Reminiscences of Pioneer Days in St. Paul

Excerpt

A BRIEF NARRATION OF INCIDENTS AND EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE EARLY DAYS OF ST. PAUL, DAILY NEWSPAPERS.

If James M. Goodhue could revisit the earth and make a tour among the daily newspaper offices of St. Paul he would discover that wonderful strides had been made in the method of producing a newspaper during the latter half of the past century. Among the first things to attract the attention of this old-timer would be the web-perfecting press, capable of producing 25,000 impressions an hour, instead of the old hand press of 240 impressions an hour; the linotype machine, capable of setting 6,000 to 10,000 ems per hour, instead of the old hand compositor producing only 800 to 1,000 ems per hour, and the mailing machine, enabling one man to do the work of five or six under the old method. Think of getting out the Sunday Pioneer Press with the material in use fifty years ago. It would take 600 hand presses, 600 hand pressmen and 600 boys three hours to print the edition, and as there were no means of stereotyping in those days the forms would have to be set up 600 times, requiring the services of 5,000 compositors. Papers printed under these conditions would have to be sold for one dollar each, and there would not be much profit in it at that. The first daily papers printed in St. Paul were not conducted or a very gigantic scale, as the entire force of one office generally consisted of one pressman, five or six compositors, two editors and a business manager. A few reminiscences of the trials and tribulations of the early newspaper manager, editor and compositor may not be wholly devoid of interest.

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In 1857 there occurred in Minnesota an election of delegates to the constitutional convention to provide for the admission of Minnesota into the galaxy of states. The election was so close, politically, that when the delegates met there was a division, and the Republicans and Democrats held separate conventions. At the conclusion of the work of the two conventions the contract for printing was awarded to the two leading papers of the state—the Pioneer and the Minnesotian—the Pioneer to print the proceedings of the Democratic body and the Minnesotian that of the Republican. This contract called for the expenditure of considerable money for material with which to perform the work. Mr. Moore, the business manager of the Minnesotian, went to New York and purchased a Hoe press, the first one ever brought to the state, and a large quantity of type; also a Hoe proof press, which is still in use in the Pioneer Press composing room. When the book was about completed the business manager of the Minnesotian was informed that an injunction had been issued prohibiting him from drawing any money from the state until the question of the right of the Minnesotian to do any state printing had been determined by the district court. Mr. Goodrich was state printer and claimed he had a right to print the proceedings of both constitutional bodies. This action on the part of the Pioneer produced great consternation in the Minnesotian office, as most of the men had not received more than half pay for some time, and now, when the balance of their pay was almost in sight, they were suddenly compelled to await the slow and doubtful action of the courts before receiving pay for their summer's work....