Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, April 14, 1901, Page 16

Editors Who Flourish in Southwestern Iowa HE npewspaper men have ilways played an important part in the public aftairs of outhwestern lowa No section of the west has au more inviting fleld for good news paper work on the rural press, for the people are intclligent, appreciative and well-to<do. The newspaper men have up preclated their cpportunity and thelr papers fittingly represent the progress, in clligence and public spirit of the thriving Lownt I'he uggestion that only four slales o the union have more newspapers than lowa may emphasize the lmportant relation which the weekly paper bears to Hawkeyedom New York, Pennsylvania, iwols and Ohio are the four states that lead Towa and cach has from two to three tes the population of this state Iu paying this little tribute to the news paper wen, whose work does 80 much to mwould views, opinions and tastes of south west lowa, iU ds fair to begin with those of Creston, the hosts of the present gather ug. A town of 10,000 Creston has three lively dailies, all edited by men of state vide prominence Paul Maclean, owner nd edboor of the Gazette, republican, Is the wost brilbant and caustic polemical writer v lowa. This may seem high praise, but those who have followed his work, iu his own o paper or reflected o the press, will bhardly dissent. Allan Dawson of the Des Molnes Leader has dubbed him the “Harry Hotepur of lowa Journalism' and the char aclerization Is excellent. No man io lowa am remove the hide from an oppouent with v delt, clever and withal polite a touch. He s postmaster of Creston and always a factor in state political gatherings. S5 A Brewster of the Creston Advertiser loan uncompromising democrat, a student ol economie problems, a strong writer and one of the most devoled friends of Mr Bryan in the state. He is an excellent all round newspaper worker, far above th» average o business ability, He has becn W candidate for congress on the democratic ticket fo the Elghth disirict, as has also W H. Robb, editor of the Creston American, populist. Mr. Robb is one of the promi nent populists of the country and like his Iwo competitors is a fighter. In fact there s0't 4 town in the state where a livelier article of newspaper warfare can Le sup piled on demand than is to be had in Creston, Lafe Young's Life Wo And while the southwestern editors are urder discussion, no man is better en titled to place among them than Lafc Young, the clever editor and owner of the Des Moines Capltal. Mr. Young for years ongucted the Atlantic Telegraph, and, d¢ spite the limitations of the field for a lally, made himself a power When he went to the state senate from the district that then included Cass and Union coun ties he was the youngest member of the upper house He made a place at once as orator and publicist, He afterward went to Des Moines and bought the Capital when It secined a hopeless proposition, The revolution in the paper is the best evi- dence of his abilities His long sult is after-dinner oratory, fn which he is con ceded the premlbership of lowa, In or out of newspaperdom. He was for years presi dent of the lowa State Kditorial associa tlon, now extinet, or at least moribund; no gathering of lowa editors is considered in good standing unless the Depew of lowa 15 on the Lill of fare. Lafe always doe eriginal things He went to Cuba to re port the Spanish war for his paper, ani his lecture, aftef he got home, on the cap ture of Santiago was one of the most beau tiful works of imagination ever dished up from a platform The Red Oak Express would have to be put in a list of the half dozen best all round wecklies in Towa. T. . Murphy s now at the head of the paper, which | a third of a century old, and in connection with which has grown up the calendar and art printing business, whose contribu- tlon to Red Oak's fame has been rondd only to that made by Ballard the Bard Mr. Murphy conducts a strictly repub- lican paper. Six years ago a junior party paper was put in, the Republican, by Mont gomery & Sheffer, which is a worthy com petitor of its longer established rival. The Sun, democratic, by Boll & Clark, 18 a quarter of a century old. All the Red Oak newspapers are in the hands of thorough newspaper men and thelr contribution has done much to glve Red Oak the prominence In setate politics Indicated by the fact that It is the home of United States Judge Me- Pherson, who rec ently resigned from con- Kress to go on the bench, Supreme Justice Horace E. Deemer, Senator J. M. Junkin and other men of almost equal not One of