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According
to an old history of Linn county there were but two papers in the county
in 1875, the Linneus Bulletin and the Brookfield gazette. The former was
established by Thomas E. Brawner in 1859, and the latter paper by R.
Channing Moore on April 23, 1867. Both papers are in successful operation
today under their original names. But there are more competitors in the
field now. In Brookfield there are the Gazette, Argus and Budget. In
Linneus, the Bulletin and the Linn County News. In Marceline are the
Mirror and the Journal. Then there are the Bucklin Herald, the Laclede
Blade, the Meadville Messenger and the Browning Leader-Record-eleven in
all. These papers evidence the growth of the county, and reflect the
enterprise and ambition of the people. Nearly all of them were started
under primitive conditions, and lived for years on hope, a hope that has
been abundantly realized by those who worked and waited with patience. The
Linn county press stands at the head of its profession. Nowhere in the
west are there more ably edited or better printed papers. Brookfield and
Linneus have set the pace for handsome typographical arrangement in their
papers, and the press of the other towns have followed. The truth is,
there are few metropolitan newspapers that equal the mechanical style of
the Linn county publications. The printer who examines them will readily
admit that. Not long since H. J. Wigginton, editor and publisher of the Linneus wrote an editorial on journalism, which so well
illustrates the idea of the profession in Linn county that some extracts
are reproduced here: “I wish to say by way of introduction, that the
people of Linn county are a reading people, intelligent, prosperous and
happy. In addition to their liberal patronage of libraries, periodicals
and the daily press, they give substantial support to eleven weekly
newspapers, and recognize them as valuable factors in the promotion of the
common good. Concerning the profession of journalism, I take pleasure in
here presenting the following opinions: “There is dignity in all honest
labor, commensurate with its usefulness to humanity. That journalism is
labor can be proved by a host of witnesses experienced in the profession.
There is not, perhaps, a member of the profession in Linn county who would
not modestly admit that it is honest labor and that two of the leading
characteristics of the journalists are honesty and truthfulness. In none
of life’s avocations are the truth and purity of one’s words more
safely guarded than in the field of journalism. The orator may change the
color of former utterances. The talebearer may flatly deny, the pulpit, in
the absence of a reporter, may escape rigid adverse judgment, but the
journalist, by means of the ‘art preservative,’ puts his opinions down
in black and white to stand the scrutiny of friend and foe alike. “From
the printed page there is no appeal. All journalists well understand the
meaning of that old hero of sacred history who, when pressed hard by his
accusing enemy, and seeking some means of recourse, cried out in bitter
extremity of soul, that mine enemy would write a book!’ “It is
dangerous for bad men to write books or issue newspapers.
Type cannot afford to lie. When it does, the evil consequences
recoil upon its own head. I believe that in most cases when the journalist
lowers the dignity of his profession by misrepresentation or otherwise,
the fault is of the judgment and not the heart. In this fact alone, how-
ever, there is little comfort; because successful journalism
is born of the virtues of both heart and head. Industry, honesty and
truthfulness are invaluable material in the temple of journalistic
dignity, but they alone can never make a journalist. Combine them with
common sense, keen discernment and discretion, and a heart that beats in
sympathy with the great heart of struggling humanity, and you will have a
tower of dignity and strength against which the prince of error himself
cannot prevail. “Bishop Marvin, in speaking of the virtues of a friend,
once said:
‘He is as good as he know how to be, and lie
knows how as well as any man God ever made.’ The knowing how
accounted, perhaps, for the biggest end of the goodness. The journalist
must know the real dignity and worth of his work, and he must know how
to impress them upon the community in which his paper circulates.
