Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 June 1912 — Some Interesting Old Newspapers. [ARTICLE]

Some Interesting Old Newspapers.

A few days ago while tearing to pieces an old article of lodge furniture left in the hall in The Democrat building, the writer found some copies of old newspapers that had been used as padding on the top of the article. One of these papers was a copy of the Indianapolis Daily Journal of Friday morning, Nov. 6, 1863, and bore the written address on the margin “Gen’l. R. H. Milroy, Rensselaer.” The leading articles on the front page—all of the front page was devoted to advertisements except two columns—bore the following head: "Potomac Army Ready to Move; Clothing Sent to Our Prisoners; Rebels at Richmond Confident; New Manufactories Opening; Iron Clads Nearly Completed; Rebels Driven Out of East Tennessee and Repulsed in Arkansas; Rebel Force In Mississippi, North Carolina News; Rebel Iron Clads Nearly Done; State Prospering From Blockade Running; Union Gains in, Illinois Election; Union Majority in New York 34,000; Etc., Etc., Etc.” 1 This entire head was only about five inches long, quite small type being used, and all the telegraph news was given in short paragraphs under this head, and appeared in one column. Not much like our modern newspapers of today, surely.

The leading editorial is headed “Feeding Our Hopes,” and relates to the popular belief at the beginning of the war that it would be ended in a few weeks. The Journal editorial reviews the work so far accomplished of putting down the rebellion and shows the fallacy of this view of the war. The other i papers were a copy of the Daily Morning Chronicle of Washington, D. C., of -Nov. 6, 1863, its news, columns largely filled with war fiewS, and “The Presbyter,” Cincinnati, Ohio, of dates of Sept. 30,, 1863, and Jan. 13, 1864. The latter paper bore a printed label of the name of the subscriber,, “G. W. Connell.” Unfortunately the papers were considerably tom in removing them before their value was observed.