THE
PRESS AND POLITICS
Transcribed from the Book
"Counties of Cumberland, Jasper and Richland, Illinois"
Originally published in 1884 by
F.A. Battey & Co., Chicago, Ill.
The newspaper is a
marked outgrowth of the social development of society. When once grown
to that point where it feels the necessity of controlling public
sentiment and uniting it upon the various common interests, the
community calls in the newspaper, and through its agency solidifies its
power. It was in response to some such necessity that Daniel Marks established the Greenup
Tribune,
at the village of Greenup,
in 1855. The press was brought overland with an ox-team and set down in
this unfledged town, long before the county alone could give it a
leading support. The proprietor engaged Matchett, a
noted “knight of the stick,” and gave his attention to working up a
list He made his excursions on foot, and wandered through the counties
of Jasper, Effingham, Clark and Cumberland, soliciting subscribers to
this pioneer journal of civilization. He seems to have been admirably
adapted to his business, securing a considerable list, and taking as
payment a large number of coon-skins and anything that could be
“swapped” into money. It was no unusual thing, it is said, to find the
larger space devoted to his office occupied with these peltries. A year
later, Templeton
& Bloomfield
succeeded to
the ownership of the paper, and conducted it under the same title for
about a year, when they removed it to Prairie City, from whence it was
subsequently removed, and the county was without a “voice of the
people” for a short time. In 1859, James E.
Mumford came to
Greenup from Ohio, and determined
to found a paper, and on December 2, 1859, the first number of the
Greenup Expositor was published to the people. The paper was published
by J. E.
& H. P. Mumford, and
the first issue was gotten out by the junior member of the firm. In the
first number he says: “It will ever be our aim, with the aid of a
sufficient number of passengers aboard of our bark, in the way of
subscribers, to not be vainglorious or presumptuous nor to dive into
the more scientific researches of the hidden mysteries of nature, but
skim along upon the surface of time, noticing intermediate events, and
making ourselves as acceptable as possible, and as amusing and
interesting as the case will permit We wish to please all that are
pleasurable, and those who have a moral nature can always find in some
portion of our paper enough to soothe the savage and make merry and
interesting the scientific feelings. Our paper will be devoted,
principally, to news, politics, agriculture, education, and mechanical
interests, with humorous matter enough to give life and spice to all.
As to
the political
character
of the Expositor, we would state, in order that everyone may rightly
know our position, that it will be Democratic of the Douglas stamp,
though only when duty calls will it be ours to obey, in supporting that
gentleman for the Presidency in 1860. * * As to the local difficulty
existing in the county, in regard to the county-seat, it will be ours
to be mum, and to print a paper for the benefit of the whole county—for
one place as well as another—and shall court the improvement of all.”
Under another caption, the editor remarks: “We intend, upon the return
of our brother, J. E., to make a thorough canvass throughout the
county, and see every head of a family, and all the pretty girls, and
make them all subscribers to the Expositor” With such good natured
frankness, it would have been remarkable if the paper had not made
friends. The paper was successful from the first, but in 1860, the
office followed the star of empire to the county-seat. Here J. E.
Mumford continued
the paper until 1867, when he
sold out and removed to Danville. The Expositor was continued by Flavius Tossey, and the name changed to the
(Cumberland
Democrat. Frank
Bowen succeeded Tossey as proprietor, and published it
until
October 1, 1870, when the establishment was sold to George E.
Mason. The paper at
this time was a six column
folio; a year later it was enlarged to seven columns, and September 29,
1873, W.
D. Mumford was
associated with
the paper as junior partner. An office, twenty by fifty feet, was
erected, a No. 6 Washington Hoe, and Nonpareil Jobber press added,
besides some 100 fonts of type. January 20, 1875, Mason retired from the paper,
disposing of his
interest to. E. Gorrell, and the firm became Mumford &
Gorrell. The latter
disposed of his share to Mumford, in —, who continued the
business alone
until January, 1882, when Adolf & Leon
Summerlin became
purchasers, the latter now being
sole proprietor.
