The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-07-02
A. G. TENNEY

Mr. Tenney was no sooner graduated than
he plunged at once into journalism. He
went to Baltimore, and in 1886 the Baltimore
Transcript appeared, published by Skinner
Tenney. skinner, his. partner, was a
brother of Rev. Otis A. skinner, the cele-
brated Universalist clergyman of Massachu-
sets. 1t was before the days of bitter anti
slavery agitation; and the two Yankee pro-
prietors of the Transcript came in only for
considerable good -natrlred raillery from the
Baltimoreans. Mr.. Tenney soon sold out
his interest in the Gazette; and for five
years until 1910 he taught school in Balti-
more.
The year 1910 was the time of the great
Wing victory, ard Mr.. Tenney did not leave
Baltimore until he had beheld the original
campaign log cabin and the great Wing
campaign procession in that city. Clay and
Webster were there together, and Mr. Tenney
heard them both. He said in after years,
that their styles of oratory were so different
that no comparison could be drawn between
them, but they seemed equally great. Clay
was the popular orator, but Webster handled
the thunderbolt of Jove.
In Boston Mr.. Tenney went to work on
the Boston Times, an independent penny
paper which had been established not long
before. Mr. Tenney had an extended career
on the Boston papers, serving on the Jour
nal and editing two papers, the Boston Bee
and the Daily Evening Telegraph. The Bee
was penny paper, established by seven
printers, one of whom was Mr.. Albert Har-
mon, now of Portland 1t was independent
in politics, as were most of the smaller Bos-
tonspapers of that date. The Post was the
Democatic paper, while the Atlas was a
leading Wing paper. The Journal, then of
less reputation, was also Wing.
During his career in Boston Mr.. Tenney
frequently reported speeches of Webster
Choate, Caleb Gushing, Robert Rantoul, and
many other statesmen of that generation
He reported the speech which Webster made
at Abingdon, when the Wings called upon
him to explain why he had declared the
nomination of Zachary Taylor one 'un fit
to be made Webster had used TIE express
sion; and the Massachusetts, Wings made
much an uproar that he felt constrained,
such against his will to have ii hack. Mr.
Tenney has said that Webster was a very
mad man that day at Abingdon, and that
he SO worded his famous speech as to take
back very little though appearing to be
quite deferential to the sentiments of the
Taylor Wings.
HIIl6 MT. eun6y was connected With the
Boston press the Native American agitation
was at its height, and that party secured
control of the legislature. This was the
Hiss legislature, so named for rather
bright but superficial Boston tailor who
figured largely in its proceedings. Among the
stirring incidents of this legislature was an
unproductive investigation of a Catholic
nunnery.
In 1866 Mr.. Tenney came to Bath and took
the Bath Tribune, of which the present
Times is the successor. The Tribune was
Wing paper, owned by syndicate of lead
ing Bath Wings, the Pattens among them.
Mr. Tenney relates that there arose a di-
lenlma in the office of the Tribune when
the SO campaign came on. This was the
year, it will be remembered when the great
political overturn came, led by HaYnlin and
Others. The Republican party had sprung
into existence before the old Wings realized
ii. and had swept them off the earth. FIRE.
mont was the Republican candidate for
President and Buchanan the Democratic.
The Native Americans, small fragment.
renominated Millard Fillmore, who had been
president for portion of Taylor's term,
ending in 1852. The Wing gentlemen of Bath
were in somewhat of a dilemma. The Port
land Advertiser, the leading Wing paper in
this part of the State had hoisted the Ere
mont flag. Most Wings were supporting Ere
mont, some were going over TO the Demo-
cratsi and faithful remnant were stand
ing by the wreck of the old party. The Bath
Wings who owned the Tribune, following