Browsing this Thread:
1 Anonymous Users
Bar brawl, rights for blacks, train accident top the news in Jersey Journal of 1867
|
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Home away from home
|
Bar brawl, rights for blacks, train accident top the news in 1867
140 YEARS Wednesday, May 02, 2007 By JARRETT RENSHAW JOURNAL STAFF WRITER T he inaugural edition of The Jersey Journal - then The Evening Journal - was unpretentious in its style and presentation, reflecting the mood of a nation still healing from a brutal civil war. The May 2, 1867, newspaper cost just two cents and was printed on large broadsheets that were intended to be folded by readers into smaller squares for easier handling. The entire paper was four pages. It contained no photos on the front page, nor anywhere else, creating large swaths of uninterrupted type that more closely resembled a bulletin board than a modern newspaper. Also missing were reporters' bylines and any big, bold headlines. The first edition included a mission statement that has stood the test of time over the newspaper's 140 years, including numerous changes in style, ownership and staff. "The Evening Journal today introduces itself and hopes for a long continued, profitable and pleasant acquaintance with the people of this community," the first publishers wrote in their statement. "In its opinions and criticisms, it will be independent, liberal and decided, and in their utterance, frank and fearless, neither dreading the displeasure, nor fawning for the favor of anybody." The paper was founded by two Civil War veterans who fought in the Union Army, Major Z.K. Pangborn and Captain William Dunning, both staunch opponents of slavery and supporters of equal rights for freedmen. It's no surprise then that the newspaper's first editorial supported a measure to extend suffrage to black men in New Jersey. And while the Journal supported the party of Abraham Lincoln, the paper had no qualms taking aim at Republicans in Trenton who seemed to be stalling a vote on equal rights for blacks. "Prejudice must give way before it - circumstances must accommodate themselves to it, and all the croakings of cowards, and the limping of laggards will not essentially delay its coming," the editorial declared. "For the Republican party to hesitate to plant itself squarely on the platform of impartial suffrage, is not only to exhibit a sad lack of common sense, but to be guilty of a glaring inconsistency, which no excuses can palliate, no sophistry defend." While the paper's initial circulation is unclear, records show that The Journal was printing 2,300 daily newspapers in 1869. A new printing press in 1875 allowed the well-read Journal to publish 10,000 newspapers an hour. The advertisements in the first edition provide a glimpse into late 19th-century society with their emphasis on family-run businesses and clear marketing strategies aimed at women and low prices. One ad boasted a sale of 15 eggs for 25 cents, another touted a local butcher who had the "freshest" meats, while another promoted the family friendliness of the Terhune Brothers furniture store. The news of the day included a story about a German laborer, employed at a coal dock in Hoboken, who was "busying" himself in front of a train of cars when an "engine was backed down against him." He later died from the injuries. There was also a fight at a bar at 2 Exchange Place between two men who had a "vast quantity of the sort of stuff" that brings out "Dutch courage." "Mr. Bailey, the proprietor of the saloon thought the dignity of the establishment could not be conserved (.and) requested Officer Baldwin to use his influence toward bringing about pacification," the story read. The two men, identified only as Jack and Dan, were brought before a local judge, who ordered them to pay a $2 fine "for the benefit of the people of Hudson County." Upon leaving court, one of the men said he was convinced that fighting in Jersey City wasn't "exactly the cheese." The May 2, 1867, edition also included a host of national and international news - including reports of a civil war brewing in Mexico - which came via telegraph machine.
Posted on: 2007/5/2 12:58
|
|||
|