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COLORFUL PUBLISHERS -- THEN AND NOW the stoutly professed Democratic ideology of the Broad Ax. Julius referred to W. W.'s newspaper as "the Plain Double-Dealer" and their sparring gradually degenerated into such paragraphs as an onslaught by Julius which so titillated the Wasatch Wave that it reprinted it: "Run home and tell your dear little wife that the editor of the Broad Ax has called her sweet little sugar lump an ex-crapshooter, an ex-gambler, a liar, a coward, a scoundrel and a dishonest man in every sense of the word." Another competitor was J. Gordon McPherson of the Democratic Head Light. A retired Army infantryman who'd been stationed in Utah, he conceived the paper but was more or less a non-resident publisher. McPherson chose to abandon the Utah market in early June, 1899, almost simultaneously with the departure of the Ax. Without fanfare, after producing the June 6, 1899 edition, Broad Ax closed its doors. On July 15, 1899 it resurfaced in Chicago and Beehive state subscribers continued to receive it from the Windy City for some time thereafter. The paper was often praised by other Utah journalists. The Brigham Bugler, for example, commented in 1897: "The Broad Ax has hewn its way into the third year. Brother Taylor keeps his paper always sharp and bright." The Wasatch Wave's assessment of Taylor himself was: "He is a bright, intelligent young man, a credit to his race." Newspapermen throughout Utah had an opportunity to meet the publisher of the Ax, for he travelled to virtually every community of any size in the state in search of subscribers and advertising support. Since Salt Lake City's black populace was very limited, his paper probably had a preponderance of white readers and some of that day's principal merchants advertised their wares in his columns. His minority status was only a minor hindrance to relations with Utah citizenry, a fact evidenced by Taylor's election as Historian of Utah State Press Association at its January 19, 1899 convention. His further involvement was curbed, of course, by the abrupt move to Chicago. Interestingly, the Plain Dealer continued to serve Utah's 181 |
