Newspaper The Republican News (Marlinton, W. Va.) 1911-1914
About The Republican News (Marlinton, W. Va.) 1911-1914
In 1900 The Marlinton Messenger was established in Marlinton, the county seat of Pocahontas County, West Virginia. By no later than 1906, the paper was published weekly, on Fridays. Founded by C.A. Monroe Meadows and W.B. Sharp, Monroe Meadows left the Messenger only a few short years after helping establish it. According to the Messenger‘s later editor R.A. Kramer, Monroe Meadows’s exit was punctuated by only three words: “I have quit.” The Ceredo Advance, meanwhile, reported in July of 1904 that, following his abrupt departure, Monroe Meadows had become the business manager of a paper in Jasper, Arkansas. Thus, until Kramer’s arrival in December of 1906, the Pocahontas Publishing Company was listed on the Messenger‘s masthead.
With the slogan “Devoted to the Interests of Pocahontas County,” the four-to-eight-page Messenger contained numerous columns, many of which were syndicated, including a significant number written by and geared towards women. Goings-on in the paper’s immediate vicinity were collected under “Local Happenings,” while another column was simply labeled “Educational.” Serialized short stories were frequent additions as well. The Messenger was “Republican in Politics” and cost its readers $1.50 per year, or $1.00 if they paid their subscription in advance. In an advertisement printed in its very own pages, the paper asked, “Do you enjoy reading the news?” and presuming an answer in the affirmative declared that “The Marlinton Messenger will keep you posted on everything that happens.”
In December of 1911, the Messenger was renamed The Republican News but kept its original volume and issue numbering, cost, release schedule, and page count. Indeed, apart from new editor J.G. Tilton, and a subtitle alerting readers that it was the “Successor to the Marlinton Messenger,” not much about the paper changed. Its columns remained largely consistent with previous fare. And given its name and previously-noted party affiliation, it should come as no surprise that the News favored President William Howard Taft and West Virginia Governor Henry D. Hatfield, while scorning Theodore Roosevelt’s actions surrounding his Progressive or “Bull Moose” Party, especially his 1912 Presidential run.
That being said, Tilton did have an adversarial streak, and in February of 1913, despite their seeming similarity with regard to how they ran the paper, Tilton traded invective with Kramer, who by then edited the rival Pocahontas Independent. Tilton alleged that the News had “com[e] to [Kramer’s] rescue when he was unable to continue with his paper,” yet he felt that he was nevertheless being “maliciously attacked” by Kramer for reporting on the fact that Kramer was being sued.
The Independent also apparently claimed that Tilton had been criticized in some form by state officials, which Tilton vigorously denied. Yet Tilton himself would soon thereafter be sued for libel by one A.P. Edgar, to the tune of $10,000, which the Clarksburg Daily Telegram asserted was the first time such a thing had occurred in Pocahontas County. The Independent, however, would have the last laugh, as in March of 1914 it reported that “Tilton’s Republican News sang the ‘swan song’ Friday, February 20, 1914.”
Provided By: West Virginia UniversityAbout this Newspaper
Title
- The Republican News (Marlinton, W. Va.) 1911-1914
Dates of Publication
- 1911-1914
Created / Published
- Marlinton, W. Va. : J.C. Tilton, 1911-
Headings
- - United States--West Virginia--Pocahontas--Marlinton
Notes
- - Weekly
- - Vol. 12, no. 1 (Dec. 8, 1911)-
- - Ceased in Feb., 1914. Cf. Hist. of Pocahontas Co., W. Va.
- - Editor: R.A. Kramer.
- - Continued the numbering system of: Marlinton messenger.
- - Pocahontas independent (DLC)sn 86092234
Medium
- volumes
Library of Congress Control Number
- sn86092233
OCLC Number
- 13181698
Preceding Titles
Succeeding Titles
Additional Metadata Formats
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