The historical value of newspapers

THE HISTORICAL VALUE OF NEWSPAPERS.*

BY J. B. CHANEY, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN.

The historical value of newspapers is now acknowledged by
all who are competent to give an opinion upon the subject.
They contain the current history of the people of their re-
spective localities, a history more complete than can be found
in any other form. For the local or the general historian,
they are invaluable; events and dates which are not recorded
in any other place are therein easily found. To the compilers
of the political, social and religious histories of a people, the
newspaper files are veritable mines of information, — mines
which are even now being eagerly and thoroughly worked,
and with satisfactory results. With the aid of these, their
tasks are, comparatively, light ones; and, for future histori-
ans, the value of our newspaper records will be still greater.

Could Herodotus, the "Father of History," as he has been
called, or, in more recent times, Rollin, Gibbon, and other
compilers of ancient history, have had files of newspapers
to consult, their works might have contained very much more
of truth, and much less of fiction, — to say nothing of the
valuable time saved to them, and to their readers, alike.

WHAT OTHER LIBRARIES ARE DOING.

The British Museum has, for many years, given special at-
tention to the collection and preservation of newspapers; by
some authority possessed by that great institution, it can com-
pel, under penalty, publishers to furnish it with a copy of
every issue of their journal; and they are all carefully col-
lated and bound.

*Read at the monthly meeting of the Executive Council, Feb. 10, 1896.

112 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

The great libraries of our own country, even some of the
large Free Public Libraries, are making strenuous exertions
to obtain and preserve files of their local and State newspa-
pers. Of this last named class, the Boston Public Library is
a notable example. It is, however, the peculiar province and
duty of Historical Societies to engage in this important work,
for the benefit of posterity. Their newspaper departments
are not, or should not be, current newspaper reading-rooms;
if they are so used, it will result in the defeat of the object
sought to be attained, namely, the preservation of the news-
papers, in good condition for binding. As every one knows,
the paper now used, made of wood pulp, is so fragile that it
will not bear much handling; often it is so poor that it will
not go through the printing process without breaking.

Historical Societies, both local and state, should make spe-
cial efforts to secure as full files as possible of all newspapers
that are now being or ever have been published within their
respective territories. A very few years hence it will be im-
possible to obtain files of their earliest papers, and it probably
is so now in many cases of defunct ones. But few of the
great libraries of the country, with abundant funds, can now
secure files of papers published prior to, during, or soon after
the Kevolution, because few files of them were preserved as
they were published. Excepting for the habit our ancestors
had of saving everything that cost money, even their news-
papers, very few, if any, files of them would have been pre-
served for this generation. It was, fortunately, their prac-
tice, as some of us remember, to religiously preserve their
newspapers; and, where their second generation descendants
did not wantonly destroy or sell them for "old papers," as so
much rubbish, an occasional file finds its way to some library,
and thus is preserved. Very few of them, however, have been
so fortunate.

In an article on "Public Libraries of the United States,"
written some years ago, Hon. A. K. Spofford, Librarian of
Congress, says:

The modern newspaper, and other periodical publications, afford
the truest, the fullest, and, on the whole, the most impartial image of
the age we live in that can be derived from any single source. Taken
together, they afford the richest material for the historian, or the

HISTORICAL VALUE OF NEWSPAPERS. 113

student of politics, of society, of literature, and of civilization in its
various aspects. What precious memorials of the day even the adver-
tisements and local paragraphs of the newspapers of a century ago
afford us! * * * * A public library is not for one generation only,
but it is for all time. Opportunities once neglected of securing the cur-
rent periodicals of any age, in continuous and complete form, seldom or
never recur. * * * * In every city and large town, the local jour-
nals and other periodicals should form an indispensable part of a public
library collection. * * * * The destiny of nearly all newspapers is
swift destruction. * * * * These poor journals of to-day, which
everybody is ready to stigmatize as trash not worth the room to store
or the money to bind, are the every materials which the man of the
future will search for with eagerness, and for some of which he will
be ready to pay their weight in gold. * * * * And that library
which shall the most sedulously gather and preserve such fugitive me-
morials of the life of the people among which it is situated, will be
found to have best subserved its purpose to the succeeding generations
of men.

