Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-07-11
"reminiscences of Early Days in Rock Island

when that gentleman arrived l imagine
/ he was given a repTimand.
When Franklin Pierce was elected
president, James S. Kelly, who was an
ardent supporter OF his candidacy, help
ed celebrate the victory, and in doing
so lost his right hand through the pre-
mature explosion of a cannon that he
undertook TO fire. AS a reward for his
zeal Mr.. Kelly was named as pOstmas-
ter, and he appointed me clerk, a po-
sition which I filled two or three years.
There was much red tape about the
Office affairs in those days, and il took
good deal more work, propOrtiOnate-
~, to handle the mail than il does now.
remember one winter, on account of
heavy snow, we did not get any mail
for an entire week, and things were
pretty dull about the office. Finally
the roads were opened and the mail
began 10 pour in. Then we had to
work overtime taking care Of it.
J. B. Danforth was Then'editOr of The
Argus. He had worked for the APP
pOintmenttOf his father as postmaster,
and was not greatly pleased when Mr..
Kelly was appointed. Therefore, he
was quick to, find fault with the man
ner in which, the affairs of the Office
were handled. One day, after partic-
ularly caustic sally in his paper, the
postmaster waited for him to come for
his mail, and when he arrived there
was a physical, encounter. in which Mr.
Kelly though he had but one arm,
put the editor out into the street, los
ing his wig in the exit. DanfoTth had
Kelly arrested for assault, but the JUS
tiCe dismissed the case on the ground
that the warrant was sworn out for
James Kelly, whereas the postmas-
terS name was james s. l Temem-
Der the other paper published here,
which I think was the Advertiser, at
that time, printed an illustration OF the
combat in which a sword and pair of
pistols that had been given Danforth
by the governor, who had named the
editor as an aid, figured prominently.
Over the picture the Advertiser print
ed He Who fights and runs away,
lives to fightarother day"
While it had not been the custom to
observe the regulations very strictly
in connection with the postofffce, |
took it upon myself one day to refuse
TO turn over the mail 10 a substitute
carrier who called TO take the pouch
to the train in place of the regular car
rier. who failed TO show up I did not
know the substitute, and as he was not
a sworn employee OF the department,
did not care to let him have the mail.
This called forth another outburst
from Danforth, who said Kelly ought
to attend TO business instead of leaving
affairs in the hands of a boy. To this
Quincy Mcneil replied in a communi-
cation in the Advertiser. in which he
said: IF they call Henry Powars a
boy, I should like to know where the
men are"
Danforth was continually in trouble
Before he entered the newspaper bust
ness he was in partnership with Will
liam P. Lee in the hardware business.
One day Lee had Danforth arrested on
the charge of stealing money from the
till. Judge DTury, before whom the
case came up, ruled that one partner
could not steal from another, and so
the charge was dismissed. The part
nership, however, ended right there.
Holmes Halles was engaged in the
jewelry business. and to collect from
minister. who owed him a bill, fOreclos-
ed a mortgage that he held against the
reverend gentleman's library. Dan
forth took this up and attacked Hakes. |
The latter met the editor in the street |
and demanded retraction. Failing to
obtain satisfaction, he attacked Dan |
forth with a knife and inflicted a slight |
flesh wound before the combatants |
were separated.
| remember another occasion in |
which Danforth criticised a decision |
by Judge Wilkinson, and the latter, |
meeting the editor in front of the Is
land City hotel located where the Har- |
per house is now, attacked the latter |
with a cane, which he broke over the |