“There are some country newspapers that insist upon putting the
profession before their readers in the attitude of a huge joke. They
prate about the journal’s lack of veracity, of his half-clothed,
half-starved condition until many of their readers actually believe that
the whole profession is made up of liars and mendicants. I once saw the
following in an exchange: ‘Friends, a little help would be appreciated
very much-cant you bring us some sweet potatoes or corn An editor once
choked himself to death trying to eat grass.’ “Such pleas are
painfully pathetic; only because of the utter failure of their attempt
to be humorous. The sooner this style of journalism ‘chokes down on
grass the better for the profession. Published appeals to delinquents
for pay in either cash or produce are in bad taste, especially if
persisted in. They usually annoy the good patron more than the class for
whom they are intended, and they also make the business appear cramped
and unstable. It is true that no man un- der heaven comes nearer earning
one hundred cents on the dollar for his time and investment than does
the faithful country journalist; but he should collect those earnings in
a businesslike way, by individual statements, and without afflicting his
paper with a perpetual begging for that which is due him. “Another
menace to the dignity of the press is its too frequent abuse of its
privilege to compliment and censure. We forget that every editorial
opinion should bear upon its face the stamp of cool, deliberate
thought and earnest, honest conviction; and that for neither love nor
money can an editor afford to let the sincerity of his opinions be
questioned. We forget that there is lack of dignity in flattery. Every
compliment unworthily bestowed by a journalist weakens his power to
compliment the worthy. The journalist who persists in ‘roasting’
those whose rights to differ from him he holds in question, soon
paralyzes the power of his own pen to do further injury, and, if he
escapes the shot- gun, falls a victim to the venom of his own words.
There is beauty in dignified discussion; but newspaper quarrels are
detestable. Bitter words and harsh insinuations indicate jealousies and
kindred weak- nesses. Such journalism is self-destructive and on the
decline. With the coming age of journalistic schools, such as we have
now at the Missouri University, let us hope that it will become
practically extinct.
The true journalist enters bravely and heartily
into the work of assisting humanity onward and upward and speaks his words
of courage and counsel from a sympathetic and generous heart. He
recognizes the fact that the lives of individuals and nations are moulded
by the quality of their thinking; and that it is the high privilege of the
journalist to train the tastes of his readers away from the morbid
contemplation of life’s dark pictures and help them to see the beauties
and the glories of the bright side of things. With his pen he draws the
pictures that are to be ideal suggestions to young and old alike. He
begins with the impressible mind of the child and continues to influence
its thought until, dim-eyed with age, it lays aside its glasses to listen
with eager ear while children and grandchildren read aloud to him the
family newspaper. It is an influence that reaches from life’s opening
dawn unto its evening twilight. “Today journalism stands upon the summit
of its past achievement and, looking eastward, heralds the dawning of that
still grander day when the peace spirit shall pervade the entire
earth-when, indeed “ ‘Night’s candles are burnt out and jocund morn
Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.’ “ Linn county’s pioneer
newspaper man, Thomas E. Brawner,
was born in Richmond, Kentucky, in 1836, and came with the family to
Missouri when he was only a year old. In 1850 Mr. Brawner entered the
office of the Brunswicker as an apprentice. The paper was conducted by
John H. Blue. While learning the printing trade, young Brawner also
attended the seminary at Brunswick. In 1852 he went to Columbia and
secured employment with the Statesman, a paper founded by the late Col.
William F. Switzler, one of Missouri’s best known journalists and
historians. It was the association with this eminent man, then in the
prime of his powers, that inspired young Brawner to take a step higher in
journalism. He went to Milan, Sullivan county in 1857 and started the
Milan Farmer. After demonstrating
his capacity as an editor and publisher at Milan, Mr. Brawner was induced
to move to Linneus, then the leading town of the county in all matters. He
established the Linneus Bulletin, of which paper he was editor and
publisher until his retirement from journalism, on account of ill health,
in 1888. When the Civil War came on Mr. Brawner severed his connection
with the Bulletin in order to enter the army. In 1871 he resumed the
publication of the Bulletin, and continued until his retirement, in the
year mentioned.
Mr.
Brawner was always a Democrat of pronounced type, even during his service
ith the U. S. army. He was a man of unusual energy and ability and labored
night and day to make the Bulletin a power in the upbuilding of Linn
county and the state. Mr. Brawner was married three times. Among the
pioneer editors and printers of northern Missouri was Maj. Frank M.
Dalton, who, until quite recently, came to Brookfield once a year to visit
his sister-in-law, Mrs. Mary Dalton, and his nieces, Mrs. N. E. Wanamaker
and Mrs. Sue Crainer. Major Dalton was born in Ralls county, Missouri, May
27, 1832, and at the time of the publication of this history was operating
a country paper in Rector, Arkansas. On one of his visits to Brookfield
Major Dalton described his long experience as newspaper man, and told some
things which are illustrative of early day journalism. Some of the more
important county seat papers in Missouri before the Civil War had only
about 300 circulation,” said Major Dalton.
