Evening star., 1942-06-07
Rare Newspaper Hobby
Covers Three Centuries
Bv Robert Curtis Harper


His exhibit has been shown several
hundred times. A few years ago he had
it displayed in New York and delivered
lectures for a week 10 10000 school chill
dren studying American history. BY
reading on-the-scene accounts OF not
able events, they obtained an apprecla-
ton of history not to be obtained from
history books written so years after the
event.
The Lutz collection includes accounts
of the deaths of all the Presidents OF the
United States. Arranged in chronology
cal order, his exhibit of some 200 leading
items deals with political campaigns, in
ventions. tragedies, changes in economic
laws, explorations, industrial develop
ments. wars-in short, the whole pano-
rama of American life is reflected in the
printed word
Some of the early American editors,
for example, had quaint ideas as to news
values, Judged by present-day news
paper standards. When the wife OF
Benedict Arnold died, a brief account of
her demise failed to mention her hus-
band turning traitor to his country. In
fact, the editor refused to use Arnold's
name. The article, after stating she
was the daughter Of physician, con-
cluded by saying she was the wife OF
Brig. Gen. A.
Robert Fulton is spoken of as the IN
ventor of the steamboat, yet Capt. Lutz
says he has q newspaper showing that
Fitch's steamboat operated excursion
trips from Philadelphia to Wilmington
20 years before Fulton's contraption was
, launched.
There is an account of Commodore
Perrys immortal message: 1--WE have
met the enemy and they are ours" One
reads Morse's words. What Hath God
Wrought" after his first telegraph
message had been sent and received.
Do many people know that President
Abraham Lincoln was an inventor?
Capt Lutz has a clipping telling Of
Honest Abe's" invention for lifting
boats through canal locks.
Many Treasured Items.
Among his treasured items are ac-
counts of the burning of the Capitol and
White House and the battle Of nearby
Bladensburg, Md, in 1914. An eye
witness account of the Battle of Lexing-
ton as well as other Revolutionary bat
ties is preserved by Capt. Lutz in bank
vault. Another rare newspaper account
cites the original publication of Richard
Henry Lees eulogy of Washington, first
in war, first in peace, and first IN the
hearts of his countrymen."
A first lieutenant of infantry in the
First World War, where he served in
France, Capt. Lutz, after IT years Ma
tional Guard service in Virginia, is now
a field artillery officer attached to Fort
Meade. During his newspaper career he
worked for Memphis, Atlanta, Phila-
delphia, Norfolk and Richmond news
papers.
The Boston massacre, the first blood
shed by Americans which sparked the
Revolutionary War and the achievement
of independence from British rule. is
related in a newspaper account owned
by Capt. Lutz. The Boston Tea Party,
all wars fought by American troops, the
Johnstown flood, Chicago fire, San Fran
cisco earthquake, the Mount Pelee erup-
ton, sinking of the Titantic and Lusi-
tania, the execution of Nurse Edith
Cavell by the Germans in Belgium Is
years ago, the Battle of the Alamo,
sinking of the Maine, the first pony
express, and accounts of the assasina-
tions of Garfield, Lincoln and Mckinley
these and other notable events are
preserved for posterity by painstaking
private collector.
Capt. 'Lutz, in short, has a collection
of American and English Language
newspapers concerning America and the
British Empire that encompasses In
majestic sweep the march of notable
figures through three centuries.