Bisbee daily review., 1908-12-30
HISTORIANS BUSY IN WASHINGTON.

his army, and all of ais servants and
fittingiy berated the patriot cause;
while at East Newark he Issued for
some weeks patriot edit on of his
Gazette, which hesped scorn and con-
tumely on the British cause.
One OF the most soul-stirring cpl
sodes of the outbreak of the Reyolu-
ton was the carrying of the news ca
the Battle of Lex'ngton by relays OF
swift messengers from poston TO So
vannah, the account of the BATHS Re
ing reeeipted for by the successive
messengers. 1t was like the bearing
Of the fiery cross through the High
lands of Scotland, with Is summcns
to arms. Even yet it stirs the HOOD
to read tne story In the newspapers,
from week to week. and TO trace the
progress of that soulstirring appeal to
arms, as it swept from north TO south.
through the country.
The official reports are generally Il
lent, too, regarding the raids made by
parties from the opposing armies into
exposed territory, or the daring expe-
ditioEs of attacking parties ON outlay
ing posts. The brutal savagery which
through New Jersey in the fall of
1916 is nowhere detailed in the official
reports, but in the newspapers of the
times you shall find it set forth in
all its bare and hideous cruelty.
Here. too is chronicled, as you can.
not find It elsewhere, the intense bit
terness between the patriots and the
Tories, the latter frequently acting
as spies upon their neighbors, and
leading parties of British soldiers to
attack them treacherously by night
with cruel slaughter. What wonder
that the patriots adopted a policy Oh
confiscation and expulsion, insisting
upon driving out these recreant citi-
zens. WITH their whole families?"
Nj. Nelson went on to show how
the newspaper material seems TO JUS
tify the exercise of the sternest meas
ures of retaliation particularly in New
Jersey upon the Royalist sympathiz-
ers while at the same time it shows
that in many cases the victims Of
these reprisals were people greatly re-
spected in their neighborhoods.
"A chapter of rare interest" he said.
might be written on the spies of the
Revolution. We know that a great
many were employed on both s'dss.
Washington's accounts detail various
expenditures made by MIN for tnat
purpose. In the newspapers, as we
have said, are advertisements of the
confiscation and sale of property OF
over one thousand Dsrs 1ns in New
Jersey who were attainted of treason
in Joining the enemy Where such
persons subsequently returned to
their former homes they usually re-
manned under a cloud of oblodny. and
were looked at askance by their
neighborS. Many years after the Rev
olution some of these persons saw fit
to vindicate their reputation by pub
fishing in the newspapers we'll autien-
ticated declarations that they had
been spies in WashingtOn's employ
while nominally serving inf the British
ranks and suffering to be attaintea
as traitors and their property confis-
Gated. Suca are some of the curious
and interesting side lights thrown on
the Revolution, by the 'Gazettes' a and
| Journals and 'MeTcurys' of the day.
'Caius. 'SeneX' 'HOrtentius,' 'TruC
| Patriot Farmer Freebooter and 9TH
| Rr writer's of the day found expression
in lOng-winded articles-almost as eX-
tensige as a modern Presidential me-
sage but by no means as lively.
sometimes criticising the army, but
more frequently the legislature, and
proposing all sorts of Utopian rene
dies for lettering the times, removing
the financial stringency, making the
poor richer and the rich poorer and in
short for making everybody happy.
/ Committees of citizens in various
counties adopted resolutions fixing
/ the prices of labor and of the staple
commodities; but the laboring man
and the owner of the commodities re-
| fusing after awhile to sell at these
prices, the schedules had to be re-
vised from time to time, while the
fiat Continental currency constantly
deprecated in value"
The newspapers of the day showed
that the election and Inauguration of
Washington was hailed by the news
paper writer's as the Inauguration of
new era for the Republic. One can
see an increased confidence in the
stability of our institution, indicated
| by the exploiting of new enterprises
in manufactures, commerce and in
the settlement of the frontiers, all Of
which, Mr.. Nelson said were cleverly
advocated by enthusiastic and skillful
newspaper correspondents.
The editorial, up to that time prac-
tieally unknown Mr. Nelson said,
nov gradually made its appearance,
al first in the shape of modest par
agTSph, suggesting some course of
action or criticising what had been al
ready done or proposed. Toward the
close of Washingtons second admins
tTation we find the newspapers taking
opposing sides in politics ind eating a
positive and distinct cleavage in party
lines. Much of the partisan warfare
of the day wss carried on in pamphlet,
but il is TO the newspapers of the
time that we mnst look for the his
tory of the growth OF parties: it is TO
the newspapers Of the day that we
must resort If we would find the real
iniquities of the party criticised and
the merits of that advocated by the
writer's of the times. In these expos
ures of the weaknesses and foibles Of
the opposing parties, we read of the
real difficulties and dangers t1at con
front the young republic.
At the same time We nave a more
cheerful picture in the progress chron-
icled in the advertisements of the day,
showing the great and steady strides
that were being taken by the country