The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-10-03

Ihirty-nine lsshes al
The Tail OF q Car
By ? 7. SHORT
THERE are various accounts Of
i the beginning Of the newspaper
In North America and the humble
origin from which came the great
publications Of today. As Joseph
Buekin gham's "Reminiscences
and Specimens Of Newspaper Lit
srature.' published in 1850. viii
be used as the background for this
American Newspaper week series.
his version Is used. Buckingham
found that so far as can be OBJ
tanned from existing records, or
from tradition the first number
Of Benjamin Harris 'sPublick oe-
currences." and probably the last,
was printed in Boston on Sept.
Is, 1890.
Harris made the mistake of
printing In his first issue a re-
port of the town council meeting
which some Of the m m b ers
though might be construed as re-
Fleeing on their ability and in
tegrity. The council didn't know
just what to do about it. This
being their first experience with
q newspaper there were no prece-
dents in law or practice to guide
them. The council mulled over the
problem four days and then dis
covered a regulation prohibiting
the printing of pamphlets without
. license. They promptly CLASH
fled the little four pager-one
page of which was blank-as
pamphlet which contained "reflee-
tions of a very high nature"
Harris was notified that he could
not continue to print the "Pamph-
let" without a license, which the
council unanimously denied when
he offered to comply.
What q turnover there
would be In the newspaper
business today II town eoun-
ellis could suppress publica-
lions which printed things
some of the members didn't
like,
Though his career as news
paper publisher was quickly fin
ished, Harris, "a brisk asserter of
English liberties had a great
many friends in the colony. To
make a living he became a book
seller, then coffee selling and then
opened a printing shop. Not all
the people agreed with the men,
bers of the council who suppressed
his paper and Harris built up a
good printing business. Several
unsuccessful attempts were made
to obtain a permit To publish a
paper were made. As a friendly
gesture toward. Harris and a re-
Duke to the council the governor
of the colony gave Harris the con-
tract to print "the acts and laws
made by the assembly of their
majesties province of ,Massachu-
sets bay, that the people may be
Informed thereof"
Fourteen years after the Har-
us episode, John Campbell, post
master of Boston, issued the first
number of his Boston Newsletter
on April "a, 1704. It was about the
size of an ordinary sheet of letter
paper, maybe a little larger. made
up in two pages with two columns
TO a page. This unique announce
ment appeared on the first page:
This Newsletter Is to be
continued Weekly; and all
Persons who have any Houses,
Lands, Tenements, Farms,
Ships, Vessels, Goods, Wares
or Merchandise, &c, to be Sold
or Let; or Servant Runaway,
or Goods Stole or Lost, may
have the same inserted at
Reasonable Rate, from Twelve
Pence to Five Shillings, and
not to exceed"
The Newsletter was not a fl
nancial success, and If Campbell
had not been a bookseller as well
as postmaster he could not have
continued publication. He had lit
tie literary ability, no public poll
Icy, and was always appealing to
the public for support.
In December, 1913, Campbell
lost his job as postmaster. His
successor Immediately started an
opposition paper. Campbell re-
ferred TO his long period of public
service as a reason why the peo-
pie should support his paper In
stead of the other. Two years
later a third paper. the New Eng
land courant, was established IN
Boston by James Franklin. In
his first issue Franklin intimated
that the Newsletter was "a dull
vehicle of intelligence"
Campbell defended himself and
his paper by saying that Frank
lin was a jaek-of-all-trades and
master of none. and like nothing
10 much as sour ale in summer.
Franklin replied in kind and the
quarrel added popularity 70 both