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UTAH PRESS ASSOCIATION intermittently until August 14, 1874. Neither met the specifics of newspapering, though, for Alter's Early Utah Journalism comments, "Like its chimerical, juvenile predecessor, it was not exactly a newspaper." Still, its publisher was to be commended for trying to maintain a periodical which depended entirely on outside sources for newsprint and was frequently halted for weeks at a time when it was unavailable. On June 14, 1878, Carpenter unveiled The Union, which he described in these words: "A first class newspaper which we hope the Union will be. Heretofore the people of St. George and vicinity have been very negligent in encouraging a home paper. The products of the country will be taken in payment when cash cannot be paid. The paper used for the Union is homemade and was manufactured at Salt Lake City." Like his previous efforts, the Union appeared spasmodically, was relocated to Blooming-ton, then returned to St. George and finally, on May 19, 1898, ceased publication. Meanwhile, however, the determined journalist of Utah's Dixie briefly produced in 1879 a daily publication, the St. George Evening Telegram. It was truly a newspaper and though small in size reflected printing competence. Its editorial content was taken from wires of the Deseret Telegraph Company, which had opened from Salt Lake City to St. George in 1867, primarily for the use of LDS Church president Brigham Young, who wintered in the warmer desert climate. The first issue was on Tuesday, April 8, 1879; the last was 23 days later. Carpenter then returned to production of The Union and with its demise disappeared from the ranks of Utah's newsmen. The Juvenile had been preceded in 1868 by Our Dixie Times, published by Joseph E. Johnson, a veteran publisher with extensive experience in Nebraska. After inaugurating the publication on January 22, 1868, he struggled to stay afloat, like Carpenter fighting the constant shortage of newsprint and evidently unlike his youthful competitor, experiencing considerable difficulty in finding and keeping competent printers. On May 13, 1868, Johnson announced he was changing the name to the Rio Virgin Times. On October 28th, he revised 74 |