In these days of ancestor-hunting and the compiling of
local histories, what a storehouse of facts those old newspa-
pers would have proved to be, were they now generally acces-
sible!

THE "READY-PRINT."

Historically, the "ready-print," or "patent-side" country
paper, formerly held in low esteem, has become a most valua-
ble feature of modern journalism. The large establishments
devoted to the supplying of the country press with ready-
prints, and with "plate" matter, are now systematically con-
ducted by experienced editors, and supply to the public read-
ing matter covering the fields of history and science, as well
as ordinary literature, thereby enabling the country press to
give to its patrons not only the local news, but valuable gen-
eral matter.

OUR OWN COLLECTION.

The collection of Minnesota newspapers in the vaults of
this Society is considered, by those qualified to give an opin-
ion upon the subject, to be really the most valuable portion
of its excellent Library, historically speaking. It possesses
a file of the first paper ever printed within the territorial
limits of Minnesota, including a copy of the first issue of that
first paper, "The Minnesota Pioneer." That first issue bears

114 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

date April 28, 1849, — some four weeks prior to the organiza-
tion of the Territorial Government, which was proclaimed on
June 1st, of the same year, by our worthy president, Hon.
Alex. Ramsey, who was the first Territorial Governor. It
also contains a copy of No. 1, Vol. 1, of "The Minnesota Regis-
ter," a paper printed on a cylinder press in Cincinnati, Ohio,
and shipped here in packages, for general distribution. This
number was erroneously dated upon the outside, "Saturday,
April, 27, 1849 ;" but that day of the month, in that year, hap-
pened to come on Friday instead of Saturday; however, as
it was not printed in Minnesota, it does not matter when it was
dated. Mr. James M. Goodhue is entitled to the credit
of printing the first newspaper on Minnesota soil. It was
printed on a hand-press, on Third street, St. Paul.

Unfortunately, our files of some of the early Minnesota pa-
pers are somewhat imperfect; but, such as they are, they are
still almost invaluable, and none others are in existence, so
far as we know. Many of those early papers died years ago, — •
many of them had but a brief existence; while they did live,
however, they chronicled the current history of their respec-
tive localities, and they are, to-day, the only record of many
of the passing events of those early days.

Considering the fact that, for the first eighteen or twenty
years of the existence of this Society, it was practically with-
out either home or funds, it is remarkable that it has been
able to secure and preserve so many of the early newspapers.
In this connection, it is but justice to say that this Society
and students of history are indebted to Hon. Alex. Ramsey
for the gift of a series of volumes of Minnesota newspapers,
containing a large number of different publications, chrono-
logically arranged and bound. They are of great historical
value, and in many instances contain numbers that are want-
ing in the regular files. This miscellaneous series covers the
period between April, 1849, and the end of 1861. Governor
Ramsey also presented nicely bound files of the "Weekly Pio-
neer" and the "Weekly St. Paul Press," from 1862 to 1874.

NEWSPAPERS FROM OUTSIDE OF MINNESOTA.

Besides our own State newspapers, we have a valuable col-
lection of prominent papers published in other States, mostly

HISTORICAL VALUE OF NEWSPAPERS. 115

obtained by purchase. Among them are "The Connecticut
Gazette," running back to 1780, thus taking in the last three
years of the Eevolution; "The Centinel," of Boston, Mass.,
extending back to 1786 ; some Albany, N. Y., papers, published
in the early part of this century; and a complete file of the
"New Hampshire Patriot/' from September 12, 1809 (the
twenty-second issue of the paper), to December 26, 1855. This
last named is an exceedingly valuable accession, covering, as
it does, the war of 1812-15 and the Mexican war, besides all
other important national events between those two dates. It
was a gift by three members of the Society, W. H. Grant, Esq.,
Gen. J. B. Sanborn, and Judge Greenleaf Clark.