“It took a long while to get off even that small an edition on
the old hand press. Every page of the paper was rolled by hand. A roller
boy would stand between his ink slab-which was sometimes the reverse side
of a tombstone-and the press. And as each paper was ‘pulled’ he would
put on a fresh supply. The pressman laid on the sheets, and pulled around
the big lever. Crude as the method was, it was regarded by the people of
the old days as a most interesting sight, and they would often ride to
town on press day to see the machine work and to take home a copy of the
paper. We got $2.00 a year for the paper in those days, and would take
anything for it that we could use-cord wood, corn, potatoes, tobacco, yarn
gloves-any- thing. In one office where I worked we sent the paper for two
years to a man who furnished us a large, smooth tombstone which he had
taken from the grave of one of his relatives, who, he said, wouldn’t
need it any more.”
Like
most Missouri printers of his time, Major Dalton had worked at Hannibal
with Mark Twain, and after he became famous Mr. Clemens sent his old
comrade of the print-shop a copy of every book he wrote. Speaking of his
career in Hannibal Major Dalton said: “I never saw anything in
particular about Sam that made me think he would be a great man. He and I
worked together on the old Hannibal Union, which was run by Orion, Sam’s
elder brother. I was a typesetter there and saw a great deal of Sam. If I
were asked to pick out the brightest one of the boys it would have been
Henry. Sam was a rollicking, devil-may-care sort of fellow, more given to pranks and jokes than to work. A large part of
the copy that was handed in to us printers was reprint from Eastern
magazines. I remember now that they were turning out some excellent
literary matter in those days, and I set a lot of it up in the Union
office. It may have been that Sam received an inspiration from some of
these magazine articles which were passed to him as copy. If we had only
known it there was a world of material for humorous country stories in
those days, but Sam was the only one who seemed to remember it, and he put
those stories on paper long afterwards and became famous. “The only
original matter in the Union, outside of a few personal items, was the
leader or chief editorial. Orion always wrote that him- self. As I
recollect it Orion was a very serious writer, and I presume he carried a
certain amount of influence in Hannibal. “In those days of early
journalism the editor and the printer were about the same thing. The
editor generally set up his own copy, and often he would change it a good
deal at the case. He was afraid that if it would go into the hands of some
journeyman printer it might not measure up to what he had intended. The
editorials were the big feature with the editor. He thought that
everything he wrote was acted upon by the big wide world, and the truth
is, I think the. people did pay more attention to editorials than they do
now. There were not so many things to divert their minds and the country
newspaper was read and seriously pondered by every member of the
family.” The only interruption that ever occurred in his life as editor
and printer was when the war came on. Major Dalton was publishing a paper
at Edina, and doing fairly well. He was a Southern sympathizer, but never
regarded himself as a fighting man. It so happened, how- ever, that in his
town there were two companies of soldiers drilling daily. One of these
companies intended to join the Union army and the other was organizing for
the purpose of going South. The people were very much concerned for fear
that the two companies would get to fighting with each other before they
left town. When Col. Martin Green organized a regiment over in Lewis
county, the Edina Confed- erate company was ordered to report to him. As
soon as the company left the Union company, under command of Col. David
Moore, set out to prevent its joining Colonel Green. Major Dalton learned
of this and he managed to convey to the commander of the Confederate com-
pany the trap that was being laid for him. The Confederate captain was so
well pleased with the lad for bringing him the information that he
prevailed upon him to join the company, stating that they were only going
out for a little frolic and that the war would soon be over.