In 1871
the
Greenup Mail was established as a representative of the Republican
element in politics. Mr. Pyle founded the paper and conducted
it alone
for some three months, when he took a Mr. Davis as partner, under the firm name
of Pyle &
Davis.
Pyle was succeeded by Edward
Hitchcock, Davis
was succeeded by Cookerly, and later Mr. Hitchcock became sole proprietor. The
paper was
subsequently sold to Ozier &
Cooper, but it came
into possession of a stock
company, and in 1874 followed the inevitable current of things to the
county-seat Here the paper was issued as the Republican-Mail, with Hitchcock as editor. The plan of the
company was to
lease the paper by the year. A Mr.
Overman
succeeded about a year later,
and he was followed by Hitchcock
Henry Woolen, and J. & A.
Caldwell, of whom
the last named continued its
publication until February 18, 1831. At this time J.
T. Connor became a partner with the Caldwell
Brothers, who had
purchased most of the stock.
This firm continued only some six months. Connor withdrew, as the other partners
desired
to give the paper a religious rather than a political character. The
name of the paper had meanwhile been changed to the Toledo Republican
and in 1882 sold to Henry Woolen. The Caldwell
Brothers went to
Indianapolis to conduct a paper,
as an organ of that sect of religionists who “profess Holiness.” The
venture did not turn out satisfactorily, and in a month or two they
returned and assumed control of the Republican, and proceeded at once
to change its name and character. Its successor is a weekly pamphlet of
some dozen or twenty pages, called the Happy Pilgrim, which is devoted
to the sect mentioned.
In 1881,
the
Cumberland Times was established at Greenup. Its editor and proprietor,
W.
L. Tobey, was on his
way seeking a location for a
Republican paper, when he was referred to certain of the leading
citizens of this village. On approaching the gentlemen referred to, the
newspaper man received but little encouragement, but finally meeting a
gentleman who took some interest in the project, some $500 worth of
advertising was secured and the first issue sent out October 20, 1881.
The paper has been regularly issued since then, and is well
established. It is a five-column quarto, one-half of which is supplied
with “auxiliary print.” The office has a good patronage, and enjoys the
official favor this year. The Neoga News is the third paper in the
county. This was founded in 1874 at Neoga, by S. Z. Bland, an enterprising merchant of
that
village. It was first issued as an advertising medium of the
proprietors business, and was a single sheet under the name of the
Neoga Advertiser. In the early part of the following year the paper was
sold to Allison
Brothers, of
Mattoon, who
transformed it into a six-column folio, and changed the name. In 1876,
the paper was sold to Messrs. Hancock
& Kelly, the latter
retiring about a year later, leaving Mr.Hancock the sole proprietor. December
25, 1882,
the paper was changed to a six-column quarto, the largest paper in the
county; but with only two pages printed at home. The rest of the matter
is supplied by the auxiliary print The paper is Republican in politics,
and has a very liberal support in the county.
The political complexion of
the
county has always been Democratic. The Whigs were represented here
early, but not in sufficient numbers to make a serious struggle for the
election of candidates from their party. There was a constant growth in
the relative strength of the opposition, until 1872, when taking
advantage of the partial disaffection in the ranks of the ruling party
here, A. J.
Lee was elected
prosecuting
attorney by seven votes, over James L. Ryan. In 1873, the Granger movement
reached
its climax, and a mixed ticket was elected over the regular Democratic
ticket; A.
N. Rosecrans and J. W. Miller, Democrats, and T. C. Kille and W. Humphrey
, Republicans, being elected.
The offices
of Sheriff, County Clerk, Treasurer and County Superintendent arc now
filled by Republican incumbents; those of Circuit Clerk, County Judge
and State’s Attorney, by Democratic. The Republican element in politics
has gradually grown in the county, so that on purely local questions
the two parties are about evenly made up of the voters of the county.
On National questions the Democratic majority is about 200 votes. There
is a large floating- vote which is mainly diverted to the “best man,”
though it also affords material upon which the unprincipled demagogue
plies his unholy trade.