Of more recent journals, we have, among others, the "New
York Daily Herald," from 1847 to 1877; this set covers the
last part of the Mexican war and the entire periods of the
Great Eebellion and Ke-construction. The Herald was con-
sidered, at least by the Army of the Potomac, as the most
reliable paper that came into camp; and it was sometimes
sold for twenty-five cents per copy, when other dailies would
not be taken for ten cents. We have the "New York Daily
Tribune," full files, from 1859 to 1872; and the "Boston Daily
Advertiser," from 1859 to 1SG6, both inclusive.

We have, also, a complete file of the "Semi-Weekly Southern
News," published at Los Angeles, California, from January
18, 1860, to November 14, 1865. This file covers a very im-
portant period in the history of that State. It was an out-
spoken Union journal from the inception to the collapse of
the Kebellion, and did good work toward keeping California
from joining the seceding States. The set was presented to
this Society by its good friend, Hon. C. K. Conway, one of its
publishers, previously, and now, a loyal Minnesotan.

Last, but by no means least in historical value, we have
"Harpers' Weekly," from 1858 to 1866.

Besides these regular files, we have a series of volumes
composed of a large number of the prominent New York
dailies chronologically arranged, covering the Kebellion pe-
riod, which, in some respects, are as valuable as a complete
file of a single publication, reflecting, as they do, the differing
sentiments of able writers upon the same subject matter.

116 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

With our own State journals, added to the foregoing, and
paying more particular attention to recording the movements
and achievements of Minnesota men engaged in defending the
Union during the dark days of the Kebellion, this Society is
placed in the front rank of Libraries, in its facilities for the
acquirement of a knowledge of that great struggle, on the
one hand to destroy, and on the other to protect, the Nation's
life.

Of daily papers published outside of Minnesota, which we
are now7 receiving, may be mentioned the following: "The Chi-
cago Daily Tribune," from 1878 (except from July, 1887, to
February, 1891); "The World/' of New York, since 1891;
and the "San Francisco Chronicle," of California, also since
1891. From our neighboring State of Wisconsin we are, and
for several years have been, receiving four journals, one
of them a daily, free of cost. From Bismarck and the Black
Hills, we have files of several of the early papers published
there; and for the most of them the Society is indebted to its
good friends, Col. C. A. Lounsberry and Capt. E. Blakeley.
They are very valuable, historically, and it is doubtful that
they can be duplicated.

From the Dominion of Canada, we are receiving three rep-
resentative daily journals, one from Montreal, one from To-
ronto, and one from Winnipeg. For these we pay a nominal
price, as also for those from New York, Chicago, and San
Francisco.

ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS.

Of English newspapers, we have some of very great histor-
ical value, as "The London Gazette," from November 13,
1665, to July 25, 1713; it was a semi-weekly publication, and
at first was called the "Oxford" Gazette, but soon changed the
name to "London," as above. There was no display of "job
type" in its columns, but it was filled with news (a little late,
to be sure) from all parts of the world, including America.
We have also "The London Chronicle, or Universal Evening
Post," from January 1, 1757, to December 30, 1762. This was
an eight page, and for some time a tri-weekly, publication ; it,
like the Gazette, contained the latest intelligence from all
parts of the world, and is particularly valuable, in this coun-

HISTORICAL VALUE OF NEWSPAPERS. 117

try, for its information in regard to the last "French and In-
dian War/' covering, as it does, all but the first eight and the
last one and one-third months of that costly struggle. And
last, but not least in historical value, of English journals in
our collection, is the "London Illustrated News," from May 14,
1842, to December 26, 1874, sixty-five volumes, complete from
its No. 1. This is an exceedingly valuable journal, histor-
ically, giving, as it does, illustrated articles upon the most
important events in both war and peace in all parts of the
world between those two dates, which, as to war, include our
Mexican and Civil wars, as well as the Crimean war of 1854-56,
and the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71.

