Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-02-13
Geo. B. Winship Recalls Incidents
OF Early History of Grand Forks
Herald and Various Other Papers

Dn the Plaindealer office; he rear
ranged the machinery. painted and
decorated the front office. hired adj
ditional help and splurged to- cheat
the band."
Finally. one day in February, 's3,
he turned UP missing. Ed. Cooley. in
charge of the books, tipped the in
formation to me that Bates had gone
to Grafton. and would not return.
which proved to be a straight tip.
Well. we, rel in The Herald office,
had clandestinely. to resume opera
ton of the old 2. D. Birkholz again
became the ~fgure-head of the con-
Germ; and once again I was put to it
steer to Birkholz for a tina trade,
which always eliminated in the Sc
cret of h actual ownership getting
out.
There was an election pending that
all; sthe Democrats were ambitious
to make a showing. Will Wilder was
one of the local sacheHs, and much
interested in the success of his party.
He talked with me about leasing the
P. D.. with option to purchase at the
end Of a year. We arranged a deal;
he was to pay $500 for use Of plant,
n gave a bond OF $4,000 as indem-
nifty against increase of liabilities in
case he decided not to buy. Mr.. Will
der employed manager after manag-
er. and finally got Brad Hennessy
and J. H. league to handle the edi-
torial n business departments.
These young fellows were corkers in
their way; they issued a lively, sheet,
razooed everything n everybody,
and in a short time achieved a noto-
riety that was statewide.
The confines of Grand Forks be-
came too limited for their explora-
lions, SO they started a branch daily
paper at Bismarck. and the Bismarck
Plaindealer was the sharp free lance
that punctured the hides of legisla-
tors during the session Of 1895. The
young scrappers o exhausted their
vitality; their pace was too rapid, and
their. regulations became so much
impaired that they were obliged to
drop out of newspaper work and seek
other fields of conquest.
Mr.. Wilder kept the Plaindealer in
the running until the expiration of
third time the old P. D. came. back
to me very much bruised. battered
and SCARED. but still i'll the ring.
The reckless expenditures of Hennes-
sy and league involved Mr.. Wilder
quite seriously. but he settled with all
the creditors. The $4,000 bond, re-
ferred to. was never executed, but the
LN IN Inv C4AS WILL L
Wilder. and he paid his liability with
out a murmur-a conspicuous in
stance of a word being as good as a
bond.
1t was well along in the spring OF
1896 when the poo old P. D. drag
ged Its sore and weary form back to
The Herald haven. We couldn't get
rid of it, and apparently it was de-
termined to rest under our wings as
long as life existed. I was greatly
perplexed, the threatening financial
cloud, referred to, was get
ting blacker and blacker. and I was
extremely DESTROYS. before it broke,
and deluged us with disaster, to
slough off tho P. D.
Quite accidentally, I heard one OF
u printers say h a Mckenzie &
Carruth of Crookston, were anxious to
get into Grand Forks. Both were
hustlers. and the limited field OF
Crookston did not give their talents
ample room for growth. That infor-
nation was enough; the next day !
went TO Crookston and interviewed
them. They became interested, inc
the following day both came to Grand
Forks and inspected the Plaindealer
plant. 1t was in a sorry condition at
the time, the press room being sub
merged with back-water from the
flooded river: but after some par
leying WIS made a deal and they took
immediate possession n went ener-
getically into the work of baling out