The Franklin imprint, however, appeared on the second news- paper in Rhode Island, The Newport Mercury, founded in New- port on June 19, 1758, by James Franklin, Jr. When the son died in 1762, his mother, Anne Franklin, continued The Mer- cury for a brief time until she went into partnership with Samuel Hale. Upon her death in 1763 Hale ran the paper most success- fully, as he was one of the first editors and publishers to realize that advertising depends upon circulation for its value.
GODDARD'S FIRST PAPER
William Goddard, a name frequently found in colonial jour- nalism, started the third paper in Rhode Island on October 20, 1762. He called his paper The Providence Gazette and Coun- try Journal. Goddard had difficulty as usual in collecting pay- ments for subscriptions, and on May 11, 1765, was forced to sus- pend temporarily, but intended to revive the paper six months later, providing the stamp duties did not make such a resump- tion impossible. The permanent revival, however, did not be- gin until August 9, 1766, and an editorial note informed the reading public that the paper was now in the hands of Sarah Goddard & Company. Leaving his paper thus in the hands of his mother, William Goddard went to New York to seek em- ployment, but sent Samuel Inslee, who later became a pub- lisher of a New York colonial paper, to Providence to help Mrs. Goddard. On November 12, 1768, the paper passed into the hands of John Carter, who had worked in the office of Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia, and later became a partner of Mrs. Goddard in the business. Carter made numerous improvements in the paper and ordered new type from England. Before it could reach Providence, however, the Revolutionary War was well on its way, so that when the type finally reached New York it was confiscated by the custom-house authorities of that city. The Gazette was one of the first papers to realize the importance of the battle of Lexington. In an account, which occupied nine inches of space in The Gazette, its editor made this significant statement: " Thus is commenced the American Civil War."
