Although Minnesota sent to the war as many, if not more, men than any other state in the Union in proportion to its population, yet it was necessary to resort to a draft in a few counties where the population was largely foreign. The feeling against the draft was very bitter, and the inhabitants of the counties which were behind in the quota did not take kindly to the idea of being drafted to fight for a cause they did not espouse. A riot was feared, and troops were ordered down from the fort to be in readiness for any disturbance that might occur. Arrangements for the prosecution of the draft were made as rapidly as possible, but the provost marshal was not in readiness to have it take place on the day designated by the war department. This situation of affairs was telegraphed to the president and the following characteristic reply was received: "If the draft cannot take place, of course it cannot take place. Necessity knows no law. A. Lincoln." The bitterest feeling of the anti-drafters seemed to be against the old St. Paul Press, a paper that earnestly advocated the vigorous prosecution of the war. Threats were made to mob the office. A company was organized for self-defense, and Capt. E.R. Otis, now of West Superior, one of the Press compositors at that time, was made post commander. Capt. Otis had seen service in the early part of the war and the employes considered themselves fortunate in having a genuine military man for a leader. The office was barricaded, fifteen old Springfield muskets and 800 rounds of ammunition was brought down from the capitol and every one instructed what to do in case of an attack. I slept on a lounge in the top story of the old Press building overlooking Bridge Square, and the guns and ammunition were under my bed. I was supposed to give the alarm should the mob arrive after the employes had gone home. As there was no possible avenue of escape in case of an attack, it looks now as if the post commander displayed poor judgment in placing a lone sentinel on guard. But there was no riot. The excitement gradually died away and the draft took place without interruption.
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Before and some time after the war the daily newspapers took advantage of all the holidays and seldom issued papers on the days following Christmas, New Year's, Washington's birthday, Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. On the Fourth of July, 1863, the Pioneer made arrangements to move from their old quarters near the corner of Third and Cedar streets to the corner of Third and Robert. It happened that on that day two of the greatest events of the Civil war had occurred—the battle of Gettysburg and the surrender of Vicksburg. The Pioneer being engaged in moving their plant could not issue an extra on that occasion, and the Press had the field exclusively to itself. The news of these two great events had become pretty generally known throughout the city and the anxiety to get fuller particulars was simply intense. The Press, having a clear field for that day, did not propose to issue its extra until the fullest possible details had been received. A great crowd had assembled in front of the old Press office, anxiously awaiting details of the great Union victories. I had helped prepare the news for the press and followed the forms to the press room. As soon as a sufficient number of papers had been printed I attempted to carry them to the counting room and place them on sale. As I opened the side door of the press room and undertook to reach the counting room by a short circuit, I found the crowd on the outside had become so large that it was impossible to gain an entrance in that direction, and undertook to retreat and try another route. But quicker than a flash I was raised to the shoulders of the awaiting crowd and walked on their heads to the counting room window, where I sold what few papers I had as rapidly as I could hand them out. As soon as the magnitude of the news got circulated cheer after cheer rent the air, and cannon, anvils, firecrackers and everything that would make a noise was brought into requisition, and before sundown St. Paul had celebrated the greatest Fourth of July in its history.
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I arrived in St. Paul on the morning of the 17th of April, 1858, and Immediately commenced work on the Daily Minnesotian, my brother, Geo. W. Moore, being part owner and manager of the paper. I had not been at work long before I learned what a "scoop" was. Congress had passed a bill admitting Minnesota into the Union, but as there was no telegraphic communication with Washington it required two or three days for the news to reach the state. The Pioneer, Minnesotian and Times were morning papers, and were generally printed the evening before. It so happened that the news of the admission of Minnesota was brought to St. Paul by a passenger on a late boat and the editors of the Pioneer accidentally heard of the event and published the same on the following morning, thus scooping the other two papers. The Minnesotian got out an extra and sent it around to their subscribers and they thought they had executed a great stroke of enterprise. It was not long before I became familiar with the method of obtaining news and I was at the levee on the arrival of every boat thereafter. I could tell every boat by its whistle, and there was no more scoops 'till the telegraph line was completed in the summer of 1860.
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During the latter part of the Civil war the daily newspapers began to expand, and have ever since kept fully abreast of the requirements of our rapidly increasing population. The various papers were printed on single-cylinder presses until about 1872, when double-cylinders were introduced. In 1876 the first turtle-back press was brought to the city, printing four pages at one time. In 1880 the different offices introduced stereotyping, and in 1892 linotype type-setting machines were installed. The next great advance will probably be some system of photography that will entirely dispense with the work of the printer and proofreader. Who knows?
THE FIVE MILLION LOAN ELECTION.
EARLY STEAMBOATING—CELEBRATION OF THE SUCCESSFUL LAYING OF THE FIRST ATLANTIC CABLE—A FIGHT BETWEEN THE CHIPPEWAS AND SIOUXS.
"Right this way for the Fuller house!" "Right this way for the Winslow house!" "Right this way for the American house!" "Merchants hotel on the levee!" "Stage for St. Anthony Falls!" These were the announcements that would greet the arrival of travelers as they would alight from one of the splendid steamers of the Galena, Dunleith, Dubuque and Minnesota Packet company during the days when traveling by steamboat was the only way of reaching points on the upper Mississippi. Besides the above hotels, there was the Central house, the Temperance house, the City hotel, Minnesota house, the Western house, the Hotel to the Wild Hunter, whose curious sign for many years attracted the attention of the visitor, and many others. The Merchants is the only one left, and that only in name. Messengers from newspaper offices, representatives of storage and commission houses, merchants looking for consignments of goods, residents looking for friends, and the ever alert dealers in town lots on the scent of fresh victims, were among the crowds that daily congregated at the levee whenever the arrival of one of the packet company's regular steamers was expected. At one time there was a daily line of steamers to La Crosse, a daily line to Prairie du Chien, a daily line to Dubuque and a line to St. Louis, and three daily lines for points on the Minnesota river. Does any one remember the deep bass whistle of the Gray Eagle, the combination whistle on the Key City, the ear-piercing shriek of the little Antelope, and the discordant notes of the calliope on the Denmark? The officers of these packets were the king's of the day, and when any one of them strayed up town he attracted as much attention as a major general of the regulars. It was no uncommon sight to see six or eight steamers at the levee at one time, and their appearance presented a decided contrast to the levee of the present time. The first boat through the lake in the spring was granted free wharfage, and as that meant about a thousand dollars, there was always an effort made to force a passage through the lake as soon as possible. Traveling by steamboat during the summer months was very pleasant, but it was like taking a trip to the Klondike to go East during the winter. Merchants were compelled to supply themselves with enough goods to last from November till April, as it was too expensive to ship goods by express during the winter. Occasionally some enterprising merchant would startle the community by announcing through the newspapers that he had just received by Burbank's express a new pattern in dress goods, or a few cans of fresh oysters. The stages on most of the routes left St. Paul at 4 o'clock in the morning, and subscribers to daily newspapers within a radius of forty miles of the city could read the news as early as they can during these wonderful days of steam and electricity.