The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-18
YANCEY WRITES OF OLD
DAYS AND OF THE MEN
FORMERLY ON AGE-HERALD
BY RICHARD III. YANCEY
Now Editor Nashville Hammer


was one of the staff of the Br-
mingham Herald at the time of its ini-
tial number in the summer of 1887 and
continued with that paper and The Age
Herald for the four years that fol-
lowed.
The Herald absorbed the Age though
the latter paper was given preference
in the hyphenated name because OF
its longer previous existence. The con-
solidated journal was published from
the Heralds plant on Second avenue
i between Eighteenth and Nineteenth
Streets. / wrote practically all the
editorial for the Herald and Age-Her-
aid while l was with those papers.
I left Birmingham for Nashville Oc-
tober /, 1891, and have been with the
Nashville Banner since that time.
was editing a paper in Clarks-
Vile, Tenn. when Mr.. Rufus n. Rhodes,
whom l had known in that place, wrote
me that company with ample cap
ital had been organized to publish a
new morning daily in Birmingham;
that he was to be the editor; that he
would like to have me as an associate,
and that / could get the place il /
presented proper credentials to Mr.. w.
p. Pinckard. the president of the COM
pany, that would publish the new pa
per. liked the prospect and deluged
Mr. Pinckard with letters from my
friends among prominent Tennesseans
of the time who were good enough to
write him in my behalf. I was in Bir-
mingham ready to go on the job some
= days before the first issue of the pa
per.
Mr. Pinckard was the chief stock
holder and active head of the company
that founded the Herald and gave 1t
very close attention. He had been In
Birmingham only 1s months and during
that time had been remarkably success
ful in the active real estate specula-
tions that characterized the Birming-
ham BOOM In his real estate trans
. actions he was associated with Mr.
Henry DeBardeleben, then probably the
wealthiest man In Birmingham and
chief among the iron masters who were
developing the natural resources that
gave the city it's existence and phe-
nomenal growth. Mr.. DeBardeleben was
also a stockhol in the Herald Other
stockholders whom remember We're
Ed Lynn and John Reid, both bank
ers, and so also was Frank p. oBrien
who later came into active control OF
The Age-Herald.
The paper began publication with Mr.
Rhodes as editor in chief. / was edi-
torial writer, Ed C. Campbell city ed
itor and William ]. Ewing telegraph
TAl1 lott
nor of Alabama, was the business man.
ager and Henry B. Gray. subsequently
lieutenant governor of Alabama, was
advertising solicitor. Gray. as remem-
ber him, was then debonair youth.
slender. handsome. disposed to play
society" and possessed of an ardent
desire to get rich, quick as possible,
but to get rich.
Millard Campbell was foreman of the
composing room and Jesse Johnson,
pressman. Both of these were from
Nashville, as was, in fact, nearly the
entire force of the mechanical depart
ment The Nashville union, founded
by the late Col. A. S. Colyar, a short
time before this, had been absorbed
by the Nashville American. and Its force
of printers set adrift by the discon-
tinuance, was practically transferred to
Birmingham In a body.
Ed Campbell, the city editor, was also
a Tennessean. He lived originally in
Clarksville, but came to the Herald
from Jacksonville, Fla, where he had
been for some time previous employed
in newspaper work. He went to the
Birmingham News when Mr.. Rhodes
tunn <ba nf mt
and, think, later had place in the
classified civil service at washington.
The most useful man on the paper,
the one who did most in bringing or
der out Of chaos and putting the new
journal In proper shape, was William
J. Ewing, since that time for some
years editor of the Nashville Amer
ican and now managing editor of the
Nashville Democrat He was the only
man on the force with much practical
knowledge of a daily paper. He also
came from the Nashville Union. His
place on the Herald was nominally tel
egraph editor. but In connection with
this he combined the work of the news
editor and was, in some respects real
ly the managing editor-that import
ant position not being specifically filled.
Mr. Ewing's presence in Birmingham
was probably known to very few, but
he did more to give the paper its "send-
off" than any other man in the edi-
tOrial department, not as a writer but
in the practical handling Of the mat
ter that was published, which every
newspaper man knows is the main
work. He left Birmingham and re-
turned to Nashville when Hon. =. w.
Carmack began the publication of the
paper he called the Democrat in the
latter city (not the present Nashville
Democrat). Nearly all of the Nashville
printers who had come to Birmingham
to work on the Herald also returned
to Nashville at that time.
Mr.. Jelks' association with the Her.
aid was brief. He soon returned to
the publication of a paper he owned
ct Eufaula.
Mr.. Rhodes continued with the paper
about six months when he made quite
. sudden and dramatic withdrawal, car
rying with him a part of the local staff.
He began the publication of the Bir-
mingham News. + had no intimation
of his purpose to leave the Herald;
did not, In fact, suspect it until it had
taken place-not until Mr.. Finckard