The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-04-22
As EDITOR AND ORATOR
Henry Natterson and His Unique Pc
sition in Kentucky.
HIS SUCCESS AS A JOURNALIST
His Doyhood and Early Newspaper Work
Ia washinstOu-His Stndiss of Lin.
coin = Other Interesting Points
About IN Interesting Man.

The other day Henry watterson, who
last winter 80 charmed the people Of
Scranton with his magnificent lecture
on Lincoln, did the same to the people
Of Washington, whereat the Star grew
reminiscent. We quote from IL as fol-
lows:
The age Of man like Mr.. Waiter
son Is really not to any point. He has
always had q long head. and he will al
ways keep a young heart. and that
settles everything. But to be accurate
and conventional, 1t may be stated that
he is fifty-five. He was born In the little
house No. 235 Pennsylvania avenue. be-
tween I'd and I'd streets northwest,
In the spring of 1S4l. His father, the
late Henry V. Watterson, was at that
time a member Of the national house
from Tennessee, and Washington was
but little advanced beyond the condi-
tions Of struggling village. The So
cial life Of the little town was in the
quarter where the Wattersons We're So
journing. and there the family re-
mained for several years.
The return home Of the elder Wat
terson severed the coming youngsters
connection with the capital for a sea-
son. but the year 1860, when he was
only nineteen, found Henry Watterson
back in Washington, eager for life's
race. admirably equipped for 1t both
In temperament and alertness, and with
his choice Of work already made. He
had resolved to ease the scriptural sem
tence as 1t applied to himself as much
as possible, and to earn his bread in
the sweat Of his lead pencil. His first
Offering was to the Star. A little boy
had been drowned in the Potomac, and
young Watterson wrote the account of
1t. The article showed both accuracy
and the power of sympathetic express
sion, and 1t served to open the columns
of the paper to him for other perform
ances. He worked hard and he pros
pered. He soon established cores
pondence with out-of-town newspapers,
and was an aspiring youngster, with
some reputation, when Mr.: Lincoln
came on to be inaugurated. The young
man met the president elect, stood near
at hand on the platform the day Of the
inauguration, and wrote the story for
the next morning 6 papers.
DURING THE WAR.
Then came the war, when young
Watterson abandoned his flattering
professional prospects and went south
to cast his lot with the confederacy. He
was assigned to staff duty, and saw
as O writer. however, were demanded
in newspaper work, and he became edi-
tor of the Rebel, journal, as its name
would indicate, devoted to the cause Of
the confederacy. He made that hum.
But double leads proved to be as power
less as bullets to stay the force of the
Union arms. and the Rebel and its
slashlng young editor were among the
assets turned over by the confederacy
to Uncle Sam at the close Of hositilities.
After the war young Watterson set
tied in Nashville as q writer for the
press, and then moved to Cincinnati,
wrote dramatic and musical criticisms
for the local newspapers. In 1867 re
went to Louisville as managing editor
Of the Journal, George D. Prentice's old
organ. then in decay, and the next year
witnessed the consolidation Of the Jour-
nal with the Courier, the opposition
paper. and the establishment, with
Mr.. Watterson as editor-in- chief, Of
what afterward became, and still re-
mains, the most famous of southern
newspapers.
since that time the Courier-J Journal
has been Henry Watterson, and Henry
Watterson has been the Courier-Jour-
nal. They have been twin visitors In
thousands of southern households, and
have played q notable part in the
molding of southern sentiment. Often
In advance Of local opinions and those
who held them, and called upon to fight
hard for supremacy, the resourceful
and rageous man with his popular
newspaper never Quilted any field
worth the winning until 1t was won,
and his own standards Of Democracy
had been accepted as the faith of the
party.
THE MAN FOR THE TIME.
Although it is by no means his only
claim to distinction, Mr.. Watterson Is
best known, and will longest be remem-
bered, as an editor. He was born to
the journalistic purple, and he has worn
1t exceedingly well.
The Kentucky field afforded him the
fullest opportunity. Everything was
In the transition stage. In business,
in politics, in journalism, the old was
giving place to the new. The war had
left everything depressed, the older
men all discouraged. The call, the oc-
casion, was for the young men. and, as
they always do, they came forward.
Mr.. Watterson, although but just ar
rived in the state, led the procession in
his line. The old Louisville Journal, for
long SO great a power, was now almost
moribund. Mr.. Prentice had lost his
favorite son in battle, his wife was
dead, his means were low, and he him.
self was q sadly broken old man. A