The Nome daily nugget., 1935-12-02

quite or the opinion that tnlS was the alnldDie moral which the writer had in view. Other readers however, construe the whole as an elaborate satire upon the monstrous fabrications of the political press of the country and the yarl ous genera and species of it's party editors In the blue goat with the single horn, mentioned as it is in connection with the royal arms of England, many persons fancy they perceive the characteristics of a notorious foreigner who is the supervising editor of one of our largest morn- ing papers," This notorious foreigner was James Gordon Bennett, born in Scotland who had shocked not only the conservatives of New York but some of his journalistic contemporaries by the sensationalism of his Herald.
 The Moon Hoax" had the curious effect of spelling a promising tale by man destined to become one of America s greatest writers. Edgar Allen Poe had started a fanciful tale of a similar nature under the title of Hans Pfaall." But when he "found that he could add very little to the minute and authentic account. of Sir John Herschel," he tore up the. second installment of his story. In later years he took pleasure in picking to pieces the Suns moon story. He wrote:
 That the public were misled, even for an in stant merely proves the gross ignorance which, | 10 or 12 years ago. prevalent on astro- | nomical topics And yet 1t was, on the whole, | the greatest hit In the way of sensatOn-Of merely popular sensation-ever made by any similar fiction either in America or Europe. From the epoch of the hoax, the Sun shone with unmitigated splendor. Its success firmly estab- llshed the penny system throughout the country, and (through the Sun) consequently we are in- debted to the genius of Mir. Locke for one of the most important steps ever yet taken in the pathway of human progress"
 | If Poes estimate is correct, then Richard Adams Locke Is deserving of better than the obscurity into which his name has sunk except when occasionally his famous hoax is recalled. He was born September %, 1S00 at East Brent, Somersetshire, England and he was descendant of John Locke, the famous English philosopher. | Locke educated by his mother and by private tutors until he was nineteen when he entered Cambridge. As student there he be- gan his writing as contributor to the Bee, the | Imperial Magazine and other publications. Be- coming interested in the experiment in democ- racy which was being tried by Englands erst- while colonies across the Atlantic, he founded the London Republican to spread the doctrines of the new democracy. But it soon failed.
 Devoting himself to literature and science, he next established a periodical called the Cornu- copia. In the. meantime he had married and when the Cornucopia failed after six months he resolved to seek his fortune in America. In 1882, accompanied by his wife and daughter, he came to New York and went to work for Col. William Watson Webb of the New York Courier and Enquirer While covering the murder trial of a religious fakr named Matthias the Prophet" Locke became acquainted with Benja- min H. Day, the founder of the Sun.
 Finding that Locke was the best reporter there, Day hired him to write series of feature stories on the religious fakir for the Sun. As a result Webb discharged him for working lon the side" for the lowy penny rival of his paper and Locke was glad to go to work for Day as an editorial writer on the Sun at SIP week.
 After the Matthias trial ended 1t was rather dull time for the New York newspapers. So Locke went to Day with plan for stirring up something" and Day readily agreed to what his star writer proposed The result was the moon story of century ago, perhaps the most famous hoax of all time and certainly the most impor- tant. For, if as Poe says, 1t firmly established the cheap newspaper in this country then Amerl- cans who enjoy the benefits derived from this university of the people," as the newspaper has been called, can remember gratefully Richard Adams Locke.
 T e Western Newspaper Union.