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125th Anniversary Supplement of The Canadian Statesman, October 3, 1979 Statesman Changed Hands for 5th Time 1958 For the fifth time in its 104 year history, the ownership of the Cana- dian Statesman has changed hands. Effective May lst, 1958, the partnership formed in 1947 between George W. James and John M. James was dissolved, retroactive to December lst, 1957. The new owner of the Cana- dian Statesman and The James Publishing Com- pany which publishes the paper is John M. James. 61-Year Connection Broken Dr. George W. James has sold out his entire interest in the business, after being connected with it for 61 years. He started setting type when he was i years of age, when his father, the late M.A. James paid him 25 cents a week for hand setting patent medicine advertise- ments or "quacks" as they are called in the trade. Five of the 25 cents had to be set aside for church collection, Mr. James Sr. was the church treasurer. Established in 1854 Established as the Mes- senger in 1849 by W.J. McMillan of Oshawa, the name was changed to The Canadian States- man when purchased by Rev. John Climie in 1854. His son W.R. Cli- mie edited the four-page paper until August 1, 1878, when M.A. James, then a country school- master, purchased the business. It will be 80 years in August that the James family has con- tinued producing the paper. Featured Correspondence Under -M.A. James, The Canadian States- man prospered as he launched several ideas ýf -- nov'el type in those dýý s. He was one of the pioneers in establishing a system of country correspondents to make his paper truly the "Voice of the People." Fragile of frame but brittle in his writings, his "The Editor Talks" columns left no doubt as to his controversial sub- ject. In the course of 57 years as an editor, he took over six of his local competitors by playing up local happenings and promoting the welfare nf the nmminitv He was Mayor of Bowman- ville in 1903-4 and parti- cipated actively in prac- tically all community activities which he con- sidered worthwhile. Sons into Partnership At the end of 1918, he took his two sons, Nor- man and George into partnership and be- came, using his wording - "The Senior Editor. Norman took over the mechanical end of the plant and George be- came the editor and business manager, assisted by longtime employee and associate editor Elizabeth E. Haycraft. On Friday, Nov. 22nd, 193S, M.A. James died at the age of 86. Community Service Both Norman and George James followed in their father's foot- steps of rendering com- munity service. Nor- man was head of the Bowmanville Hospital Board when the present nurses' residence was erected and personally took charge of raising funds to finance the proposition. His untime- ly death in 1929 at 47 years of age cut short a productive life that had gained for him a host of friends from one end of the country to the other. At that time, his wife, the former Elena Mason became a silent partner and George W. James continued as general manager of the entire business. That same year, just a few months' prior to his father's death, John M. James was placed on the Statesman payroll as Printer's Devil at $5 a week. The Canadian States- man, under Editor George James, soon began to branch out and take on a new, brighter, more modern appea- rance. His editorials were somewhat less vitriolic than his father's, but were strong in support of The Canadian Statesmans position on any subject. Gained National Standing As his career contin- ued, his newspaper gradually gained recog- nition from one end of Canada to the other and his personal pres- tige grew. He had a capacity for business and flare for organiza- tion. About him, he gathered and trained good writers and other staff and soon The Statesman was winning awards for makeup, editorials and general excellence in competi- tion with larger news- papers in the country. He took an intense interest in the Canadian Weekly Newspapers organization and be- came its president, stressing the impor- tance of the weeklies to large advertisers and government officials. Oddly enough, his son William G. James is at present doing much the same work with the C.W.N.A. as its newly appointed Public Rela- tions director. Previ- ously, he too had been a member of The States- man staff, as its man- aging editor. Made Great Contribution George James has made a great contribu- tion to his country, his community and the newspaper profession. In the first World War he was captain, quarter- master with the ,235th battalion. He was a councillor for 10 years and eventually became mayor of Bowmanville. He also was the United Church treasurer for 16 years, was the only weekly newspaper man ever to receive an award from the Asso- ciation of Canadian Ad- vertisers & Sales Club of Toronto, The Chamber of Commerce appointed him their rural repre- sentative on the Ontario Board and Queen's Uni- versity awarded him an honorary LL.D. Completes Apprenticeship In the meantime, the new owner, John M. James had completed his printing apprentice- ship, added to his train- ing with a year at Alger Press, Oshawa, and edited the Newmarket Era for several weeks while the owner was on holidays. In 1935, when the Statesman purchas- ed the Orono News, John was appointed editor, and continued in that capacity until the paper was amalgamat- ed a year later and he returned to the home office. Served with Midland He joined the Midland Regiment in 1940 and served with that unit in Canada until 1942 when he was transferred to Headquarters Prince Rupert Defences as Air Liaison and Intelligence Officer. He spent six months at CMHQ in Ottawa with the Directorate of Mili- tary Intelligence before going overseas and serving in England, Italy, France and the Netherlands as a Count- er Intelligence Officer with the rank of Cap- tain. Following the war, John James returned to The Statesman and in 1947, purchased his mother's share of the company. In 1949, he entered politics and was successful in winning Durham back to the Liberal fold. He contin- ued a combination of politics and newspaper- ing until his defeat in 1957. Early this year, he spent three months as editor of The Trento- nian in Trenton, Ontario, a twice-a-week newspaper and the most recent addition to the weekly newspaper field in Canada, being just a little over a year old. The owner is married to the former Mildred Dorothy Edger, daugh- ter of Mr. and the late W. Arthur Edger of Bowmanville. They have two children, John E., 15, a Grade 11 student at Bowmanville High School who in the past two summers has worked in the printing plant, and Robert S., il a pupil t Vincent Mas- sey Public Sehool. Mr. James is now 47 years of age. !- Has Absorbed Seven Papers During its lengthy life, The Canadian Statesman has absorbed the following papers: ",The Bowmanville Mechant", edited by Paul C. Trebilcock; "The Sun", W.R. Climie, editor; "The Newcastle Times", Geo. J. Bell, editor; "The West Durham News" (afterwards "The Bow- manville News), James Gale. editor, "The Orono News", Sam Cut- tell, editor. It is believed to be an unique record that six of these almagamations took place during the lifetime of the late M.A. Rick, a third son was born in July, 1958, and is now in his third year at Queen's University, Kingston, in an Economics course. Bob is now in his fifth year of teaching with the Haliburton Board of Education in Special Education, and John E. is with ViaCom, a branch of the Columbia Broadcasting system. Graduates - 1935, Miss Mary Alice Worden, Miss Marion Agnes Mary Marjorie Forsythe and Miss Grace Honora Werry. I ÀW OF Pl' A