That
little frolic lasted four years, and when it was over Major Dalton went
back to the printing business, resuming where he had left off. It will be
a matter of some interest to those who weekly read the county letters in
the newspapers to know that the originator of that custom is a resident of
Linn county. His name is I. Jeff Buster, and he still retains keen
interest in all that the boys of the press are doing today. The
inspiration for Mr. Buster’s idea came in 1866. In those days, as Major
Dalton said, the average newspaper editor thought the important thing to
print was heavy editorials, literary clippings and foreign telegrams. As a
rule but comparatively small space was given to happenings around
home-they were too trivial. In his young days Mr. Buster was a regular
attendant at the Friday night lyceum in the district school at Kaseyville,
Macon county. The general program was to debate on all sorts of big
subjects, just as the newspapers were eternally soliloquizing on something
far beyond them. Mr. Buster decided one night to vary the rule. He
prepared a paper which he called “The Neighborhood News.” Every event,
large or small, that had occurred in the vicinity during the week was
found in Mr. Buster’s paper. It told about the new babies, the deaths,
weddings, crops, the new bell on the village church, or the recent damages
to the farmers’ crops on the creek bottoms, about the wreck of a rail
fence by the wind, the old cow that “had its leg to get broke,” and
which, if you are still a reader of the county news letter, is happening
regularly every week just as it was in I. Jeff’s time. That paper
created a sensation. It did more. It made Mr. Buster the leading man of
the community. Kaseyville voted the production the most interesting event
that had ever occurred in the history of its, lyceum.
Following
the natural trend of things, it occurred to Mr. Buster if the paper was
good to read to the community at Kaseyville, it might be of still greater
interest if printed in a newspaper. He mailed his manuscript to Macon.
Col. Clark Green was running the Macon Times. The colonel read the news
from Kaseyville and promptly pigeon-holed it until Mr. Buster should send
him stamps to pay the freight back home. He didn’t intend to load up his
paper with a lot of neighborhood gossip. What he wanted was wars and
rumors of wars; what they were doing over there at Washington; stories of
earthquakes in the Sandwich Islands and the revolutions in Chili and Peru.
In other words, the country editor. was featuring pretty much the
same thing that the magazines are featuring today. Mr. Buster went over to
Macon and hunted up his friend, the editor. Colonel Green extended the
glad hand, and then gently chided Mr. Buster for sending in such tommy-rot.
He really couldn’t think of printing it, you know; his subscribers
wouldn’t stand for it. “How many subscribers have you got over in
Morrow township, Colonel?” asked the author of the Kaseyville news
letter. Colonel Green went over his list and replied that he had some ten
or twelve very nice subscribers. Mr. Buster smiled. “Colonel,” he
said, “if you will print my Kaseyville news letter -that tommy-rot as
you call it-I’11 wager a new hat that I can put half the people in my
township on your subscription list.” Colonel Green lifted his eyebrows
and looked hard at his visitor to see whether he was joking or not.
Finally he said:
‘I’ll
tell you what I’ll do, Buster. I’ll print that stuff this week if you
will let me run it over your name. What do you say?” That was entirely
satisfactory to Mr. Buster and the news from Kaseyville got in. It is said
to be an historical fact that that was the first real county news letter
printed in the state. At least Mr. Buster says it was the first one he had
ever seen. Colonel Green sent Mr. Buster a stack of papers, and the man
from Kaseyville set out to make his wager good. When he showed the people
that the news letter was in the paper, that was all he had to do. Nine out
of every ten men put down their names. The result established the news
letter. It has been found to be an absolute asset of every up-to-date
country paper, and this is what some of the great metropolitan editors
seem not to know, that people are more interested in reading about what is
going on in the home locality than things that are happening across the
high seas. It became Mr. Buster’s interesting duty while engaged as
neigh- borhood correspondent for the Times to report an unusually
sensational killing in his neighborhood. He was on the spot with several
other men near a bridge. It seems that one of the workmen-they were all
farmers-had offended a man of the vicinity who had started out with a
double-barreled shotgun and a six-chambered Colts revolver to seek a
bloody vengeance. The armed man rode into the crowd and began blazing away
at his victim, who ran some distance, though badly wounded. The merciless
assailant got off his horse and completed his deadly work with the
revolver. Then he turned to the horrified spectators and remarked:
“Gentlemen
, I just had to do it. There is no need for any of you folks to follow
me. The man rode away unmolested and has never been heard of from that
day until this. Mr. Buster took that story up with the instincts of a
trained journalist. He wrote a graphic introductory, which was followed
by the report of the coroner’s inquest.
