Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1941-06-27
"SOME BY-PRODUCTS
OF LIFE"
By EBEN HEARNE
No. s

The seasons of the year come and go
and help to give variety to daily life.
After spending eleven very interest
ing years in the fascinating occupa-
ton of teaching in both public and
private schools, I decided TO make a
complete change in my occupation.
As stated in my previous chapter,
the Prohibition Party took up active
work and in order for it 70 function
properly and In order to give pub
lefty to the paramount issues OF the
party the leaders deemed it abso-
lutely necessary to have a controlling
interest in a newspaper that would
not only circulate among the voters of
Worcester County, but in every part
of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
To this end Syndicate of Prohibi-
tionists was formed in this section of
the State. Funds were contributed,
and the Syndicate purchased a con-
trolling interest in the leading paper
in my native town, and was re-
quested by the County Chairman and
other stockholders TO accept the posi-
ton of co-editor of that newspaper.
I entered upon the duties of my new
position on July 1, 1888, and the first
issue of the paper under the new man
agement made its appearance on July
7, 1883. Our first editorial, which /
quote in part, contained the follow
ing statement:-
"In assuming the editorship Of the
Record and Gazette and thereby ap-
pearing before the public in new
capacity, we do not need an intro
duction to the people of our native
town, nor to many of the readers
residing in the surrounding country.
We desire to announce that the paper
will hereafter be conducted in the in
terest of the Prohibition Party, and
in order that it may be effective in
the great Reform, we solicit the hear
ty cooperation of all the friends OF
the Temperance cause and we tender
the use of these columns to any who
desire to advance the interests of 10
cal, State, and National Prohibition.
It will be our endeavor not to engage
in personalities, personal controver-
sizes, or anything of like character,
but we will aim to conduct readable
local paper and one that will be well
coined in it's weekly visits by the in
mates of the various homes into
which it will enter"
When the editor of paper takes
a proper interest in his work, he is
compelled to lead busy life. Fifty
years ago, hard work was the fate
of the compositor. There was no
power used but hand power. The
printing presses were cumbersome
and were manipulated by hand. There
was no linotype machine in small
town printing offices and type set
ting was done by hand, and consider
able part of the mechanical work on
a paper had to be performed at night.
Ny new position gave me a much
larger field of action than I had prev
iously had in the schoolrooms. I had
occasion to travel. l attended the
Prohibition Conventions that were at
the County Seat, and also the State
Conventions, wherever and whenever
held. and was one of the secretaries
at each on more than one occasion.
I thus became acquainted with the
leaders of the Prohibition Party in
the Counties and in the State. Our
paper was a great help in dissemina-
ting the news concerning the progress
of the Temperance movement. We
had been in business less than five
months when early in November, 1855
Pocomoke City was visited by one OF
the most disastrous fires of it's his
tory, which destroyed large part OF
the business section of the town. The
building on Main Street in which oul
office and plant were located went
down in the great conflagration car
rving with it our plant and every
thing in our office excepting some
type and few articles which we were
able hastily to remove. Unfortunate
" our plant was not insured. How
ever, we rallied our forces and order
ed new fixtures, rented second stor!
room, in a building on Clarke Avenue
and started up our paper again. Tn
fire caused us to miss only two week
1y issues of the paper. The publica
ton of the paper continued withou
interruption until the close of tn
year 1889 and during its existence o
eighteen months as the organ of tn
prohibition Party in the First Con
gressional District of Maryland, it co
cred an important period in the his
torv of the Party. In the campaig
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