The Washington times., 1902-07-27

ownership Of the esteemed Pub
lie Ledger" of Philadelphia,
will, of course. have no effect
upon the representative of that paper
in the capital. Major Carson will con-
tinue to be the head of the Public
Ledger" bureau, as he has been for
about a quarter of century, and as he
should. and doubtless will, be to the
end OF the chapter. Major Carson has
been on the Row too many years to
waste time counting, hes always been
one of the leading men in the business.
and since the retirement OF General
Boynton from active daily newspaper
work. has been the recognized dean OF
the corps OF correspondents.
Major Carson was attached to the
Public Ledger" force while yet boy.
and has been connected with it in differ
ent important capacities for many years.
His service was more or less interrupt
ed in various ways. First, he was
soldier in the civil war, serving with
credit. He was at the disastrous bat
tie of First Bull Run. which occurred, by
the way. just forty-one years ago last
Monday. From that sad but glorious
day" he hurried back with the rest of
General McDowell's routed Corps
d'Armee,' as it had been proudly called.
For many years it has been a chronic
joke among Major Carson's newspaper
associates to assert that he brought
home from the field the first news of
that tragedy of the rebellion. The news
paper man who got home first from the
stricken heights of Manassas would. of
course, have achieved a great scoop"
and been properly awarded with many
plaudits. On the contrary, the soldier
who got home first would have been sub
ject to some slight reflections upon his
courage. there was nothing to this joke,
however, except the Joke itself
Major Carson was a good soldier, and
has long been a good newspaper man.
He has been several times honored by
appointment as a member CT the West
Point board of visitors, more than one
President having thus recognized his
worth and his keen interest In the affairs
OF the army. More than this. there IS
ample evidence of his concern In army
affairs In the fact that his only son is
the well-known Major John M Carson.
1r., an experienced and admirable officer
of the regular establishment, who has
many friends in Washington.
John NJ. Carson, the elder, has lived
in this city nearly all the time since the
civil war, and has long held a command
ing position among newspaper CORE
spondents and In public opinion. After
serving in a responsible relation to the
old National Republican" he was for q
number of years head Of the New York
Times" bureau. and then again entered
the service OF the Public Ledger"
connection that continues 20 the present
day. His work for the Ledger" has
been notable, and the Washington let
ters and dispatches in that paper have
lcns appeared over the familiar initials.
y. NJ. c." Those letters have become
synonymous among readers o. the
Ledger" with the terms honesty" and
reliability" II ~. NJ. c." signs
statement. it is so. and that fact has
been recognized as completely along the
Row in Washington as at the desk In
Philadelphia. Accurate, painstaklng. ac-
tive, and energetic. Major Carson has
been with US for third OF a century
1t is rather curious fact that the new
proprietor of the "P. L." Adolph s.
ochs. now owns not only that paper.
but the New York Times" which Ma
jor Carson served with credit before his
present connection with the "P L. 1t
Is probable that there will be no
changes, at least. at an early date. in
the bureaus. either of the Public Led
GER" the Philadelphia Times" or the
New York Times" all now owned by
the same man. But it is a safe PROPOSE
tion that the dean of the Row will ulti-
mately be the practical head of the staff
of all three papers. The newspaper boys
will all unite in saying of him:
Hall. old major, warrior. man,
You're pluck from rlnd to core:
You've been our chief for many years
May you be for many more,"
In this connection 1t may be recalled
that Major Carson has held a number
of responsible political positions. He
filled the important post Of clerk to the
House Committee on Ways and Means
under "Pig-Iron" Kelly and the la:e
william Mckinley. He was also the
first choice OF President Mckinley for
private secretary to the President. and
would have been xxx officer but he