The Macon Times printed it, but not on the first page, as it
should have done or would do now. One head was deemed sufficient to
identify the story. Curiously enough, no St. Louis paper seemed to be
interested in the matter, and as far as known not a line was printed
about it outside of Mr. Buster’s
contribution to the Times. Today such story would have occupied first
page position in every city newspaper in Missouri, and every picture
that could be obtained of the parties and of the scene would be printed.
Some twenty or twenty-five years ago Mr. Buster removed from Macon to
Linn county and located at Marceline. There be acted as correspondent
for the Linneus Bulletin for nearly twenty years. It might be said that
his experience as a newspaper correspondent covers some forty years
altogether. But he is not an old man by any means. Mr. Buster is just as
young as he ever was and if he cared to could take hold of any end of a
country newspaper and run it successfully, Newspaper readers were
familiar with his signature, which was always ‘I. Jeff.”
The
Brookfield Gazette was the first newspaper established in the city which
forms a part of its name. In the year 1867 R. Channing Moore, a young
physician, and A. C. Buffington, a practical printer, decided that the
time was ripe for the publication of a newspaper in the young railroad
town. Besides being a very good printer, Mr. Buffington had had some
experience as a country newspaper publisher. Dr. Moores assumed charge of
the editorial and business departments, while Mr. Buffington was the
mechanical superintendent. The first issue was dated April 23. After
conducting the paper a short while Moore and Buffington disposed of it to
W. D. Crandall and Henry Ward, two young lawyers. Later on Mr. Ward
retired and went to Denver. Mr. Crandall, a scholarly and interesting
writer, and a man of broad information, successfully operated the
paper alone after the retirement of his partner. He gave to the Gazette a
reputation for enterprise, fairness and reliability, a reputation that has
abided with it through all the years. The Brookfield Gazette has at all
times advocated the principles of the Republican party, and has always
given its support to the candidates of that organization, except in one instance.
Then it declared for what was termed the liberal Republican ticket,
headed by B. Gratz Brown, instead of the one headed by Joseph W. McClurg
for governor. In 1891 George W. Martin purchased a half interest in the
Brook- field Gazette, and the paper was published under the firm name of
Martin & Jones until 1905, when Mr. Jones retired. His interest was
purchased by J. V. Martin.
Since that time the paper has been success- fully operated by George W.
and J. V. Martin and has steadily maintained its prestige as a thoroughly
conservative, courageous and efficient journal. Editorially the Brookfield
Gazette has always led. It clings to the old-time idea-one founded on
excellent judgment-that editorials are yet considered by a paper’s
constituents and that they wield an influence. The greatest care is taken
in the preparation of the matter for the editorial page of the Gazette and
its typographical arrangement is always attractive. The Gazette’s
paragraphs have become a feature of the paper, and are oftentimes
reproduced by the metropolitan papers. The “Missouri News Department”
presents a good natured, though sometimes satirical resume of happenings
all over the state, and have made that department of the Gazette what
“Starbeams” are to the Kansas City Star. Printers all over the state
commend the handsome typographical appearance of the Gazette.
This is mainly due to the skill of Mr. Fred E. Culler, who for many
years has occupied the position of mechanical superintendent, and who has
not only made the Gazette one of the most beautiful papers in the state
from a typographical standpoint, but has turned out some printers who have
made splendid reputations for ability in the printing offices of Missouri,
where skill is appreciated. The Missouri Press Association in May, 1880,
declared the Brookfield Gazette, the best printed paper in the state. As
has been stated, the pioneer newspaper of Linn county was the Linneus
Bulletin,
which was originally started by Thomas E. Brawner in 1859. When the Civil
War came on Mr. Brawner went into the service on the Union side, and
shortly after the close of the struggle resumed the publication of the
paper. The history of the Bulletin from that time is thus given in an
issue of May, 1912: “Volume Forty-Two. It was in May, 1871, that Capt.
Thomas E. Brawner, after a brief rest from his arduous struggle in behalf
of the Union, witnessed the triumph of his idea to found a Linn county
Democratic newspaper at Linneus. Prior to the appearing of the first
number of the Bulletin numerous citizens of the county, in order to
warrant the establishment of the enterprise, subscribed for the paper,
many of them paying as much as five years in advance for it. The new paper
came out with flying colors and for nearly twenty years was success- fully
conducted by Captain Brawner-Col. George W. Tyler being associated with
him in the business a portion of the time. “In February, 1888, Captain
Brawner’s health having failed, he sold the Bulletin to Messrs.
