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Franklin Counties First Newspaper When Charlie Goodin
Printed the War News When readers get their modern metropolitan papers today ranging from eight to fifty and even sixty pages, they do not stop to think that only about fifty years ago, the residents of Franklin County received their news from a little paper, six inches square. This paper was published at old Minneola in 1864 by Charles W. Goodin, now of this city. Mr. Goodin lived there with his father, J. K. Goodin, and was only a boy scarcely in his teens," as one issue of the paper said. "The Kansas Weekly News Journal" was the name of this paper. It was a big paper for those days and it contained all of the news about the legislature and about the war which was going on then. There was a regular column of war notes each week and then different correspondents sent in their quota of news regularly from other towns in primitive Kansas. The little paper, 6 inches square, contained four pages and each page carried two columns of reading matter and advertisement. It was seldom that advertising was carried on the front page of this paper as all metropolitan publications have almost discontinued that practice and let it be said right here that "the Journal" was a metropolitan paper for Kansas in those days. It boosted for the railroad for Kansas; pleaded for strong protection against the
"bush-whackers," guerillas who were terrorizing the country; it supported
Abraham Lincoln for President and it took up all of the issues of the day. "Fearless
and Free" was the motto of that paper. All papers carried mottoes at the head of
their columns. F. A. Wilkinson, a Subscriber. There are ten copies of "The Journal" in Ottawa now which are the property of Miss Mary Wilkerson and they were received by her father, F. A. Wilkinson who was a subscriber to Mr. Goodin's paper. Mr. Goodin has five copies. All of these papers are of Volume 1 in 1864. The earlies one which Miss Wilkerson has was published June 11, 1864. A greater part of the front page of this issue is taken up by a letter from O. Wilmarth of Lawrence. Mr. Wilmarth congratulates the editors (D. L. Welsh was also associated with Mr. Goodin part of the time) on their little paper. He closes his letter with? "Great oaks from little acorns grow. May you be prosperous and ever be true to the interests of your country." Editorially the editors say, "We are much obliged to Mr. Wilmarth for his
encouraging letter and hope he will write again soon." Fearless and Free, a Motto. Although the motto of the paper was "Fearless and Free," on this issue of the paper, the first word was spelled "Feerless." The editors call attention to the mistake on another page of the paper, a page that evidently went to press later in the week. "Grant is within 7 miles of Richmond and Sherman has thrashed Johnston," says the latest war news from Washington. "Burnsides" whole corps got across the Polopotony creek last evening and are connected now with General Warren's corps. A dispatch from Gen. Grant says, "The enemy attacked my lines yesterday but were repulsed with heavy losses." "The Kansas Jounral" was not very well equipped with cases of type and different sizes appear irregularly through the papers and capital letters are not very plentiful. "Times are rather ticklish now-a-days. Bushwhackers reported near some uneasiness is felt and the people are organizing a Militia Company. We have a company of the 16th stationed here at present," says the Baldwin City correspondent of Mr. Goodin's paper. He signed his news "D. L. W." or D. L. Welsh." The editors had an eye for business where they said one week: Now is The Time, etc. "Twenty-five cents will buy 5 cigars a piece of tobacco about 3 inches long or 2 drinks of rum, neither of which elevates, educates or adds to the greatness of men or boys; yet now many there are who will thus spend their money in preference to paying 25c for a paper for 1 year, edited and published by boys who are desirous of doing good. Stop and think, reader- and then subscribe for the Journal." The editors refer several times to their efforts to supply Minneola with a good source of news and the citizens of Minneola a good advertising medium. The advertising was large too, in the little paper and the rates are printed in big type in one issue. The Journal had two sections of war notes. The Kansas troubles were printed on one of
the inside pages and the general war news was on the back page. When something big
happened on the battle fields, the paper would burst forth in big black letters. When the
Confederates made their raid upon Washington in the summer of 1864, the Minneola Journal
of July 30 said: War News in Kansas. "THE REBEL RAID IN Maryland, on Baltimore and Washington. The rebel raid on Baltimore and Washington was sudden although it had been expected. Our correspondent in the latter city says of it: "The rebels are within 6 miles of Baltimore and fighting; within 3 1/2 miles of there and fighting too! Everything is stir and excitement here. Extras are issued every two hours and Washington is in great danger. 10,000 rebels are intrenched on the head of 7th street 4 miles north of us. Longstreet reported marching with 16,000 rebels to reinforce." The news of that great raid upon the national capital must have had a great effect upon the Kansas settlers. They had endured their hardships and they had seen their relatives go out to fight the rebels and many of them not to return again. The war had been going on for almost four years and it was a weary one. Mr. Goodin and his newspaper partner issued a cheering word by saying: "This raid will soon be over, either for better or worse, the rebels cannot fight against our superior numbers and it is to be hoped that all will turn out well." |
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