The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-26

Minneapolis goes into extensive de-
tails in describing the papers and the
men of that period. There were some
brilliant writer's among them, and the
papers which they published served
their day and generation. They bat
tied in politics, had their struggles in
| local affairs, spread far and wide the
renown and prospects of the town,
boosted of their subscription lists, and
lived beyond their incomes. Judge
Atwater writes an epitaph, u1lcon-
sciously, over the tombstone Of each
of them, and it succumbed to the
inevitable" May I not add another
epitaph, And their works do follow
| them?
The Epoch of King.
The next period may fifty be called
the epoch of King-Colonel William
S. King, Bill King" editor, politician,
boomer, statesman, promoter contro-
versionalist, peacemaker, harmOnizer.
IT there was ever a man fitted for his
generation, his work, his environment,
his opportunity, by nature and by dis
position, it was that same man King.
! His living adherents in later years
knew him as "Old Thaumaturgus."
Not all of them knew what Thauma-
| turgus meant, but whatever it was
they knew King deserved it all.
On the 2Sth of May, 1859, Colonel
King started the State Atlas, a weekly.
on the west side of the river. During
his control of that paper, and, to a
marked extent, for some years after
wards, King stood for the town, and
Minneapolis stood back of him..
Edwin Clark says that 1.-THE only
other attempt to establish a daily pa
1 per at the falls during those early
years of the history of the city was
made by the late w. S. King, then edi-
tor of the State Atlas, on Nov. q,
1850. when he issued the first number
about half the size of the Evening
News. Mr.. King stated at the time
that he started the daily with fear
and trembling, and should not con-
tinue it a day longer than it support
ed ITSELF ="
Mr.. Clark says he thought then that
IT King had complied strictly with the
above the Daily Atlas would not have
made second appearance. Twelve
weeks later Mr.. King, in announcing
it's suspension, said:
I'VE shall fall back on the publica-
ton of the Weekly Atlas poorer by
S400, but with an experience that may
save us more than that amount some
future time, when friends with fair
words urge us to engage in publish
ing a daily paper"
King continued the publication of
tine State Atlas as q. weekly paper until
it's consolidation with the Chronicle
and the starting of the Tribune. AL
tho he did not have the responsible
management of the other newspapers
which followed, he was strong in the
| confidence and direction of most OF
them until few years prior to his
death; in several of them he held
more or less stock. His influence also
extended to the management of the
leading papers of st. Paul.
The Starting of the Tribune
While Colonel King was sailing
along peacefully with the weekly
State Atlas, and with DR.. George H
everybody standing around in a sub
dued awe of the sacredness of the
caucus and the straight ticket, trouble
broke out in a new quarter. When
the old soldiers returned from the
war they found the party and the
offices in the unyielding clutch of as
respectable "a bunch of mossbacks as
ever drew salary from a patient peo-
pie. A plunge was made for the Of
fees by and for new men, and the
citizens Joined in. It was not long be-
fore the new crowd swept the county
and town and set up a new form of
: republicanism, and new leaders. These
men began to point to the postoffice,
the land offices, state offices and the
United States congress as desirable to
have In the family. The State Atlas
stood like stone wall for the straight
goods and no water.
| Down OH Washington avenue, at the
corner of Second avenue S, Colonel
John II. Stevens, the veteran farmer;
Colonel L. P. Plummer, the veteran
soldier; Frederick L. Smith, the vet
eran printer. and Willard S. Whit
more, a veteran soldier and printer,
Chronicle, weekly, in July, 1866. 1t
took issue with King and the Atlas
at once. It became the organ of the
''outs' and the Soldiers movement"
and espoused the cause of Ignatius
Donnelly, who was a candidate for re-
election to congress in 1865. 1t was
not long until it had the town turned
upside down, and the ark of the cove
nant was in great jeopardy. Donnelly
was reelected. In September, 1866,
the Chronicle was incorporated. It was
issued as a daily on the Goth of Sep
TENDER, 1855. Dr.. Thomas Foster was
brought down from Fridley's farm,
near Manomin, as editor-in- chief. The
Chronicle continued to pitch into
King, Cyrus Aldrich, ex-congressman,
Senator Ramsey, DR.. Keith and all the
OIIlSI party props.
Donnelly won out in 1866, but the
| fight against him went on right mer-
rily. The Chronicle was welcomed
everywhere, because it was a daily and
had the spice of life about it. The
town was ripe for a daily, for it was
already holding UP it's head and strug-
Cling to get out of the cradle. The
stock was taken by many citizens
DR.. Thomas Foster was let out and
Colonel L. P. Plummer became editor
in-chief. Colonel Stevens furnished
the weather reports, personals and the
glad hand. It grew ominously. It
lacked capital. King and his friends
saw the trend of affairs and the OPP
portunity, and overtures were made
to unite all the brain and journalistic
force under one paper. So the Atlas
and the Chronicle became one, and
all hands took stock in the Tribune,
the consolidated paper.
| A glance at the names of these
stockholders will show that it could
not be a happy family. They We're:
Colonel W. S. King, D. Morrison, w.
D. Washburn, A. B. Stickney, DR..
Levi Butler, ". S. Whitmore, Colonel
L. P. Plumner, Frederick L. Smith,
DR.. George H. Keith, W. A. Newton
and some smaller stockholders. Not
a harm onious political family truly,
but all willing to do or die for Min
neapolis.
The paper started under fine aus
pieces, with solid men behind it, The
first paper was issued Saturday,
May Is, 1857. It contained the
following:
The lines being down most all day