Part 22 (1/2)

THE IOWA POST

The _Iowa Post_ was founded in April, 1881, at Iowa City. After pa.s.sing through the hands of several owners, it was purchased in March, 1902, by Henry Gundling of Chicago and brought to this city. Mr. Gundling changed the paper from a weekly to a semi-weekly and in an incredibly short time he had trebled the number of his subscribers. Mr. Gundling had a high school education in Germany, followed by an apprentices.h.i.+p there of three years. He had sixteen years experience in Chicago and he has travelled extensively on three continents. He is, therefore, thoroughly equipped as an editor and this accounts for the high standard of his paper which is eagerly read by a very large const.i.tuency in this and adjoining counties and especially at the colony of Amana.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OLD M. E. CHURCH, MT. VERNON]

[Ill.u.s.tration: STREET SCENE IN LISBON]

THE WEST SIDE ENTERPRISE

The _West Side Enterprise_ is one of the latest newspapers in the Linn county field, having been started December 30, 1909. But it is one of the liveliest as well as one of the latest. W. I. Endicott is the owner and publisher, and he is a whole newspaper force in himself. Every issue of the _Enterprise_ contains something which makes somebody sit up and take notice. It is a paper devoted to the work of booming the west side; but it is read on both sides of the river by an ever increasing number of readers.

IOWA STAATS-ZEITUNG

The _Iowa Staats-Zeitung_ was established in the year 1879 by A. Hunt, who continued as publisher and editor for many years--until he retired from the newspaper business. The paper was then bought by John Young and afterwards sold to the Charles Stoudt Printing Company, who came from Des Moines to Cedar Rapids to make their home. The company consists of Charles Stoudt, the publisher, and E. J. Stoudt, editor.

The paper is one of the largest German weeklies in the state, publis.h.i.+ng from twelve to twenty-four pages each issue and going all over the state. It guarantees to have the largest circulation of any German paper published in Iowa.

OTHER CEDAR RAPIDS PAPERS

Several other Cedar Rapids newspapers ought to be mentioned. The _Cedar Rapids Listy_, a Bohemian humorous paper, was established in 1906. Fr.

Hradecky is its editor and publisher. The _Optimus_ is a republican weekly edited by E. C. Barber, and is a most uncompromising foe of democracy in all its form. It was established in 1906. The _Slovan-Ameriky_ is a democratic Bohemian paper, one of the oldest, for it was established in 1869 and has held the even tenor of its way since that time through the suns.h.i.+ne and storm of democracy. John B. Letovsky & Sons are the editors and publishers, and they have been putting out a good paper week in and week out, year after year.

The _Tribune_ is the organ of the Federation of Labor in Cedar Rapids.

It was started in 1903 and has had a remarkable success. Its first editor was G. F. Taylor who gave the paper a great start and it is now edited by R. G. Stewart, who fills its columns full of gingery stuff week after week and s.h.i.+nes best when there is a big political sc.r.a.p on hand.

THE MARION REGISTER

In 1852 one A. Hoyt came all the way from New York to blaze the way of modern journalism on the prairies of Iowa. He established a paper called the _Prairie Star_. But the _Star_ didn't s.h.i.+ne long. Mr. Hoyt found Iowa so different from old New York. Like the wise men of the east, after he had let go of most of the treasures he brought with him he retraced his steps to the east and the paper pa.s.sed into the hands of J. H. and G. H. Jennison. They were Whigs with a big W and they renamed the _Star_ as the _Linn County Register_.

When the republican party was organized, the _Linn County Register_ became one of its most able and enthusiastic advocates in the county.

The late Judge N. M. Hubbard was in active politics at that time and during that memorable campaign he conducted the _Register_. Ah, ”thim were the days.” The judge was a past master in the art of ”skinning” an opponent. That was the method of political fighting in those days and no editor ever had a sharper knife than Judge Hubbard. He used to say in later years that it was one of the most enjoyable periods of his whole life.

”I made the paper grow,” he said. ”Everybody wanted to get it to see whose hide was put on the fence that week.”

The judge lived to tell the tale, but after the fun was all over and the battle had been won he decided that railroad law practice was more profitable than editing a newspaper. The _Register_ pa.s.sed back into the editors.h.i.+p of J. H. Jennison. The next year Robert Holmes became its editor and subsequently its proprietor. He held this position for five years and it was five years of the most important period in the history of the county. Mr. Holmes successfully conducted the paper through the great struggle of the Civil war, and up till 1863 when he sold it to A. G. Lucas. Its name was then changed to the _Linn County Patriot_.

In September, 1864, there came from Cedar county, a young soldier-lawyer, S. W. Rathbun. He purchased the plant and changed the name of the paper to the _Marion Register_. He has been editor of the _Register_ ever since that time. He has a few more gray hairs, a few more wrinkles, and a bit more avoirdupois than he had then, but he still wields a trenchant pen, still makes the _Register_ a readable and interesting paper. It has been one of the most influential papers among the weekly press of Linn county, and has always been firmly republican.

THE MARION SENTINEL

The _Marion Sentinel_ was originally called the _Springville Independent_, being established at Springville in the year 1879 by Fred Chamberlain, who afterwards served as county superintendent of the schools of Linn county. It was a seven-column folio, independent in politics, the forerunner of the independent papers of the county. It grew rapidly, and by 1884 had increased to a twelve-page paper. An edition was also published for Prairieburg, and one for Central City.

In 1885 it had a circulation of 1600. It met with some reverses in 1886 and on July 1 of that year it was moved to Marion and its name changed to the _Linn County Independent_. Mr. Chamberlain made a big success of it in Marion. The name of the paper was then changed to the _Marion Sentinel_. Later O. M. Smith was taken into partners.h.i.+p. The paper then changed from an independent to a democratic paper, and has remained democratic until the present time, the only simon pure democratic paper in Linn county at the present time.

In July, 1891, Mr. Smith sold the paper to Mr. J. J. Galliven, at that time employed as train dispatcher for the Milwaukee railroad. He conducted it for less than three months, selling it on September 19, 1891, to its present owner, T. T. Williams. During the greater part of the time since then C. S. Shanklin, one of the ablest political writers of the state, has been in charge of the _Sentinel's_ editorial page.