The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-05-25

! eheye.. when As,was not 20 years of age but he ehtefeds heartily into the great
 mand Everywhere. He was then just 2s years old and his power as an orator was not known. Indeed. 1t is doubtful If he realized it himself. With his first speech, however, in Alabama, his repu-
 tation was established, and from then
 until his death he swasta familiar figure in every part of the State and known in every State in. the Union.
 He still continued in charge of The
 Argus and in the midst .of the heated campaign of 1S40 issued the prospectus for the, first agricultural paper ever pro- posed in. Alabama. It was to. be called
 The Alabama Planter. In the prospectus he said: Tt has been remarked that
 the prosperity of a country is to be measured by the. number and circulation of it's agricultural piibi cations, Is 1t not true that fgn6rarice iahd obstinate preju- dices i,aves heer dispeilcd;f only ,>hyS the l light of science. and. that plenty and prosperity have thus alone been made to succeed pehury and want. Why? The Interest of farmers demand such publi- locations; the interest of merchants. de- Papd their circulation. When agricul- | lure fiourishes commerce revives. While Hfb flo8& -of establishing such journal |sasysn materiaiized. yet the mere propo M tipp sshows that in the midst of an exciting political campaign his thoughts | hHhotufhed to the joys of an agricultural bfessv :%@ 1s Asa.s ''' 1'1f f |ssSasIthe great campaign of; ls4o. 'sMr.
 ggolished s1sS bd psmS1r1c sn"shsrn csis sam Nhitff was possibly the most aggressive VaAdBuren paper in the State.s The first issxevwas May 16. 1890. and the Last No vember ( lsAo. It consisted ,s %. twentyo s,e cSo Pakek, and was a three column quarto. ttfrss paged like a book from to 20s. ,dp the first ,numbeE was. this declafation: IasThe Crisis Twill advocate the reelection \ ofsAfartin Van Buren. We believe him r1D represent the great mass of the Dem- daGTatic Party and to .embQdy in hfs po- 'iifical character the Jefersonian princi- pies upon which that Party came into power. and by a strict adherence to which it has been and ever VIII be sus- = After his misfortunes scafpe Upon him his time to the lay practice. which he was building up at Wetumpka. While in the active prosecution of his news paper interests he bought from a name per called The Courier Soon after thls
 purchase John C. Bates and Charles Yancey started another paper in We tumpka called The Times and advocated. the election of Harrison tor President MT. Yancey resented the connection of Charles Yancey with this paper, con- tending that it was understood at ther time of purchase of The. Courier that Charles Yancey was not to engage in
 the newspaper business at Wetumpka.
 These two Yanceys. as far as known,
 were not related to- each other. Ons
 was Whlg and the other a Democrat
 Johns,C. Bates afterwards became fla
 nous as the editor of the great Whig
 paper, The Alabama Journal. published at Montgomery.
 In all human probability but for the. spur of necessity Wm.- l.. Yancey would
 have devoted his life to newspaper and agricultural work. To him we are ln
 debted for the first suggestion of an as- ,sociation of newspaper tpeople in Ala
 bama. In The Argus in the winter of fS40-41 he called upon editors and pub fishers throughout the State to organize
 "to protect the editorial corps against loss and imposition."fe :.ff.
 As going to uphold the idea that there is nothing new under the sun. it is in
 teresting to note that two men, E.
 White and William Hager, citizens of Wetumpka, advertised in MT. Yancey's
 paper in 1s40 to the printers of .. the
 United States. .their invention of ma
 chine for casting type, the first known.
 as they alleged. and which would tsbe
 sure to drive ont the unhealthy English plan, by hand, on account of its superi-
 ority. l. Tiiis4 Aas but the forernnifer of
 the Mergenthaler of today.
 When MT. Ysncey leased his newspa per business. he said in his valedietory: With, this number of The Argus will cease that connectiOn with, the news paper press whfch have maintained, for the BTedttT- udTL Ol tilt -SiSltt ytdIS It Is highly improbable that such connection will ever again be- refe%edr During so long. 8. period. and amid scenss ofrssueh SextfNhg .polit#al leoiiteat y | may have fniih htentienally liniured feelings sof ,Sfn&hy, :lna hiisNe s6oriies teet harshiy supon -tfte -ch4facter' of others. If SO, regret it.. Feelings of resent ment towards all those with whom the duties of my station may have brought me m conflict, amidst the scenes of great political excitement have been. et-. faced from my mind. and I leave it with unkind feelings towsrd no orie.' Noble sentiments. which can well be re-echoed by those Q: the present. day. and gen eration. -
 In conclusion 1t will no doubt be in teresting to know that the ,Yancey fam fly have placed in the Keeping; of the Department of Archives and History. at the State Capitol all of the manuscripts papers. scrap hooks. and newspaper files left by MT. Yancey. These include all of the files referred to above except those published at Cahaba. |, -. .s .f-