The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-12-10
Tins and Downs of the News
Purveyors in Seattle
MANY WE'RE BORN BUT TO DIE.
The Observation-Disclosures" the Ineal
Descendant Of Many Ventures.
R.pfd sketch Of the sewspspers'
Daily and weekly, which Have
Been E.tsbiishsd IN Seattle and Been
slain BY the InsxorAbie Law That
the Ffttest sarvfvs-

Newspaper business In Seattle has been
fail OF ups and downs and o!striamphs ana
failures It's business in which many
ARE called into life and few are chosen Tor
long existence. The Seattle Newspaper
field i full OF the remains OF departed
Journals. which ware summoned into lie
To I'll. some Iong-felt want, and then, ON
ing to the indifference Of the public, lsck
Of funds or ability. have folded their more
o. less wilits wings and have died.
The father Of journalism in Seattle was
James K. Watson. newspaper man Of the
Old scaoo. lie was not only printer.
bat man 81 ability. and Was one Of the
MOST prominent men of the early history
OF the city. lie started the tlrst paper
Seattle ever mad. which was the nucleus
81 the rosr-IsrElIrsEscEa Of today. IA
Isgs2 be was working ia Olympia, and
remained there until August i. ISIS. he
Published the fret copy OF the Washington
Gazxtt< IL vas printed AZ Olympia. but
dated a; Seattle. lie brought several
copies 70 Seattle, and receiving satisfactory
promises, he concluded 70 start paper
here. On December 10, 1853. fhirty-one
years ago. the first copy OF the Weekly Ga
sefte vas published. with SIR. Wat
sen as the editor and proprietor.
Tie Gonet,e was very nea. looking paper
OF four pages, four columns wide. the COM
pleis flea Of which are in the possession
OF Clarence b. Bagiey. The office Of the
Gasstte was in the second story of q two
story wooden building on Commercial
street, situated on the ground now occu-
pied by schwabacher Bros store. The
4
wiro furnished the room free OF cost and
aided Watson in every way 10 make his
expenses as small as possible and make
the paper success In August. ls6a,
about six months after the paper was
started, the revenues Of the concern war
ranted Mr.. Watson in enlarging the paper
from sheet i6 by ri inches in size 10 -
By ~ inches. August 10. 1865. Mr. Watson
severed his connection with the paper and
returned to Olympia, where he continued
in the newspaper business until the time
OF his death. As soon as he gave up the
Gasette the paper went into the possession
OF Hall & Mcnamara. who changed the
name 10 the Puget Sound ScHli- BsciIy. The
Hall OF the tirm was Judge L. NJ. hall
THE FIRST DAILY N WASHINGTON.
On April 5. lse8. tho paper Was enlarged
20 seven columns. and on April q of the
same year the Puget Sound Daily WAS
started. being the first daily ia the terri
tory of Washington. The paper was n
hye-eolumn sheet of four pages. the col
umns being t0IS ems wide. and
the whole paper being Is by -
inches Ia size. The publication of the
daily was continued for eighty-three num-
beFs, or about three months. when IL was
discontinued. The paper continued as
weekly. with Hall & White rs editors and
proprietors. until June -. ls67. when it
suspended publication. About this time
5. 1. Maxwell. travelling printer who ar
rived in town with very limited resources,
conceived the idea OF revlying the paper
The plant Of that time vas owned BY
Clarence II. Bagley and his father. Rev.
Daniel Bagiey. and upon proper rep
resontaiion the paper was turned over to
Maxwell 20 make what he could out Of It.
the latter 10 pay a nominal sum OF 500.
should he he aole to DO 60 and remain In
possession Of the paper.
THE ''wEEEtY fSrElIgeEScER"
Thus. on August 8, is67. the Weekly Ia
teliigeaoer made its appearance with Max
we'll as its editor. Maxwell was a good
paper. being neat and cleserly edited. took
well from the start. and in a very short
time the publisher was la position to buy
the plant, and thus be entered into COM
plete control 81 the paper. At that time
the fafslligrsscer Was independent in poll
tics, and continued 90 grow in popularity
until IS teeame : power "A the settlement.
rrg rosr-iSrEftgcKScEB' rEpIaEEE
In order ~ show ali the lineage Of the
Pesr.fSaEfGI0ESCE It will be necessary 10
40 back a little. The hrst newspaper pub-
lishe4 in what Is uow the state Of WASH
ingion was the CuiuHsbian. at Olympia. on
December ., ISL II lived about =
year. when II vas changed in name 90
the Pioneey Gnd nemocraL In 1881 the
paper was succeeded by the Overland
nsss, which In turn a few months later
became the FaciSc Tribune. The two first
named Journals were wcekIies. the Overland
Press gri-weekly. the first venture ia the
territory of that kind The Pacis,
Trsa0me ISSUED = daily edition Ga isgis In
1878 the ffihiiHs vas removed % Tacom a.
where. both daily and weekly. IL was the
pioneer az ueWspapeF efforts la ISIS IL
was again removed. this tine 90 Seattle.
where. after three years further existence.
81 WAS merged into she fs-l5srua,r. The
Gassfle, the first newspaper Zee Seattle. con.
unued in existence with puuserou. vIclssi.
sudcs FOR four years. when it a "a anA is
material WAS sold, and tire Iafe,.tFrac-r Il. a.
started. The faftaiTencer ISSUED ell
weekly edition IN 1871 and entered she
aeld as = daily later In she same wear. la
Ist9 printing ofiiee WAS brought 81 scat
sic frem Sitka. and publication began heos