work, probably on the Omaha Bee, and thought he could see an opening for a daily evening paper in Portland, about 1880, that would bring him both fortune and fame. But like Bull with his Commercial, Stearns' capital consisted almost wholly of super-abounding energy, hopefulness and desperate courage. About the same time the Oregonian people started the Evening Telegram. But notwithstanding the hard cash and equipment back of the Telegram, Stearns' Bee was a fearful "buzzer" in the flank of the Telegram, and proved a very thorn in the flesh of the proprietors of the larger papers. And to make the matter more embarassing, Stearns had married a very attractive and brilliant young woman in the person of the daughter of Mrs. Duniway, the sister of the editor and one of the proprietors of the Telegram; and had by this fortunate alliance, secured a very large and enthusiastic circle of friends and supporters in the newspaper world of Oregon. But all to no final success ; the capital of the Oregonian company, and the dead set battle finally wore out Stearns. But not until the plucky little man had got a pretty good foothold in Oregon and Clarke County, Washington, where he pioneered the business of buying up lands, planting them to prunes, dividing into tracts and selling out at a large profit. The real estate operators who are doing that speculation now with apples may think they have started something new. But they have not ; for Don Stearns was thirty years ahead of them, and his prune trees all over Clarke County are money makers today.
AGRICULTURAL PRESS.
Like everything else, the agricultural press of the northwest, started in Portland. A. G. Walling, a son of a pioneer nurseyman, launched the first journal devoted to agriculture and kindred subjects, and called it The Willamette Farmer. Mr. Walling was not a farmer or fruit grower himself, but a job printer and bookbinder. John Minto of Salem, was one of the principal writers on this paper. Simeon Francis, who was afterward at one time editor of The Oregonian, was also a contributor to the paper. The paper ran its course, and suspended publication for want of support in eighteen months. At that time there were not 4,000 people in Portland and not more than 50,000 in all of Oregon.
The next venture in this line was made by Samuel F. Blythe and Edward Casey, with an eight page folio journal called "The Northwestern Farmer and Dairyman," published from 1882 to 1888. This paper secured a general circulation throughout Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Mr. Blythe retiring in 1888, Mr. Casey enlarged the paper under the name of The Pacific Farmer, published by The Pacific Farmer Printing Company, with Joseph Gaston, editor. The paper was fairly well supported and run a job printing office in connection. The journal continued during the life of Mr. Casey, and upon his death was consolidated with the weekly paper published by O. P. Mason and daughter, advocating universal suffrage and being the same journal founded by and published for a quarter of a century, by Mrs. Abigail Scott Duniway, the pioneer and heroine of the equal suffrage movement in Oregon. The Masons afterwards sold the consolidated paper to Frank Lee, a granger, from Yakima Valley. Mr. Lee has issued the paper ever since under the title of "The Northwest Pacific Farmer," and secured a large patronage in subscriptions and advertising.
Another agricultural journal thoroughly established is , "The North Pacific Rural Spirit." This journal was founded by W. W. Baker about twenty years ago. Mr. Baker was the first appointee to fill the office of food and dairy commissioner. The office was given him as a political favor, with no expectations that he would render any valuable service to the public, for he had no qualifications for the office. But the salary was ample to live on, and it enabled him to tide his paper over hard times and slender income until it was finally put upon a self-supporting basis as the recognized organ of the horse breeding and sporting interests of the state.
