The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-06-20
They Are Now Written by
E. j. Edwards, IL. D.
DEGREE CONFERRED ON HIM
Outline Of a Successful Newspaper
Mans Life Work.
SOME THINGS HE HAS DONE.

Edwards, whose letters from this city to
the Philadelphia Press, signed Holland,
have been a daily feature Of hat paper for
several years and upon whom the author
tiles Of Seton Hall college have just con-
ferred the degree of LII. d., was admitted
to the bar when q young man soon after
his graduation from Yale. 1t Is because
= his achievements as a newspaper CORE
spondent, however, that this honor has
been given to him.
That he might have won both fame and
fortune had he pursued the Law is not
doubted In the least by those who know
him best. But he needed to work in legal
harness for a short time only to under
stand that journalism, of which he had
some experience before passing his law OK
aminations, would be a far moro con-
genial life calling, and he embraced the
first opportunity to exchange his rapidly
growing practice for the to him pleasanter
occupation Of gathering the news. Ii /
am not mistaken, he began On the New
Haven Palladium, and from that paper
went to the Hartford Courant, graduating
thence to New York, where he became a
BILE held chief place in the Office and made
lnO OIAu thO Ol0 H0HOA III
America"
While on The World Edwards wrote an
account of the removal of the New York
postoflce from "the old Dutch church. to
it's present quarters that was so vivid and
picturesque as 10 attract the special atten-
ton of Charles A. Dana, then by long
odds the most commanding figure IN the
New York newspaper field. AS a result
Mr.. Edwards was called to. The Sun, and
from that time until 1889, or possibly
1890, no served that paper continuously,
first as a city reporter, then as star special
mar, then as political correspondent. and
when Amos Cummings r~elinquished The
Evening Sun, as managing editor OF that
paper.
Some Things He Has Done.
One Of the most important pieces of
work ever intrusted to Mr.. Edwards was
an investigation into the methods Of the
Standard Oil company during the period
of its early and most rapid growth. He
devoted six weeks to this task, travelled
over the entire oil country, visited prac-
tically every refinery n every locality
where a hole had been bored in search Of
petroleum and subjected hundreds of In
dividuals, including John d. Rockefeller
himself, to the most searching inquisi-
lions. The result was a lucid two page
narrative In The Sun that threw more
light upon the nature and workings of
the first OF our vast trusts than all the
other newspaper men in the country COM
bined had managed to shed thereon.
Soon after that. In 1880, he was sent to
Albany, and 1t was his industry and In
tuition that discovered and spread before
the world the earliest news of Judge Rob-
ertson's plan for uniting tho SO called
s'half breeds of New York state with the
minority Of the Pennsylvania delegation
and boiling the ''unit rule" at the ma
tional convention, which resulted In de-
feating the nomination of General Grant
for the presidency. There are some mt
my readers no doubt who will underrate
the significance Of this achievement, but
they are not among the older ones, espe-
cially those who were interested In the poll
tics Of the eighties.
From Albany Edwards went to Wash
ington, and there he plunged into the
thick of tho fight against the swindles
which were then being pc~rpetrated upon
the postal department n have gone down
into history as the ''star route frauds"
The Hon. Thomas Il. James, then post
master general, has said more than once
that the services rendered at that time by
Mr.. Edwards were Of inestimable value.
His Work ~ . Correspondent.
But the work by which no Is best
known has most Of 10 been done since he
began his Holland letters. Several of the
stronger newspapers Of the country main
tain correspondents here. In the main
they gather and summarize the news of
the day, and some Of them do this excel
lently we'll. But through the liberal pol
icy ~inaugurated by the Hon. Charles EN-
ory Smith, the editor Of the Philadelphia
Press, who engaged Mr. Edwards, this
sort Of work Is attended to for that paper
by some one else, leaving Edwards to
treat Of current affairs by broader meth
DDS than those Of a chroniclcr Of facts. 1t
Is his province to give opinions ms well as
facts ON the assumption that while facts
are tho basis Of all news opinions are not
only also news, bur often the most valu-
able OF all news. Sometimes the opinions
set forth In the Holland letters are those of
their writer, but oftener those of tho men
who are the rcal powers I'm New York, of
men engaged In the greater affairs OF life,
scholars, scientists, financiers, princes OF
commerce and kings OF Industries.
News beats, too, OF the most important
sort arc frequently to be found in the Hol-
land letters, and occasionally, though
he makes n short trip away from
New York TO follow up a promising lead.
He did this when IL became apparent TO
him In 1898 that the operations Of the Sug-
ar trust at Washington were likely TO de
news Of exceptional Importance,
spending some days at the national capital
just before publishing the now famous
letter detailing the results of his investi-
Newspaper men generally and
Of readers besides remember
we'll the strenuous efforts made a little
10 punish the correspondent for re-
fusing 60 ''Rivc away" the sources Of his
Information and the plucky and successful
light he put up I'm his own behalf.
Dr. Edwards a. ne IL.
Personally he Il Of modest n unas- |
dcmcanor, and he blushed like u |
who has just won a prize the FIRST
lime he was addressed ns DIR. Edwards.
Is necessarily n close student OF men
md currcnt affairs. His knowledge OF
he political and commercial history Of his
country and Of rhc lives of Its noted