Wigginton & Conger. At that time, while the paper ranked high as a
county newspaper, the office equipment was somewhat crude compared with
what it is today. The office was located in the rear end of a rented
upstairs room. The paper was printed upon an antiquated Washington hand
press. The type was old and rather scarce. The. force of printers was
small but efficient. The new management, thanks to an increasing
patronage, soon put in a new power press, better job presses, new
type-much larger in assortment-and, later, purchased a home for the
plant-a brick building 40x60 feet in dimensions-the building in which the
plant is now housed. In the summer of 1909, the present publisher, H. J.
Wigginton, became sole proprietor of the Bulletin plant. By means of a
vigorous campaign for more business and a cordial response from the good
people of Linn county, the Bulletin’s subscription list has been almost
doubled during the past three years, and its advertising and job printing
business has been substantially increased. But with this increase of
business the expense of conducting the plant has also increased. Our
office foreman, for instance, who ranks with the most proficient in the
state, commands a salary double that we paid a foreman some years ago. Our
pay roll is larger than it has ever been before and printing materials of
all kinds have soared higher in prices. But we are not complaining. We
could expect nothing else in this era of progress. We like to pay good
prices for labor when we have sufficient increase of patronage to justify
it. We believe in progress all along the line. And while it has ever been
our purpose to promote the best interests of the community in which we
live we doubtless have, like other members of the human family, made many
mistakes of judgment which we hope may be converted into stepping-stones
to higher achievement in the future. We have learned to love the people of
Linn county, and it is our chief ambition to make the Bulletin an
effective factor in building up the material, intellectual and moral
aspects of the community. In the future we may make errors; we do not
expect to please everybody, but we shall express our honest opinions
editorially in a straightforward, conservative manner, with no intention of offending those who honestly differ from us. Politically we
shall continue to advocate Democratic measures and men. As to local
progress, aside from politics, we shall know no party lines, but shall
always be on the side of progress, pulling for what we believe to be the
best interest of our local towns and county. Leaving the past efforts and
attainments of our paper to be adjudged by its readers and pledging them a
renewal of effort to be more useful in the future than we have in the
past, we enter upon Volume Forty-Two, enthused by higher ideals, which
cannot fail to bear fruit of their own kind. The Bulletin begins the new
volume with good will to every member of the human family.” H. J.
Wigginton, editor and publisher of the Bulletin, was born in Boone
county, Missouri, January 17, 1863. His father was the Rev. W. R.
Wigginton, a pioneer Baptist preacher well known throughout Missouri. Mr,
Wigginton acquired his education in the public schools of Audrain county,
and at his graduation from the Mexico High School was awarded the
Orator’s Medal. He became one of the proprietors of the Linneus Bulletin
in February, 1888, and became sole owner in 1909. For several years he
served as chairman of the Democratic Central Committee of Linn county;
also as secretary of the Second District Congressional Committee and as a
member of the Sixth District Senatorial Committee. Mr. Wigginton has
frequently been chosen as delegate to state and district conventions by
his party, but his most lasting reputation has been achieved by his
conscientious devotion to high journalistic ideals, and his unfaltering
ambition to make the Bulletin one of the very best country newspapers in
the state. He has been a member of the Missouri Press Association for
twenty years. For a long period the Bulletin has been the official paper
of Linn county. On May 9, 1907, Mr. Wigginton was married to Mrs.
Katherine Burch Stewart of Chillicothe, Missouri. The Linneus Missourian
was founded by G. S.
Nicholas in 1865. The paper run until 1871, when the plant was destroyed
by fire. Politically, the Missourian was stalwart Republican, and during
its short life it was a power in the councils of that party, which at that
time was in entire control of the county’s administration. Mr.