an Edi nl Iy, Paul 8. Junkin, editor of the Corning Unfon-Republican, is entitled by inherit- ance and by his own service as well to rank a8 a pioneer. He is one of the Junkins of Fairfleld, a family that has produced more newspaper men than any other In lowa and all good ones. W, W, Junkin, the patriarch, has been over half a century at the head of the Fairfield Ledger, his sery- lce with one r being the longest ever credited to any man in the state. His son, C. M. Junkin, now actively conducts the paper; another son is editor of the Rock Raplds Reporter and Paul 8. Junkin of Corning I8 the third. His is one of four papers in Adams county—the least number of papcrs In any lowa county—and is ex- cellent In proportion to the fleld, having one of the largest weekly circulations in the The Free Press (democrat) and the te (republican) by W. H. Hoxle are the other Corning papers. Mr. Hoxle s one of the oldest southwest lowa editors. His baper was started in 1867 and he has con ducted It most of the time. Howard Tedford of Mount Ayr, state binder and one of the rising young men of lowa newspaperdom, is associated with his father, J. H. Tedford, in the ownership and conduct of the Mount Ayr Record. This Is another landmark of southwestern Jour- nalism, dating from 18 Father Tedford writes the page of strong editorial, which always occupics the entire first page, and makes it one of the most popular weeklies. Howard Tedford has done newspaper work in Washington, before he became state binder, of a quality that attracted much attentlon, Sy LLIN O inded on Merit, Among the notable newspaper successes is the Mount Ayr Twice-A-Week News, by Walter H. Beall. Though not yet 30 years 0ld. Mr. Beall has built up much the largest circulation in his county by making a news paper that is entitled to rank among the bost It is a weekly paper run on daily principles. The Mount Ayr Journal, by J. 8. Shepherd and son, is the democrati paper of Ringgold's capital anc high rank in the county. Rivggold s a county of newspapers, H E Perkins Kellerton Globe, the Sentinel at Knowlto by P. B. Wilson; the Vindicator at Ting ley, by Dr. D. W. Watsabaugh, Bert M rick's alliterative Redding Rustler, ar Charles Wroughton's Diagonal Progres are all good papers with district circula- tion It Is claimed on behalf of Ringgold ounty that it has more weekly newspa- per circulation than any other in the Eighth district J. Knox Hall has made in the Star Enterprise at Afton a paper that is in many ways remarkable, Typographically and in Its news and literary qualities it ranks very high. Afton was formerly county seat of Union county, before Creston won away that distinetion, and Mr. Hall has profited by the rivalry between the two towus, His paper is of the independent democratic cast. The Afton Tribune, by W. E. Adalir, Is a recent venture and has made a cred- itable showing. In a town of 8,000 John J. Clark has mad: a signal success of the conduct of a daily The Bedford Republican is a bright' lttle evening paper, the weekly edition of which f8 the Times-Republican Mr. Clark s MEETING OF SOUTHWESTERN I0WA PRESS ASSOCIATION, CRESTON, Ia postmaster at Bedford and s possessed of that square of qualities which must be represented in a man who can succeed as he has done. He I8 a politician, a busi- ness man, an editor, a good reporter, and, although only a young man, has been emi nently successful. The Bedford Free Press, by H. E. Moores, is democratic and, while making no such ambitious effort as the conduct of a daily, {8 an excellent weekly Mr., Moores devotes himself especlally to the promotion of his news interests LAFAYETTE YOUNG, EDITOR—Photo by Bostwick. inty, having all sections Veteran of the a weekly paper that gets above 2,000 irculation In an lowa county |s something of a wonder, yet there are two of them in Clarinda, the Herald, by C. A. Lisl¢ one of the veterans of this section. The paper is over forty years old and has mad. Mr. Lisle considerably more than wel! to-do He 18 postmaster—which contain the assurance that he is a republican—and is one of the strong men of the Eighth district in politics; his paper {8 the home representative of Congressman Hepburn and has done good party service In that not always easy position The Clarinda Journal, J. P. Keanea and Ed C. Lane, Is the youngest paper in the town and a hustler. Its editors are young men, who know their business and have made com- interesting with considerable leanings to independence. The Clarinda Robinson's as well as good newspaper. Shenandoah, as he best newspaper town in southwest The Sentinel, twice a