The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-05-01
They Printed and
Published their
Own Papers
Interesting Stories of their
Early Achievements.


perienced great enjoyment There was.
for most OF the boys az least the ques-
ton OF saving money to buy the press.
the type, the paper, and the Ink. and then
the cudgeling Of youthful brains to write
enough matter 70 fill the dIminutive sheet
Lastly came the thrill Of satisfaction in
seeing the illusions IN print. the sense Of
accomplishment, the keen qualification
because tho printed page might endure
Tor all time
Is II any wonder that the boys who are
now men-and all OF them are boys still.
even II their hair is tinged with gray
get together once in while and tell
about the happy days when they printed
papers OF their own. They confess that
they thought they rivaled Junius in the
sarcasm Of their editorial roasts upon
their rivals in the journalistic field and
that the poem written by their best girl
was published for other reasons than its
poetic value. They tell how the parental
purse was made to bear the brunt Of the
! monthly deficit and how the money which
! they received for advertising was really
Ike taking candy from children There
Is not one Of them who does not treasure
the time-stained copies Of the miniature
sheet which bore his name, and some OF
them who have achieved genuine fame in
the world are prouder Of their amateur
editorship than anything else.
Washington "A Prolific Field.
It so happens that Washington was.
some twenty-five or thirty years ago. a
most prolific field for amateur journal
ism For the small sum Of 8 cents one
could buy at that time-not now, for now
they are worth their weight in gold-the
Washington, Georgetown and Alexandria
Amateur Guide. compiled by Mr.. Clarence
c. Allen, then the youthful editor OF the
Crucible and now well-known official Of
the Interior Department According 10
this history, the first amateur paper In
Washington was published by William
Henry Dennis under the title Of the Boy
Of the Period. One OF the most success
fui Of the juvenile efforts was the Wash
ington Amateur Magazine, but when the
treasurer embezzIed the large sum OF so.
which was almost the entire capital OF
the concern, the publication suddenly
ceased.
when the present grown-up population
was In its teens there were some twenty
five amateur papers in Washington. There
was the Amateur Salesman, published by
Charles /. Hine, who later graduated
with high honors and. beginning al the
FOOT Of the railroad ladder. has risen to
substantial success. Mr.. J. Blake Ken
dali, who was prominent I'm the CONNER
cial world at the time Of his recent de-
mise. ran paper which glistened under
the az The L
Cohen, the well-knOwn shoe merchant
IN street. was associated with Mr.. A
b. Anderson, Of the War Department. in
The Nidette- Mr.. James i. Feeney. now
the editor Of a labor journal. was I'm the
amateur ranks, and so was Mr. Julius
J.. Peyser, the lawyer. whose paper was
known as the Washington Outlook, a
hourishing sheet Of four pages. 7 re-
member" said Mr.. Peyser. in recalling
those days. that once when was pllb-
fishing The Outlook the printer ran short
Of capital rs and substituted a capital
in each place where the T ought TO
have been You can imagine how the pa
per looked"
An Advertiser and His Poem.
DR.. II. l. E. Johnson, now a prominent
Physician. was business manager OF the
Phocion Journal, of which his brother
william &. Johnson. now a leading at
torney. was editor. DR.. Louis KoIipinskI
and Mr.. Dennis NJ. Kerr also ran this
paper. i remember that 1 used TO 60
out after the advertisements" said DR.
johnson, to The Herald reporter. land
once man offered me an advertisement
II I would print poem which he had
written. OF course. ] agreed but when
went to collect the bill the man found
that a line had been left out Of his poem
and he did not want to pay I had an
awful time getting the money. Then one
OF our contributors printed some verses
entitled An Ode to Ice and as he men
toned local ice company. we bows al
ways doubted whether his effusion WIS
altogether matter Of poetical inspira-
ton"
In fact, when IT is recalled that John
Z. Wilkie. now chief Of the Secret Serv-
ice, was once an amateur Journalist. aud
that Henry L. Bryan. Of the state De-
partment dabbled in editorial ink an1
that J. Fred Kelley, Frank z Mapu,ra
who went TO Paris as the agent OF a
commercial company. and hundreds ~
80 WV NaNtAAN III AAH GlllaleLF 1OflT-
nallstic craze IL is no wonder that one n
tire amateur papers OF the period printed
poem, carefully marked original -
which told how q boy with fearful eyes
was encountered in Pennsylvania avenue
tie youths lament being thus express a
in rhyme;
II you were IN my place. old chan.
You'd holer, too, I guess:
I'm the only boy IN Washington
What haint no printing press
DIR. ChamberIin's Paper.
Tie Elf was the name Of the papar
which Or. Frank Tenney Chamberlin.
OF 1873 NJ street, published. II was q
four-page sheet. and the only copy which
DR.. Chamberlin has preserved is interest
ing because its most conspicuous adver-
tisement is Of the National Hotel. which
at that time was owned and managed by
his maternal grandfather. Franklin Ten
ney. The cigar stand in the hotel and
the merchants whose stores were under
the hotel were also advertisers, showing
that the youthful editor knew how TO
utilize grandfather's influence, Bor these
Advertisements the publisher OF The Elf
received cents a line, and II is DR..
Chamberlin's proud boast that his re-
Cninfm from