Evening star., 1935-01-16
HISTORIANS TOLD
OF EARLY PAPERS
Columbia Society Hears
Fred A. Emery Trace
First Publications.

How newspapers struggled for sur
vival and prestige during the turbu-
lent political development Of this VI
cinity as a National Capital was de-
scribed to the Columbia Historical So
ciety last night by Fred A. Emery, vet
eran Washington correspondent.
Another feature Of the meeting In
the Mayflower Hotel was the re-elec-
ton of officers by unanimous consent.
Allen C. Clark again was named presl-
dent and the other officers reelected
are Wilhelmus Bryan and Maj. Gist
Blair vice presidents; Victor b. Dey-
ber treasurer; Miss Maud Burr Nor
ris, recording secretary, ana Jonn
Clagett Proctor, chronicler.
Mr.. Clark, introducing the speaker,
described how he himself worked as
newsboy.
Many Ended Suddenly.
Tracing the sudden beginnings and
sometimes more sudden endings OF
washington and Georgetown's earliest
newspapers, Mr. Emery said:
The first newspaper publsheo
withirthe boundary lines of old Wash
ington as distinguished from old
GEORGETOWN was the Impartial OBJ
server and Washington Advertiser
which appeared May %, l795. 1t was
published by T. Wilson of Norfolk. Va
The Impartial Observer continued for
aboutsa year.
The Centinel of Liberty and
c,u...,,, Ad,art;car uos founded
May %. 1895. 1t was semi-Weekly'
published by Green. English d Co..
who also issued as weekly the Cen
tinel and Country Gazette, made up
of material from the semi-weekly.
Soon the Centinel faded away.
Quickly following was the estab-
lishment of the Washington Gazette.
which began June Is, 1895. 1t was
semi-weekly at first. The next year
it became a weekly. and on March
"a. 1898. it, too, went out OF existence.
Federalist First Daily.
"The Museum of Washington and
Georgetown Advertiser appeared NO.
vember 18, 1900, and quit in 1902.
THE first daily newspaper in the
District of Columbia was the Wash
ington FederaliSt, published at
GEORGETOWN by William A. Rind and
John Stewart, who had printed the
Virginia FederaliSt at Richmond.
THE National 1ntelligencer and its
proprietorS are part of the history OF
the formative period of Washington.
The Intelligencer began as TIL
weekly in 1900. The founder, Samuel
Harrison Smith, became trustee OF
the Washington public schools and a
director of the Washington Library.
It's two best known prOprietorS, Jo-
seph Gales, jr., and William Winston
Seaton. became. in turn, mayors OF
Washington. Gales bought out Smith
and took into partnership his
brother-in- law, w. W. Seaton.
"Of Gales and Seaton, Daniel Web
ster is reported to have said they were
/ the two -wisest heads in the country
| The Gales -Seaton partnership
continued until Gales death in his
18th year.
Scot Established Paper.
"The National Register was estab-
lished March 2, 1916. 1t was a
weekly. One of its publishers was
Jonathan Elliott, native of Scotland
The City of Washington Gazette also
was re-established as daily by
Jonathan Elliott in 1917. 1t was
printed in building on the north
side of Pennsylvania avenue opposite
| the National Intelligencer office. In
! 1921 its name was changed to Wash
! ington Gazette.
The National Journal was pub
lished. with Peter Force as editor
out of the printing house of Davis
e. Force. Its first issue was on
August 9, 1928 1t appeared first
as a weekly and then, in the midst
of the presidential campaign of 1924
blossomed out as daily. 1t bought
the plant of the Washington Repub-
lican when that paper ceased pub
lication in 1924 The Journal con.
tinued publication until 1881.
HE had a collection of books tina,