Nicholas-‘ Nick ‘-they mostly called him-had been a preacher previous
to his adoption of the newspaper profession. Out in West Virginia,
from whence he came, he became noted for his earnest championship of the
national cause and its flag, and when he came to Lin county and founded
the Missourian he continued preaching the same doctrine he had so
earnestly advocated in the east-the only difference being he now had a
newspaper to present his views, where formerly lie gave them from the
pulpit or platform. At times the Missourian seemed a shade too severe in
dealing with men who could not see things from the same point of view that
its editor did. Mr. Nicholas was a forcible writer, you might say a
strenuous one, in coming back at a contemporary who was incautious enough
to hazard a criticism of the Missourian or its energetic editor, or who
dared assail the good old Republican party. The editor of the Missourian
did not seek newspaper controversies, but when somebody had developed a
census belli he seemed to enjoy the resultant fight. His literary
ammunition box was always well stocked up with burning English, which he
applied liberally to his adversary’s cuticle in the laudable endeavor to
bring him around to see the error of his ways, the editor said. The
Missourian is now but a memory, and its vigorous editor has gone from
among us. He sleeps in the silent city of the dead at Linneus.
Notwithstanding his frequent acrimonious political combats, Mr. Nicholas
was a most agreeable gentleman personally, and was generally liked and
respected. The Linn County News was founded by J. H. Brunnermer, and the
first number was published at Laclede in June, 1881, where the office of
publication was maintained until the 14th day of September,
1882, when the plant was purchased by C. W. and B. F. Northcott and moved
to Linneus. For a time it had quarters in the old court house building and
later was moved to the upper rooms in the Perkins building, now occupied
by the F. D. Bates Drug Co. Having secured an appointment in the railway
mail service, C. W. Northcott sought a purchaser for his part of the plant
and D. B. Ormiston entered the firm on the 18th day of
September, 1884, and the firm became Northcott & Ormiston, the senior
member being Col. B. F. Northcott. Time rolled on and on the 25th
day of December, 1884, Mr. Ormiston married the youngest daughter, Miss
Nellie, of Col. and Mrs. B. F. Northcott, the marriage ceremony being
performed by Rev. J. 0. Taylor, the young pastor of the Linneus Methodist
Episcopal church, now superintendent of the Brookfield district. About a
year later. the senior member of the firm sold his interest in the paper
to N. Fenstemaker and the firm name was changed to Ormiston &
Fenstemaker. This partnership lasted not quite two years, when Mr.
Ormiston purchased his partner’s interest, since which
time until the present Mr. Ormiston has been alone in the publication of
the paper. In 1889 the plant was moved to the Greer building, where now
stands the opera house block and there it remained until the fall of 1893,
when it was moved into the new building on the south side of the square,
where it has enjoyed the delights of being at home. The build- ing was
originally a one-story brick, 21x60 feet. A few years thereafter
twenty-one feet were added to the length of the building. The building was
planned and erected specially for the News and it is now one of the best
country newspaper offices in the state. The policy of the News has always
been to advocate every move- ment calculated to improve the condition of
the people socially, morally, intellectually and commercially. In politics
the News has been consistently Republican at all times, but never bitterly
partisan. It concedes the right to every man to believe whatever he
pleases; hence its advocacy of Republican policies has never led it to
attack the individual who sees things differently. The News stands for
education and sobriety and therefore has always advocated temperance. The
News stands for Linneus first, because this is its home, and for Linn
county and the state of Missouri because Linneus is a part of both. In
October, 1909, the News issued a Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition under
the management of Mr. Ormiston. This splendid example of newspaper
enterprise comprised thirty-two pages, in which there were over 100
columns of handsomely displayed advertisements illustrating the progress
of Linn county’s merchants and industries of all kinds. There were a
great number of engravings and some able articles contributed by special
writers. The Linn County Budget appeared in the local field of journalism
in 1895, with A. L. Crosby as editor and proprietor. From an humble
beginning, and in spite of well-established competition, it grew steadily
and rapidly. Its policy was and has ever been to champion the cause
of the people rather than to be the organ of any clique or party. This
characteristic won for it such a wide popularity that at the end of ten
years its name was changed from the Brookfield Budget to The Linn County
Budget, expressing more correctly its relation to the large community.
Within this scope it aims to give the local news and to discuss both local
and national matters that affect the interests of its readers. Republican
in politics, still it refuses to blindly subscribe to the dictates of
party leadership when they are inconsistent with the editor’s
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