The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-12-05

IT was neither subscriber to z h e
o u Z n a during the first year OF It's
existence nor one of It's carriers, said
j. Newton Mind the other day, when
talking about the Silver Anniversary
edition, but I have vivid recollections
of an interesting episode in early
Minneapolis Journalism.
"I was doing newspaper work on
the Tribune, which was then published
as an evening paper only, and was for
a time the only daily paper in Min
neapolis. Lucian Swift, who was then
in the counting-room of the Tribune,
which was controlled by David Blake
y. will recall some Of tht things which n!
l am to relate. In the Tribune office
Journal seriously. It was with
out telegraphic franchise, and
in those days the continuous
existence Of any paper depended
entirely upon belonging to the
Associated Press. No paper could at
ford to maintain a, special Geographic
service even with good fat bank ac-
had no such backing. We knew that
TIL e journal was being published
by Frank Curtis, c.. A. French and
Charlie Stevens, in a building around
on First avenue S. and that was about
all. We knew that Mr.. Curtis had not
previously shone in journalism, and
understood that he was a serious
minded young man, who had learned
something Of stenography and believed
that this was the way to break into
the newspaper business. This was in
the days when stenography, outside OF
the courts, was almost unknown
When Mr.. Curtis sold his in
terest in The Jou rna and re-
tired he became the private sec
rotary for Charles A. Pillsbury, who
was about the first business man II
Minneapolis to indulge in the luxury
Of a stenographer to write his let
tiers. Charlie Stevens, brother Of
Ed A. Stevens, was known to us az
a thoroly practical printer with some
experience in the mechanical depart
ment of the papers which had beer
published by his brother. Ed After
| bury was employed on T h o u r.
nal. I had seen him in st. Pau
| upon occasions, and been more i'm
! pressed by his English stride and hi
| strong lower jaw, which usually wa
| the first thing about Atterbury tt
| come round a corner, than by any
! thing else.
| There had been an epidemic Of in
terest in walking matches about thi
time, and sundry reporters in 81
Louis, Chicago and elsewhere had dis
distances in three hours gO-as-yOu
please contests. In those days, in Min
neapolis, at least, about the frs
requisite to success as a reporter wa
! a good pair of legs. The city sta
Of the Tribune, for instance, consiste
Of one man besides myself, and m
daily run used to be twice a da
down to the courthouse at the corne
4 of Fourth street and Eighth avenue
1 RI n
and Central avenue, where there Wa
a police station; UP to Fourth .avenu
N, where the Manitoba depot was IL
I Gated, with numerous side trips
lpoints anywhere south Of Plymout
avenue and north of Cedar and east {
lTenth street. An occasional jaul
i down to the state university, was
phones, and if you wanted to find OF
anything you had to go after it. TT
telephone began to come into use
iyear or so later.
with a training Of this sort, whic
had extended over several years, ha
confidence in my legs and proposed
reporters walking match. The r.
porters of the other papers were COZ
; sultedfor there was T h e ] u n a,
scented here. Tom King declined
: enter. Tom always preferred to
. his news getting from the steps of h
, office in the Nicollet House block ar
was better anyway in a talking mate
|; than a walking match. But
Bromley, who even then was .huntir
antiques, was willing to represent tt
Pioneer Press. Earnest Sturteyar
who afterwards went onto the sta,
!. as a. club swinger, consented to We
a sweater and a pair of red tights
. the representative of the Globe, al
Fred Puhler, who has since become