Page:History of Oregon Newspapers.pdf/209

200 During his administration the paper kept well up to the Scott tradition, and grew with the state and the city, both of which he knew thoroughly, in detail, and in their regional and national setting. As few men, he was informed on the politics, the commerce, the industry, the life of the people of the Pacific Coast and, particularly, the Pacific Northwest. Journalism was his life.

Edgar B. Piper's successor as managing editor and acting editorial head of the paper had had a broad printing, reporting and editing background, closely resembling that of his deceased chief, under whom he had been associate editor. R. G. Callvert's printing experience on the old Whatcom Reveille, published in what is now Bellingham, Wash., paralleled similar experience obtained by Mr. Piper on the State Rights Democrat in Albany. Mr. Callvert later became managing editor of that paper. Characteristically, he left his front-office job to go back to printing when (in 1901) the paper installed a linotype, so he could learn to operate the machine.

When Judge S. A. Callvert became land commissioner of the state of Washington, the family removed to Olympia and son Ronald for a time worked in the land office. Soon, however, he was doing newspaper correspondence in the state capital. This led to his employment as Olympia correspondent for the Oregonian, in 1903.

Two years of reporting and desk work in Los Angeles, and Mr. Callvert was back to his capital correspondence in Olympia. He joined the reporting staff of the Oregonian in 1909, one year before the death of Editor Harvey W. Scott. On Mr. Scott's death E. B. Piper appointed his capable local reporter with such a good political background as assistant managing editor. In the absence of the managing editor Mr. Callvert was always left in charge of the paper, and on Mr. Piper's death he was made acting managing editor. On the accession of Paul R. Kelty to the editorship in 1931, he was made associate editor. In 1939 he achieved a well-deserved national recognition by winning the Pulitzer prize for the best editorial writing on an American newspaper in 1938, with particular reference to "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," an editorial contrasting American individual liberty with the tyrannical regimentation prevailing over much of the world.

Paul Kelty, editor, 1931 to 1939, got his first newspaper job from his uncle, Harvey W. Scott, who put him on the Evening Telegram, then owned by the Oregonian, in 1896. His first job was editing telegraph, and in a year and a half, after some reporting experience, he became city editor. He was managing editor in 1904. He had never held a regular job as a reporter, but (or perhaps therefore) he used to leave the city desk and, later, the managing editor's desk every once in awhile and handle a big local story, just to show the boys (and himself) that he could. One of his big reporting assignments was the Harry Tracy chase, when that notorious outlaw