New York and Philadel-
phia custom houses to them, and that
Logan had turned against him because
he could not induce Mccullough to put
through big cotton claim for him.
''In January, 1870, however, went to
Washington, and Forney was making
no money out OF his Chronicle, and not
much out of the Press, and the former
was whacking away against the Alaska
Seal Fur company'e first lease. Hay
ward Hutchinson came to me one day
and asked me how much it would take
to stop the Chronicles opposition. I
said Colonel Forney 10 poor off for cash,
and l thought $4,000 would do it. He
requested me to attend to it, which
did, and made the bargain for s5 900. /
handed it to Forney in the vestibule of
the National theatre, in five one thou
sand dollar bills, and he afterward
tucked one of the bills in my hand, and
/ would not take it, as Hutchinson had
paid me 81 .250 for that and other SER
vices. On that same evening he "loaned"
an ex-member OF congress from Phila-
elphia-Randall's predecesscr-I can't
think OF his name, one of those bills.
The last time saw Mr.. Forney, which
was in November. 1880, he asked me to
go up to his house to dinner, and
while no one was in our way
he stopped short and said
Thurman, let us 60 over to New York
and console Hancock. He is heart.bro-
ken. We took the first train and arrived
at Governors island late at night, and
there were good many sorrows drowned
in the flowing bowl before morning.
There never was more libeial man
or truer friend than Forney. He
would raiae Thousand dollars. say, tor
some pressing use and loan it to some
one harder up before he reached the cor
ner. A short time before he died be
wrote to me and said that he owed $3400
and that no one would trust him, not
even the butcher, the baker, or the can
dlestick-maker. He wanted 5000 $50 /
got all OF his bills down to those OF the