The Republican journal., 1911-09-14
NEWSPAPER ROMANCE.

r,., story of the Seattle Times reads
. romance, especially as told by Its
l 5;tor at a dinner given the other day IN
sll'p ration of his fifteenth anniversary
sees. head of the paper. Way back in
IS rs ,-n's as some of the older citizens
me rsmember, there was in Portland,
may Iawyer in the practice Of his pro-
{o1I..sS Alden j. Blethen by name. They
tess'' member that he lived here some
aa. saving come from Pennington,
!s'-a' h.. had been engaged in teaching;
gA.'b5 h. became interested in the Green
il', M movement; and that about 1880 he
Ia-D Vest and into the newspaper bust
"5 -rsr in Kansas City and later in
,,ss's@''.spolis: land theymay have heard that
with success and failures, and
vent still farther West to the ut
'a'l- yerge and built up in Seattle good
I5, ..4,gr property. This is the Seattle
- If which Mr.. Blethen is the build
l hose honor the dinner was given.
his banquet at the Rainier Hotel.
,..- nth were above 100 guests, in
7'75 he leading business and profess
wsn of the city. Among them
senator Piles and Hon. Richard
r..rger. eX-Secretary of the in
nj whom some may have heard.
'T.,.. ,a hit and complimentary speeches
ma in honor of the host of the
r+. hut none equalling in human in
.-, his own speech. In this he told
OF his life history and of his
and successes; how ''unmerci-
s-.g followed fast and followed
,--r how fire destroyed his Tribune
...-J0 Minneapolis in 1889, with net
500. 900; how he had rebuilt, only
1...erNnelmed in the hard times of
,,.- 5u he drifted to Seattle in 1896,
~..s unless, indeed worse off than
.,. cause he had left debts be-
..1 I'm how by accident he heard of
DOWN and mortgaged newspaper
'.r- sale in that city; how with the
En- nj athers he got possession of it,
t- an insurance policy for security;
-.g worked to build up the property;
the first few years the outgo
,.s ,.sstrr than the income, but a bank
IL. city, who had confidence in
81, -eped him over the hard places;
-a lanes J. Hill, the railroad king of
--s invest, to whom he had done a
..- Minneapolis years before, came
-.- All. in the nick of time and lent
i- oQ; how he paid off his notes
vii forest in eighteen months; how in
t.r.. gears he had brought up the bust
~ tr,m a gross income of $50. 900 a
NV gross income of 81, OIL, 900; how
.,4r isa5 about 200, 200 pounds of white
,.-r he first year and the last year
-.s r-r $1,000, 900 pounds; how the
~s-. which was originally worth about
l-.0 could not now be duplicated for
a. 1860 how his success had been due
part to able and devoted assist
iuding 1.-TWO of the most mag
--... sons man ever had. They dom t
.. AFTER me, "said Mr.. Blethen. They
., ability from their mother. -
rrr alther, by the way, was formerly
f5s. Hunter of Pennington.
a 1as a story of absorbing interest,
.- thus outlined. Colonel BIethen
- els his military title from service
taft of the Governor of Mime
..es much of his success, doubt
--, MS native ability, his executive
.. his great energy and his pecu-
IS for the field in which he found
rk after having tried pedagogy
lazy with indifferent success.
es it in large part also to his
tt choice of location. He had
fortune to take the tide at the
- .. tile III city which has grown
a3 bounds, from 80, 900 in 1896
.acter of. a million at the present
ryerything else in proportion.
N" l.. management and foresight,
colonel Blethen had business
.. ~ .y help prospecting. His news
.s shared in the growth of the
~, and if in the short space of
Ears ne has repaired his for
us acquired a competence, as he
% nave done, the people back
5- glad to hear of another tri-
Maine pluck Portland Press.