Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1897-10-21

such for several months that the mem
bers of his family had kept themselves
| in constant readiness to go to his bed
| side at any moment. On Saturday
morning he had relapse, and it was APP
parent that recovery was impossible.
Several times, however, he rallied, but
toward night began to sink. During
the night there were feeble rallies, but
they did not last long. Sunday morning
it was seen that the end was but few
hours off, and his attendants remained
almost constantly at his bedside. The
end came quietly.
Charles Anderson Dana was born August
Is, 1873. He came Of an old New England
family, which has supplied as many stu
dents to Harvard and as many well-known
names to litelature as any in the east.
Among It's members are numbered Fran
els Dana, the revolutionary patriot; Rich
ard Henry Dana, the poet; the other Rich
ard Henry, who wrote 1.-TWO Years Before
the Mast" and James d. Dana, the geol
ogist. He followed the ancestral track at
Harvard, when weakness of the eyes inter-
rupted his studies and obliged him to leave
the university without taking degree, in
spite of his high scholastic achievements.
college life over, he joined with Theodore
Parker, Emerson, Margaret Fuller, George
William Curtis, Hawthorne, Charming and
others in their attempt to found the Brook
Farm community. This was an endeavor to
form an ideal society based upon real equal
ity and perfect fraternity. The plan was
not a success, and the members of Brook
Farm were soon scattered. Young Dana
abandoned his visionary hopes and turned
his face to life of toll. He at once en-
tered the newspaper profession and was
first employed by Elizur Wright, who was
q q nnl a
type In Boston. He earned five dollars a
week. From this point his rise was rapid.
In 1S47 he went to New York, having been
engaged as city editor on Horace Greeley's
rising paper, the Tribune, at ten dollars
week. The following year he was sent as
special correspondent to Europe. His work
there soon gained him renown as corre-
spondent, and on his return to New York
he became Greeley's principal assistant.
His salary gradually was increased from
81, 900 to 81, 500 year, this being the highest
salary paid at that time by any newspaper.
Mr.. Dana's leisure hours were spent in lit
erary work. He published volume of
poems, and in 1855 he began, in association
! with George Riley, to edit the New Ameri-
can Cyclopedia."
June 16, 1862, he was appointed to the
war department commission to investigate
claims at Cairo, ILL.,; on March II, 1869, as
special commissioner of the department
to report on the condition Of the pay serv-
ice III Tie "cSlcTH army JUNE L, loOo III Ut
der that he might be subject to military ex-
change II captured when visiting the front
of the army, he was appointed major and
assistant adjutant general, and on De-
| cember 81, 1868, was nominated to the sem
| ate for that office, but he never formally
accepted it, and the nomination. at his re-
| quest, after he had returned from Vicks-
| burg, was withdrawn on February "a, 1864.
| January 20, 1864, he was nominated for as
| sistant secretary Of war for one year, from
| January, 10, 1854; confirmed January 20.
| and took the office on January 2S; renom-
mated January g. 1865, and confirmed on
! the same day. He rendered the principal
! part of his service for the war department
| under the above commissions and as assist
| ant secretary by visiting the army head
| quarters of Rosecranz, Sheridan, Sherman
| and Grant, advising confidentially with the
| commanding officers and corresponding
| freely with President Lincoln and Secre-
| tary Stanton, resigning as assistant Sec
rotary July l, 1866.
When the war was over, in 1867. he went
to Chicago, and for a year acted as editor
| Of the Republican. Then he returned to the
| metropolis and organized the company
which now publishes the New York Sun.
| The Sun was already an old-established
| journal, having first appeared in 1888.
Dana's conduct of this journal was so fear
less that in 1873 his criticism of the Grant
| administration led to an attempt on the
part of the heads of the government to
hale him to Washington for trial in po-
| lice court on charge of libel. Justice
Blatchford, then of the United States dis
trict court in New York, declared the at
tempt an invasion of constitutional rights
and refused to grant the necessary warrant
| of removal. For nearly so years Mr.. Dana
| made the Sun an Independent democratic
journal. In its issue Of October IA. 1897
in the heart of the Greater New York
municipal campaign. Mr.. Dana repudiatec
democracy of every stripe and declared fol
- n 49, 49, l. H..
party. This was on the ground that the
democracy of William J. Bryan represented
principles, tendencies and purposes which
the Sun abhorred, and that the gold democ
racy was impractical and without definit,
purpose or significance. rr
In private life Mr.. Dana was a connois
seur of books, ceramics, bronzes, painting
and orchids a lover Of chess and athletic.
and enamored of all things of refinement.