week, has the largest circulation credited to a weekly in N. Marvin, this section, its proprietor and editor, has a capacity for making peo ple want his newspaper that would make 4 Buccess in any place on earth. loah is on the line between Page and Fre- Brown Bros. same condi- their Shenandoah with a big have taken a semi-weekly, circulation and business. Shenandoah Ben Clare independent, which his friends say means that it would be demo- it democracy were more Clare runs a thoroughly good paper, the best testimony to which fact {s that he makes money In so well field as that of Page county. McCormick at College runs a high-class college town weekly in the Current Press; ploughed a Flash light by Louis R. Bostwick conducts the republican Gazette, and to his credit be it said that he Keeps the field 1« himself, despite that Coin is the scal of one of the most enthusiastic colonies of fre. silverites on earth. Nat. Miller's Essex In dependent is properly nawed, and its editor makes a good paper in a town of 700. Where | ties Flourish, Accurate statistics indicute that there | more politics to the square 1oot in Fremon county than in any other place on eartn outside of Ohio. Free silver sentiment run riot in this county when that movement was at its helght, and the newspapor men of both parties proved themselves capable ad vocates. At Sidney is tne democrati Herald, by G. M. Waterman. Mr. Waterman claims the largest circulation accorded to any democratic paper in the southwest, and while he gets an argument occasionally no body denies him a position in the front row The Siduey Sun, by Randall & McKee, republican and a good paper. At Hamburg Fremont county, Miller & Campbel! conduct the Democrat, and they give Waterman a strong fight for the lcad in circulution. Ol Reporter of Fremont is the republican paper; it is conducted by a stock company 0. H. Tibbetts’ Hamburg Sunbeam ‘s a sil- ver republican paper, and Tibbetts' 16 to 1 arguments have been quite famous in his section of the state. At Riverton, where the free silver enthusiasts of Fremont county hold annual picnics for four or five days and have national speakers, joint de bates and a regular camp meeting, salva tion-is-free jollification, H. H. Crenshaw runs the Independent, and without sacrific ing his claim that his title is descriptive the paper keeps on excellent terms with the silver picnies when they come to town The Mills County Tribune is conducted by N. C. Field at Gilerwood. It reficet, the democratic opinions of its owner, who last full was his party's candidate for state senate in the district composed of Mills and Montgomery, and made a good run in a hopelessly republican district agalnst Sena tor Junkin, one of the strongest men n the state. The Opinion is the republican paper at Glenwocd, and is conducted by Willlam F. Broadfield. It is a good paper, with a circulation covering the entire county, Edward Brown's Malvern Leader, republican, and the Soutawest lowan, demo cratic, by C. M. Rice, are a pair of excel lent papers at Malvern. Rivalry Helps Some. At Villisca, Montgomery county, E. 0 Gardner conducts the Letter, democralic and the Review, republican, is edited by € K. Kennedy. They have a good field, which they fill well. Villisca is a rival of Red Oak in Montgomery county, and the east side papers at Villisca conduct a coustant crusade to malntain the political and com mercial independence of their part of the county. The rivalry helps the Villisca papers, which in times of especially strained relations humiliate the county seat by alluding to it as ““Redoak” and “Ballar ville,” In F. L. Guches' success with the Osccola (Clarke county) Sentinel, 18 to be found an illustration of what hustling will accom- plish. Mr. Guches got the paper when it was badly run down. He has made himself, it is said, independently rich. He is cur- rently credited with belng worth $30,000, he owns houses in town and lands in the country; his paper is full of business and subscribers, and Mr. Guches is little past 40 years of age. He runs an excellent county paper, fillled with the best quality of local news and correspondence. The Clip per, by H. W, Robinson, 1s the junior re publican paper; the Democrat, by Sherman & Richards, represents its paper at the county seat They are both breezy and interesting sheets, Millard Stookey's Leon Journal is the leadling republican paper of Decatur county Mr. Stookey is Leon's postmaster, and one of the most prominent factors in its poli- tics. He {8 credited with running the best line of county nmews to be found in any (Continued on Eighth Page.)