Home | Quotations | Newspaper Articles | Special Features | Links | Search
Portion of letter from San Francisco - exact date not determined
THE RUSSIAN AMERICAN TELEGRAPH COMPANY
Colonel Conway has appointed "Brain McAlister," (Jerome), late of
the New Orleans Times, on his staff as his Secretary. The man is talented,
and it is well to have a newspaper man on such an expedition--but then there
is a graver consideration than this to be taken into account; there is matter
for thought, for calculation, for careful weighing here; there is room for hesitation,
for doubt, for profound misgivings here--WILL THE DRIED SALMON HOLD OUT? I would
not wantonly interfere with the hopes and ambitious dreams of the newspaper
creature; I would not wantonly crush him to the earth--but I put it on broad
national, educational, humanitarian grounds, and ask: Is it well thus to jeopardize
the success of so mighty an enterprise as this? The matter is worthy of the
most serious consideration. This newspaper man will travel with the land party
and transportation facilities will be extremely limited--the case would be very
different if he were going with the fleet, because then an extra ship--. But
I suppose I have made myself understood?
[reprinted in The Washoe Giant in San Francisco, edited by Franklin Walker (George Fields, 1938), pp. 105-06; retitled "Mysterious Newspaper Man," reprinting Golden Era of Feb. 18, 1866.]
