St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1906-01-10
PRESS ASSOCIATION.
TRIBUTE TO OLD JOURNALISTS.
CONTINUED from I'd Page.)

TRIBUTE TO OLD JOURNALISTS.
But the North Star had its limita-
lions, and had none. So I stopped
over into the Argus and Patriot.
particularly appreciated the Argus and
Patriot at that time because Of its
capacious pages. There was no lack
Of space, and there was no dearth of
ardor in the mind of the proprietor of
that newspaper, in respect to anything
tending to disclose the iniquities of
the Republican party. Later, I be-
Iieve, when a democrat did cnance to be
elected President the editors enthus-
iasm over civil service reform became
somewhat modified, but consistency has
never been an integral necessity of
partisan journalism.
In passing, I want to say that in his
restricted sphere, with consideration
of his environment in this then over
whelmingly partisan State, I think
that the success achieved through the
indomitable energy, unfailing good
nature, and business acumen of Hiram
Atkins ranks with that of a Bennett
or a Medill.
There was one other man to whom
I owe much and to whom his COM
munity was and continues to be a
debtor. That was Charles M. Stone. If
there ever was a gentleman, he was
one. If ever conscience was brought
to bear upon life-work, that impulse
was his. Most men are technically
honest. Charles M. Stone was honest
in his mind. His integrity entitled
him to no credit perhaps, beause any
thing else was foreign to his nature.
Upright, loyal, jealous of the tone and
character of the profession which he
adorned in his sphere, he richly de-
served all and more than in this life
he ever obtained 1t is with a sense
of peculiar gratitude that I nave and
take this opportunity to pay a slight
personal tribute to the memory of that
worthy man.
At the risk of wearying you shall
speak briefly upon entrance to a wider
field When I reached my eighteenth
birthday Vermont was not big enough.
I needed more room. I wanted to ed
ucate a whole lot Of people at one
time; so 1 went to the Springfield Re-
publican. I had collected enough
money in some way to buy my ticket,
and financed my first enterprise by
borrowing the entire legacy bequeath-
ed by my grandmother to my sister,
amounting to ten dollars. With that
store of capital I ventured forth, and
in due course of time reached the Of
fee of Samuel Bowles, the younger He
seemed less enthusiastic over my safe
arrival than I had anticipated. Indeed,
the first impression made upon me
was one of courtesy somewhat more
austere than mad been accustomed to
encounter among the farmers Of Peach
am The first question that arose for
consideration related to the compensa-
ton for services presumably to be
rendered. He asked me politely but
firmly how much I expected. I had
had my dreams of opulence due to
arrive about that time, but when
looked upon that impressive face and
reflected that perhaps, after all, was
not absolutely essential to the success
full continuance Of the Republican, my
courage oozed out, and from the SIS
the expenditure of, in ways best suited
to subseve my inclinations, I got |
down to $40. He said he thought Sc |
was about right. To that I demurred,
and we discussed the subject thor |
oughly in all its bearings. Finally |
we compromised on Sc, and that ends |
the tedium of "reminiscences of some |
what early journalistic experiences.
PRESS STILL EFFECTIVE.
TO those of us-and We are still in a |
large majority-who have the welfare of |
our country at heart, the tendency of
American journalism, whether for the
better or the worse, is an ever-interesting
and vitality important subject. The night
before he sailed for his sorely tried land.
that astute statesman, Mr.. Witte said to
me: You call this a free country, but
it is not free. 1t is not as free as mine.
Your people have a master, and that mas
ter is more autocratic and infinitely more
potent than the Emperor of Russia. The
newspaper is your ruler" One could not
but be impressed by such an utterance
from such source, but it was not pre-
cisely stated, as, of course, we all know.
The newspaper has no such power as Mr.
Witte attributed to 1t. 1t is one only of
many agencies used by the Almighty in
working out the destiny or this great ma
ton and wonderful people, but in point of
effectiveness it probably stands second to
How vitality essential, there
fore, it is to keep its standard high! Per-
sonally 1 cannot see that it has lowered
in the past twenty years. Our great met
ropolitan newspapers have their faults,
recognized by all, and keenly appreciated
by themselves. They are more noisy than
their predecessors of the past generation,
but they are no less brave The most sig
nifcant and encouraging fact is that the
political partisanship which once rested
upon newspaper Offices as black as the
Ink of the Russian censor has lifted. The
Journalism of courage has suppanted the
Journalism of circulation; the journalism
OF intellect and conscience were never so
free from letters as it is to-day. How
trifling the minor defects however nu-
in the light of this great truth!
THE COUNTRY NEWSPAPER.
/ am not as familiar with the country
newspaper as 1 wish were, but so far as l
can judge from the opportunities at my
it seems to be holding it's own.
1t is not unusual to hear criticised what {