RAPID INCREASE.

In the spring of 1887, less than nine years ago, the Society
was in the more or less regular receipt of about seventy-five
different newspapers; but, by systematic and persistent ef-
forts, that number has been increased to over 340, and the
list is still growing larger. We now lack only about seventy-
five of having files of every regular newspaper published in
Minnesota, — we ought to have all of them.

While the question of room in which to preserve our large
series of newspapers, so that any desired volume can be sup-
plied conveniently for reference, has already become a serious
one, it is the plain duty of the Society to continue the securing
and binding of them while they can be obtained, even if we are
compelled to stack the increase during the next two or three
years on the floor of its fire-proof vault. It would doubtless
be impossible to get files of the present period at a future
time, for very few people of the present age preserve their
newspapers; in fact, but few publishers have more than one
complete file (and some none) of their own publication, while
that one file is liable to destruction at any time by fire or other
cause.

A paramount duty of the Minnesota Historical Society, as
expressed in its charter, is, the collection and preservation of
publications, etc., pertaining to the social, political, and natu-
ral history of the state; and there is no class of publications
that so nearly covers the entire field as do its newspapers.

118 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

PUBLIC APPRECIATION.

That the value of our newspaper files is appreciated by
the people, at least by a large portion, is evidenced by the fre-
quent and constantly increasing use made of them by all
classes of our citizens, — not alone by citizens of the Twin
Cities, but also by those of other parts of the State, as well.
Scarcely a day passes in which some of them are not called
into requisition. The student of our history, the clergyman,
the lawyer, the politician, the laboring man, and even the
editor, comes to consult them for specific information on some
matter in which he is interested, and which could not be ob-
tained elsewhere, frequently of great importance to him.
Legal advertisements involving the title to real estate, probate
notices regarding the settlement of estates, notices of meet-
ings, proceedings of conventions, notices of marriages and
deaths, etc., etc., are all searched for in these volumes. Each
year added to their age enhances their historical and intrinsic
value. In cases of the loss or destruction of court records,
these files are the court of last and only resort.

The Minnesota Historical Society may justly feel a pride in
its magnificent collection of newspapers as a whole, and of
its Minnesota papers in particular. It is highly complimented
by all visiting librarians, historians, and others who are capa-
ble of appreciating its value. Many persons of eminence, in
various fields of labor, have congratulated the Society upon ITS
possession of such an invaluable collection of newspapers,
containing, as they do, an almost complete history of Minne-
sota, from its first settlement by white people, of its marvel-
ous growth in population and wealth, educational institutions,
and all that goes to produce a grand and influential common-
wealth, and a highly educated and prosperous people, — and
these same newspapers were a large factor in producing this
wonderful result in so short a period of time.

NUMBER OP BOUND VOLUMES.

January 1, 1877, the librarian reported 600 bound volumes
of newspapers in the Society's collection. January 1, 1896,
it had 3,239, an increase of 2,639 in nineteen years. It is now
increasing at the rate of about three hundred volumes per year.
The word volume, as we use it, has no reference to the news-

HISTORICAL VALUE OF NEWSPAPERS. 119

paper year of fifty-two issues, but to the bound book. Of a
four-page weekly paper we put three years in one book; of
an eight-page, two; of a twelve- or sixteen-page, one. The
large daily papers, on the other hand, are bound usually in
four or six volumes for each year.

The proper care of the 340 different journals regularly re-
ceived, in re-folding, patching torn ones, keeping track of and
sending for missing issues, collating at certain periods, get-
ting them ready for binding, making labels with name and
time covered in each book, examining them after their return
from the bindery, putting in the book plates, entering them
in the "Accession Register" by number, name, the time cov-
ered, and statement how they were procured (whether by gift
or purchase), with any necessary marginal remarks in refer-
ence to their condition, etc., involves considerable labor and
close application; but they are worth, historically, many
times over, all the time, labor, and money they cost.

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