The daily Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1916-1917, 1917-08-07

/ Oil thC id"o III tuC CtI
, titled to by Frederick Bates.
, SchoOlbooks were another product
of the old Ramage press. The third
edition of the Gazette, the earliest ex-
tant, has an advertisement of school
books which might be obtained at the
printing office. The printing of
blanks and legal contracts was also So
licited.
Early Advertising Was Small.
Advertising was limited, partly be-
cause selling was mainly through bar
| ter. The rate in the Gazette was 81
square for a weeks insertion, and
so cents for each continuance. A
greater length would be charged pro-
portionately. Since the first issue of
the paper shows only four advertise
ments, all within the limits of a
square, it seems probable that the ad-
vertising policy did not control the
news policy on this early paper.
While the Gazette was becoming an
institution in St. Louis, the city con-
tinued to grow in population and i'm
provements. Originally mail had come
by the slow means of cOuriers, Of
which service Charless said editorial |
ly in August, 1913: 1--WE are again
tantalized with a defalcation in the |
mail department; the weather is too
warm for those tender gentry to trav-
ell, and the postmasters are too good
natured to tell tales to Washington.
How the Shawaneetown postmaster
can get over his oath is not an easy
task to tell-for he swears he will
faithfully perform his duties. The
postOffice law says he must employ
rider in case of failure in those who
have the contract" At another time
he writes: mo mail from the east for {
more than two months. Excessively |,
cold, and no thermometer in the place
to record the degree" 5
Steamboat travel was the new mode =
Of transportation. On the possibility t
Of steam as motive power for vessels 4
On the turbulent Missouri Charless e
had been skeptical. The Zebulon NJ r
Pike vessel had arrived in ST. Louis :.
rom trip down the Ohio in 1917 and 5
vas mentioned but briefly by the Ga b
.ette, though the boat was exhibited u
It an admission price of a dollar a h
'ersOn. A few months later the Ohio !"
river boat, st. Louis. ascended 70 the 7
mouth of the Missouri with an invited n,
ompany which was, in the words of Il
Large and genteel, and the p,
was very elegant" In II
lay, 1919, the Maid of Orleans @
teamed up the river to Franklin, max g,
lg the entire journey including load. er
lg and unloading, in thirteen days. of
his feat prompted the following edi- Ill
)rial admission:
Surprised at Work OF Steamboats,.
"In 1917, less than two years ago,
lie first steamboat arrived in ST. II
ouis. We hailed it as the day of
nall things, but the glorious con-
of all our wishes is daily
irving. Who would or could have
ared to conjecture that in 1919 we
ould have witnessed the arrival of
steamboat from Philadelphia or New
ork? Yet such is fact The Missis- -
ppi has become familiar to this great
merican invention, and another new
'enue is open"
When the independence steamboat
Ivigated the lower courses of the
lssouri successfully, the enthusiasm
Charless rose still higher. He
lied the trip as proud event in the
story of the territory. and exulted
at the unconquered Missouri had
1t its master in the white race.
Despite these improvements in COM
the Gazette was still for
IN in its character. Local news re- -
wed scant attention. News from =
'eign capitals and the larger Amer -
N cities occupied most of the space.
eeches were given entire, whole
ograms of toasts quoted. practical
les punctiliously described. Most
the news was more than a month
|. For example, the issue of July
1903, carried a dateline of June 16
n. the latest news from Boston,
ne IS over the Baltimore dispatch.
June % over the latest English
ys-but the event occurred April
Even the coming of the steam
It did not materially change this
dition during Charless' editorial
vice.
Paper Hard to Get on Time. 70.
mother embarrassment in the s
10th running of newspaper was the 8 -
lculty of obtaining paper on time. &
first copy of the Gazette was G
lted on legal-cap. for lack of q
sprint paper. and the later sup- &
s some times came irregularly a
n Louisville, which was the paper g
ter for the frOntier Tbot rono u