Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-03-27


not the proper word, for he set up h
editorials from the case without wri
ing. He was of somewhat small sta
ure. but of great vitality. He was III
fortunately addicted to drink, and a
though frequently under the infiuent
of liquor. could sleep off the effects {
a debauch on table or on the foo
and be as bright for duty the ne,
| morning as the most sober of mel
Like most men of that habit, he wa
generous to fault. and his pocket wa
ever open to the needy.
Mr.. Berry was of a somewhat melaI
choly disposition, but that trait SCENE
to enhance the quiet humor which a
all times characterized his personalit,
To Illustrate: He could sing effectivel
that famous old hymn beginning
"Old Father Grimes, that good old mar
We ne'er shall see him more:
He used to wear an old gray coat
All buttoned down before"
Ed. Furste and George b. Goud,
were good business men and could, OF
occasion, turn their hands to almos
any branch of the publishing business
All connected with the first paper, tn,
COiumb bidn, and its ev0lutions fo]
nearly decade. made money, but with
the exception Of Messrs McElroy ant
Doyle none Of them saved it. About
every cent went for drink, and most ol
it in the famous Westbrook saloon
which was kept in the building now
occupied as Chinese restaurant, cor
ner of Main and Third streets. LIQUORS
were then 25 cents drink. and money
was so plentiful that frequently when
the boys would Set 'em up" and laid
down a gOld-piece. say S. or $40. it
would be raked into the till with the
remark, We'll. it amounts to little
more than that. but let it go this
time"
So much. by way Of history of the
newspaper in what is now our State.
The history of the STANDARD and its
contemporaries Is more generally
known to the community. | might de-
vote paragraph to the Commercial
Age. published by Randall Hewitt and
others, the Echo. by ]. N. Gale, a tenn
perance organ. the Pacific Tribune. a
daily published by Charles Prosch and
Sons, afterwards moved to Tacoma
where its publication was continued
for time, the Unitarian Advocate, by
Rev. ID. N. Utter. but 1t would far ex-
coed the time at my command. | will,
however. allude to few matters that
may be Of interest to the craft here as
sembled Of the Art Preservative."
In the fall of 1862, was appointed
Public Printer by Secretary and Acting
Governor, L. ]. S. Turney. to fill va
cancy. My appointment lasted just
three weeks. but the work. being al
most exclusively on bills. l cleaned up
several thousand dollars on the job.
Soon as the appointment was an
nOunced. Messrs. McElroy and Doyle
called on lie with proposition. 1t
was that | allow them to do the work
and receive half the pay. waiting for
auditing OF the bills by Mr.. Whittlesey,
Third Auditor of the U. s. Treasury.
W cix
have never borne the reputation of be-
ing hog" and at once accepted the
proposition. The first thing these
gentlemen did was to set up several
headings which covered nearly the first
page Of each bill, SO that by this
means the smaller bills would count
about 5000, the backing Of the title
page. excepting a few lines. being
blank. By this means, Mr.. McElroy
would frequently score $35 or $40 per
day, and Mr.. Doyle little less. Paper
was then paper, and SIG ream was
allowed for flat-cap. A dollar and a
half was allowed for press-work FER
token Of 240 impressions. but as the
Legislature was confined to 80 men,
bers 1t did not require more than that
number. and the full number was not
printed. but ] imagine that my CO.
adjutors. who made out the bills, did
not deduct anything on that account.
Another matter, of some interest was
the establishment Of the Overland
Press. 1t was along in the war-times
that great rivalry existed at Victoria
between the COlonist and the Press.
the latter being represented In this
city by A. M. Poe. Both papers ran
a pony express from Portland. bring
ing the latest papers from Portland. to
be carried by the steamer Eliza Ander-
son, on her trip Monday morning. The
telegraph being completed to Portland.
this plan afforded a splendid oppor-
tunity for scoop. had either not
availed itself Of the pony service. The
Press finally dropped upon the scheme
of having an extra printed in Olympia
to circulate Immediately on the steam
er's arrival at Victoria. Then Mr.. Poe
saw an opportunity for subscribing his
selfinterest. and he contracted with
the STANDARD for it to print a small
sheet to be called the Overland Press,
for which the Victoria people paid the
cost and Mr. Poe reaped the benefits
from local circulation here. Here is
where youth and inexperience led to
warming serpent into life to sting
its benefactor. The Overland Press
had the aid of Pony Express, and
rapidly gained circulation. Its pro-
jector then bought the material Of the
Pioneer and Democrat and become a
permanent fixture for years in this
community.
Among the editors of the Operldnd
Press were ]. r. Watson, a man noted
for wit and humor. and B. F.. Randall.
as remarkable for his vigorous indi-