Page:Newspapers of Washington Territory from WHQ July 1922.djvu/2

182 publisher who launched a new paper had hope and ambition for his enterprise. Some of those papers were pitifully young at the time of their deaths or absorption by a stronger rival. Still it is comforting to believe that, in the surging of the great human tide, each of them rendered service during its day, be that day brief or long.

The first newspaper printed in that portion of Oregon lying north of the Columbia River, which later became Washington Territory, was the Columbian. It was published at Olympia and the first issue appeared on September 11, 1852. The old Ramage hand press on which it was printed had been used in California. From there it was shipped to Portland and printed the first issues of the Oregonian. After serving the Columbian, it was used to print the first newspaper in Seattle. It was then taken to Alaska and later returned to Seattle. It is now in the State Museum, University of Washington. If all the pages it has printed could be assembled, the fruitage of that old press would furnish a foundation for the early history of the Pacific Coast. One reason for establishing the Columbian was to promote the creation of the Territory of Columbia from Northern Oregon. The early issues of the paper show how valiantly and successfully that cause was advocated. It issued the call for the Monticello Convention which met on November 25, 1852. In the meantime ringing editorials called the people to action. After the Convention had memorialized Congress, the Columbian published the proceedings in full. The people applauded the energy and success of their only paper in Northern Oregon.

Candor requires, however, at this time of more accurate information, that we should recognize the fact that much of that pioneer applause was misplaced. Oregon's Delegate to Congress, General Joseph Lane, had taken the initiative for the creation of the new Territory on December 6, 1852, just eleven days after the Monticello Convention. Recent searches among his papers in the Library of Congress have shown that he was inspired by the memorial of the Cowlitz Convention of August 29, 1851. That was before the Columbian was founded. With the Cowlitz Convention manuscript in the Lane papers, were found two Oregon newspapers—the Oregonian of September 20, 1851, and the Oregon Spectator of September 23, 1851. Each of these papers carried on the front page the full proceedings of the Cowlitz Convention of the previous August. These were the effective publications in that mo-