Evening star., 1948-05-06
By George Kennedy

The old dispute over the author
ship of Laugh and the world laughs
with you," cropped up last night in
q session Of "reminiscences on news
papers in the old days at the meet
ing of the Association of Oldest In
habitantS in the Old Union Fire
house, Nineteenth and H streets
NV.
1t was scarcely a dispute, for Ella .
Wheeler Wilcox, who is credited with |
the line in anthologies of popular
American verse, had not a single
champion.
All the old timers who testified
remembered that Col. John A. joyce, !
reporter on The Star in the old
days, said he wrote it first.
I remember" said one man, chat
Col. Joyce wanted to be buried in
Arlington Cemetery with the proviso
that the line be engraved on his
tombstone accrediting him with
authorship. The Quartermaster
Corps would not agree to 1t. and
that's why he's buried at Oak Hill,
With the line on his tomb
Fred Emery Reads Paper.
Fred Emery of the United States
News who was with the Associated
Press here at the turn of the CEN
tury, read a paper on the last 100
years OF Washington newspapers
He recalled Cluskey Cromwell "the
Eugene Field of his day" Mr..
Cromwell, city editor of The Star
ana a tavorite writer with its read
erS, used to lead off his stories with
DTS OF verse written for the occa-
sion.
John Clagett Proctor, president of
the association. took over when Mr..
Emery mentioned the formation of
WaShington'S first press club in the
office of the old National Republican
after the Civil War, with Mr.. Proc
tors father as its first president. |
Like most newspapermen of his gen.
GRAFTON, the older Proctor was a |
printer. 1t was this trade his son |
followed, turning to journalism after
his retirement. with his popular ar
ticles on local history in The Sunday
Star
Mr.. Proctor recalled how his
father had covered the first Battle of
Bull Run for the Philadelphia
Ledger, riding horseback to the ILL
fated front and hurrying back to file
his story. Mr.. Proctor denied that
his father had stolen that horse-an
intimation he detected in a reminis-
cent article on Civil War journalism.
He rented it from a Georgetown
livery stable" said Mr.. Proctor He
was a country boy from Hagerstown,
so he could ride it all right. When
he got back, all the telegraph lines
were closed down on orders of the
War Department, so he took train
to Philadelphia and delivered his
story personally"
In his paper Mr. Emery said, "The
Alexandria Gazette, with its birth
date in 1884, claims to be the oldest
daily newspaper IN the United
States. In Washington, The Ma
tional Intelligencer was the daddy
of them all in the formative period
Of this city. 1t was founded in
1903. For years newspapers of the
United States relied on the Intelli-
gencer for what they printed about
The proceedings of Congress. One
hundred years ago the Intelligencer
told of the beginnings of the Wash
ington Gas Light Co.
Almost 100 years ago, The Wash
ington Star began. 1t was estab-
lished by Joseph B. Tate, July IA,
1852. 1t was purchased in 1853 by
w. D. Wallach and w. H. Hope. Mr..
Wallach became the sole owner in
1855. Mr.. Wallach sold The Star
in 1867 to Crosby S. Noyes, Samuel
H. Kaufman, George w. Adams,
Alexander Shepherd and Clarence
B. Baker. Mr.. Baker and Gov
Shepherd sold their stock to the
first three proprietors whose families
still own the paper.
THE Washington Post began on
December 6, 1877 with Col. John A.
Cockerille, famous newspaperman
OF his day, in charge of its news.
StilSon Hutchins was the owner.
The Times-Herald is more re-
cent. The Times goes back to March.
1894. 1t has been successfully