The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-04-25
WITH THE EDITORS
MARK TWAIN'S PAPER PASSES

was sold to MOberly paper. ms leaves HAN
nibal with only one newspaper
For great many years the Hannibal Morning
Journal was one of the best known papers in
Missouri for two reasons. 1t kept standing in a
line over the first page the statement that Mark
| Twain Worked as an Apprentice in This Office"
The other was that Col. John A. Knott was it's
editor and manager. Col. Knott enjoyed wide
acquaintance in the state politically and was rec
ognized everywhere as one of the democratic
wheel horses. He died about year ago under
tragic circumstances.
With Col. Knott's passing not even the prestige
of Mark Twain's early-day work in the shop could
tide the Journal over the hard situation created
for newspapers by the war; In its final issue the
Journal said: 1T is only fair to state that for
eral years past the Journal has been run on de-
cided financial loss, regardless Of every effort
made to produce revenue"
The Journal was originally published on the
second floor of three-story building on Main
street. The printing machine was hand press,
with the speed Of about 300 copies an hour. Orion
Clemens was editor and publisher and his younger
brother, SAM was Handy man"-roller boy, type
SETTER mailing clerk and carrier. Alex Lacey, who
worked in the office for WHILE said the thing he
remembered most about Sam was that "he could
get more ink and grease on him for the amount Of
work he did than any boy ever saw
Hannibal didn't realize it at the time, but the
ink-spattered boy was often getting in the little
hand-press weekly gems of humor that would have
made hit in New York or London. Once Orion
had to go off on business trip somewhere, and
with some misgivings he left Sam in charge The
editor pro tenn worked overtime in getting out his
idea of newspaper A ove-stricken local poet
sent in some verse dedicated to MARY in Ill.,"
Of course he meant Mary in Hannibal, and Sam
knew he did, But he put this in brackets under
the poem "Well let this thing go this time, but
the next time Mr.. wishes to communicate
with his friends in HI he'll have to select some
other medium than this paper"
A rumor swept about town that certain ply
stefan had tried to drown himself in Bear creek,
but made fizzle of it, Sam sharpened his jack
knife and worked late at night whiting out
sketch of the would-be suicide on the back of big
wooden letter. The sketch showed the doctor
hunting "easy water with cane
The local cemetery committee was ripped up
the back in an ingenious way. An old inhabitant,
recently buried, came back to life and as he pot
tombstones he told what he thought about such
neglect.
About everybody worth mentioning got in the
paper while Sam was at the throttle, and crowds
stood around the doors on publication days wait
ing for the paper to come out. Several fellows
with blood in their eyes rushed in to mop up the
floor with the editor, but seeing only an innocent
looking boy there, contented themselves with say
ing things in high-keyed voices.
But the farmers liked it. It was the town-folk
getting the roasts. When Orion got back and
found the uproar his little brother had created he
started to have fit, but when Sam led him over
to the corner of the office and showed him the big
pile of potatoes, cabbage and turnips the farmers
had brought in on subscriptions, and some real
money for horse and sale bills, Orion decided it
might be for the good Of the office for him to
make another trip.
If about that time some friendly Hannibate
had laid an encouraging hand on Sans shoulder
al %o %ho oO0I
telling what effect it might have had. Sam might
have decided to remain in town and brighten it
with the humor he was forced to sell in another
market. Hannibal didn't know what a real booster
a newspaper could be in those days. and it let its
most valuable citizen get away, blissfully uncon-
scious of the gold mine it was losing. 1t only
thought of Sam as practical joker who needed
watching.
| While Sam Clemens was acting as everything
from roller boy to subedtor in the Journal office,
writing his little local hits and having fun with
everything and everybody, and while no one ever
thought, he was gathering mentally the material
for "Tom Sawyer" "Huckleberry Finn and work.
ing out the great character of Colonel Sellers"
so forcefully drawn in "Gilded Age" And here's
thing that ought to be set down right here: No
matter how future generations will hold his other
works, his stories OF Missouri and characters will
live! They are absolutely true, living, breathing
personalities. They were burned into his mind
when grease -daubed imp on the old Hannibal
Journal, when he probably never had thought Of
writing them out and giving them life and immor-
tally.
COL Knott who ran the Journal in it's latter
days, did what he could to make amends for the
indifference Hannibal had shown Sam Clemens in
the days of his restless youth. He put Mark
Twain's name at the head of the paper, and ener-
getically supported every move to perpetuate his
memory. He had even considered the establish
ment Of magazine at Hannibal to be known as
the Mark Twain, and had panorama view Of the
The originals of Joe Harper" and "Huck
Finn0 have long since nassed away "Iniun Joe,