The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-09-13
WEEKLY PAPERS.

During Last Quarter of Century.
 The recent suspension of the Middle
 town Tribune calls to mind the many
 changes that have taken place in this
 journalistic field during the last quar- ter of a century, says the Connecticut
 Valley Advertiser. Of the four papers published in Middlesex county in1SS1
 only two of them are alive to-day--the i Advertiser and the Deep River New
 Era. Of the other two weeklies, the 1 old Constitution of Middletown sus- l pended sometime in the eighties, and some years afterward the publication of the MiddletoWn Sentinel and Wit
 ness, long a well-known paper In the county, was given up. Its field had gradually been taken up by the Penny
 Press, which was started from it's of- flee as democratic campaign sheet in the election of 1884.
 At that time there was a republican daily in Middletown, the Herald, and
 the democrats, not to be outdone,
 started the Press, which still continues
 to prosper and by the suspension of the Tribune is now the only daily in Mid dleesx county. The Hehrald after a precarious existence of ten or twelve years, finally went to the wall and was never resurrected. During the cam paign of 1888 another republican daily, the Journal, was launched in Middletown, but it only survived short time.
 
 While there have been many changes in the daily field in the period men, toned, it is among the weeklies that the greatest number of births and deaths are recorded. During the fast twenty-five years no less than six weekly papers were started in Middle sex county and of that number only one the Clinton Recorder, is alive to tell the tale. The other five that failed to survive were the Middlesex County Record of Portland, the News of East Hampton, the Riverside Intelligencer (born in Chester and died in Essex) the Saybrook News of Old Saybrook and the Herald of Ivoryton. In addition to these three other weeklies were started in towns in New London county, whose field, owing to its close proximity, real ly belonged to Middlesex county. They were the Advocate of Colchester, the Eastern News of Mantle and the Sound Breeze of Old Lyme. None of them are alive to-day
 The Colchester Advocate was pub lished at the office of the Record in Partland, the Eastern News at the New Era office in Deep River and the Breeze had a plant of its own at Old Lyme The Advocate suspended when the Middlesex County Printery failed in Portland; the Eastern News was consolidated with the sSound Breeze, and few years ago the Breeze itself was taken into the folds of the New Era.
 Charles A. Kirtland of the Era had penchant for starting newspapers, for besides the Eastern News, the Ivory ton Herald and the Clinton Recorder were offshoots of the Era. A few years ago the Shore Line Times of Guilford bought the Recorder and it has since been issued from that office. The Times was originally published in Clin- ton, where it was first started.
 During the last quarter of century there have been many changes by deaths and otherwise among the news paper workers of the county. The most prominent among the editors to die were Joseph E. Eelden of the New Era, and Ernest King of the PPenny Press.
 It Is a singular fact but nevertheless true that Editors Kirkland of the New Era, Bigelow of the Middlesex County Record, Parmelee of the Ivoryton Her aid, Babcock of the Sound Breeze, of the Saybrook News, and Vaill of the Shore Line Times all be- gan their journalistic careers as re- porters for the Advertiser George A. Strong, who did the local work on the East Hampton News, also did his first work on this paper. Of this number MT. Parmelee and Mir. Strong are still doing active and effi- clent reportorial work on the Adverti- sef
 What changes the next quarter of a century will bring to Middlesex coun- ty newspapers, of course, remains to be seen, but the past twenty-five years have amply proven that 1t is a great deal easier to start a paper than it is to keep it a running after 1t is started.