ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER.
At a presidential levee in the winter of 1830-'31, Mr. Duff Green,
editor of the _Telegraph_ newspaper, addressed a person then and now
a respectable resident of Washington city (Mr. J. M. Duncanson), and
invited him to call at his house, as he had something to say to him
which would require a confidential interview. The call was made,
and the object of the interview disclosed, which was nothing less
than to engage his (Mr. Duncanson's) assistance in the execution of
a scheme in relation to the next presidential election, in which
General Jackson should be prevented from becoming a candidate for
re-election, and Mr. Calhoun should be brought forward in his place.
He informed Mr. Duncanson that a rupture was impending between
General Jackson and Mr. Calhoun; that a correspondence had taken
place between them, brought about (as he alleged) by the intrigues
of Mr. Van Buren; that the correspondence was then in print, but
its publication delayed until certain arrangements could be made;
that the democratic papers at the most prominent points in the
States were to be first secured; and men well known to the people
as democrats, but in the exclusive interest of Mr. Calhoun, placed
in charge of them as editors; that as soon as the arrangements
were complete, the _Telegraph_ would startle the country with the
announcement of the difficulty (between General Jackson and Mr.
Calhoun), and the motive for it; and that all the secured presses,
taking their cue from the _Telegraph_, would take sides with Mr.
Calhoun, and cry out at the same time; and the storm would seem to
be so universal, and the indignation against Mr. Van Buren would
appear to be so great, that even General Jackson's popularity would
be unable to save him.
Mr. Duncanson was then invited to take part in the execution
of this scheme, and to take charge of the Frankfort (Kentucky)
_Argus_; and flattering inducements held out to encourage him to
do so. Mr. Duncanson expressed surprise and regret at all that he
heard--declared himself the friend of General Jackson, and of his
re-election--opposed to all schemes to prevent him from being a
candidate again--a disbeliever in their success, if attempted--and
made known his determination to reveal the scheme, if it was not
abandoned. Mr. Green begged him not to do so--said that the plan was
not fully agreed upon; and might not be carried out. This was the
end of the first interview. A few days afterwards Mr. Green called
on Mr. Duncanson, and informed him that a rupture was now determined
upon, and renewed his proposition that he should take charge of some
paper, either as proprietor, or as editor on a liberal salary--one
that would tell on the farmers and mechanics of the country, and
made so cheap as to go into every workshop and cabin. Mr. Duncanson
was a practical printer--owned a good job office--was doing a large
business, especially for the departments--and only wished to remain
as he was. Mr. Green offered, in both interviews, to relieve him
from that concern by purchasing it from him, and assured him that
he would otherwise lose the printing of the departments, and be
sacrificed. Mr. Duncanson again refused to have any thing to do
with the scheme, consulted with some friends, and caused the whole
to be communicated to General Jackson. The information did not take
the General by surprise; it was only a confirmation of what he well
suspected, and had been wisely providing against. The history of the
movement in Mr. Monroe's cabinet, to bring him before a military
court, for his invasion of Spanish territory during the Seminole
war, had just come to his knowledge; the doctrine of nullification
had just been broached in Congress; his own patriotic toast: "The
Federal Union: it must be preserved"--had been delivered; his own
intuitive sagacity told him all the rest--the breach with Mr.
Calhoun, the defection of the _Telegraph_, and the necessity for a
new paper at Washington, faithful, fearless and incorruptible.
The _Telegraph_ had been the central metropolitan organ of his
friends and of the democratic party, during the long and bitter
canvass which ended in the election of General Jackson, in 1828. Its
editor had been gratified with the first rich fruits of victory--the
public printing of the two Houses of Congress, the executive
patronage, and the organship of the administration. The paper was
still (in 1830) in its columns, and to the public eye, the advocate
and supporter of General Jackson; but he knew what was to happen,
and quietly took his measures to meet an inevitable contingency. In
the summer of 1830, a gentleman in one of the public offices showed
him a paper, the Frankfort (Kentucky) _Argus_, containing a powerful
and spirited review of a certain nullification speech in Congress.
He inquired for the author, ascertained him to be Mr. Francis
P. Blair--not the editor, but an occasional contributor to the
_Argus_--and had him written to on the subject of taking charge of
a paper in Washington. The application took Mr. Blair by surprise.
He was not thinking of changing his residence and pursuits. He was
well occupied where he was--clerk of the lucrative office of the
State Circuit Court at the capital of the State, salaried president
of the Commonwealth Bank (by the election of the legislature), and
proprietor of a farm and slaves in that rich State. But he was
devoted to General Jackson and his measures, and did not hesitate
to relinquish his secure advantages at home to engage in the
untried business of editor at Washington. He came--established the
_Globe_ newspaper--and soon after associated with John C. Rives,--a
gentleman worthy of the association and of the confidence of General
Jackson and of the democratic party: and under their management the
paper became the efficient and faithful organ of the administration
during the whole period of his service, and that of his successor,
Mr. Van Buren. It was established in time, and just in time, to
meet the advancing events at Washington City. All that General
Jackson had foreseen in relation to the conduct of the _Telegraph_,
and all that had been communicated to him through Mr. Duncanson,
came to pass: and he found himself, early in the first term of his
administration, engaged in a triple war--with nullification, the
Bank of the United States, and the whig party:--and must have been
without defence or support from the newspaper press at Washington
had it not been for his foresight in establishing the _Globe_.