Evening star., 1896-03-28

a young heart, and that settles everything.
But to be accurate and conventional. it
may be stated that he is fifty-five. He was
born in the little house No. 235 Pennsyl-
vania avenue between I'd and Sd streets
northwest, cut of which accompanies this
stcry, iE the spring of 1S41. His father, the
late Harvey NJ Watterson, was at that
time a member of the national House from
Tennessee, and Washington was but little
advanced beyond the conditions of a strag
cling village. The social life of the little
town was in the quarter where the Waiter
sons were sojourning, and there the family
remained for several years.
The return home of the elder Watterson
severed the coming youngsters connection
with the capital for a season, but the year
.S6O, when he was only nineteen, found
Henry Watterson back in Washington.
for it both in temperament and alertness,
and with his choice of work already made.
He had resolved to ease the scriptural SEN
terce as it 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 it. The article show
| ed both accuracy and the power of sympa-
thetic expression, and 1t served to open the
columns Of the paper to him for other per-
formances He worked hard and he pros
pered. He soon established correspondence
| with out-of-town newspapers, and was an
aspiring youngster, with some reputation
when Mr.. Lincoln came on to be inaugu-
| elect; stood near at hand on the platform
| the day of the Inauguration. and wrote the
| story for the next mornings papers.
journalism During the War.
Their came the war, when young Wat
terson abar doned his f1attering professional
| prospects and went south to cast his lot
with the confederacy. He was assigned to
| staff duty, and saw some service in the
| field. His talents as a writer, however,
were cenanded in newspaper work, and he
| became editor of the Rebel a journal as
| its name would indicate devoted to the
| cause Of the confederacy. He made that
| hum. But double leads proved to be as
powerless as bullets to stay the force of
| the Union arms, and the Rebel and its
| slashing young editor were among the as
| sets turned over by the confederacy to In
Gle Sam at tie close of hos.ilities.
| After the war young Watterson settled in
Nashville as writer for the press, and
| then moved to Cincinnati, where he had
| relatives, and where he wrote dramatic
| ard musical criticisms for the local news
| managing editor of the Journal George
| D. Prentice's old organ, then in decay and
the next year witnessed the consolida ton
OF the Journal with the Courier, the oppo-
sition paper, and the establishment with
| Mr.. Watterson as editor-in-ch!ef, of what
afterward became. and still remains, the
| most famous OF southern newspapers
| Since that time the Courier-Journal has
| been Henry Watterson, and Henry Waiter
| son has been the Ccurier-Journal. 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 opin-
| ions and those who held them and called
| upon to fight hard for supremacy the re-
sourceful and courageous man with his
| popular newspaper never quilted any field
| worth the winning until it 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 rememberedas an editor.
He was born to the journalistic purple,
and he has worn it exceedingly well.
The Kentucky field afforded him the full
| est 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 de-
The call. the occasion, was for the young
| men, and, as they always do, they came
forward. Mr. Watterson, although but
just arrived in the state, led the procession
long so great a power, was now almost
| moribund. Mr.. Prentice had lost his favor
ite son in battle. his wife was dead. his
means were low, and he himself was a
| sadly broken old man. younger hand
was necessary to guide the paper and re-
new its strength, and Mr.. Watterson was
chosen. He came, and soon gave the town
| such taste of his quality that attention
| was attracted to him. Walter N Halde-
| man was the editor Of the opposition paper
| and, being shrewd man Of business, saw
that a new move on his part would be
| necessary. This move took the form of ne
| gotiations for consolidation Of the two en-
| terprises. and thus the Courier-Journal-
the most euphonious name Of all the n.y.
| phenated ventures-was agreed upon as the
| name for the new paper.
| Mr.. Watterson's task was difficult even
for him. He had not only to make a name
| for himself, but in the very shadow of Mr.
Prentice's name. But he did 1t. Their
| gifts however, were not alike. Mr.. Prem
| tice was the father, and remained the mas
ter, Of the paragraph. He was capable OF
| sustained effort, but he was not at his bes,
in that style Of deliverance Mr.. Waiter
son, on the other hand, cultivated the
| leader, and made 1t racy with the COLO
quialisms of the soil. He studied his con.
| stituency, and finding how best to appeal
| to 1T, did SO with conQuering effect. As
the turfmen say, he soon struck his gait u
and he has been keeping it, and with i,
keeping the lead at home ever since.
His influence I'm Politics.
The new paper dealt very largely with
national politics. and Mr.. Watterson, while
a sturdy democrat. took broad and pro.