Ralph D. Paine
Encyclopedia
Ralph Delahaye Paine was an American journalist and author popular in the early 20th century. Later, he held both elected and appointed government offices.
, Paine was the son of Reverend Samuel Delahaye Paine. Rev. Paine was born in London and served in the British Army during the Crimean War
before emigrating to America in 1856. Rev. Paine served as a lieutenant in the 2nd Maine Battery
during the American Civil War
and later was chaplain-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic
.
While his father was pastor of the Green Street Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, Florida
, Paine worked as a reporter for twelve dollars a week. He also frequented a soda fountain
in a cigar shop owned by Cuban revolutionary José Alejandro Huau.
Paine attended Hillhouse High School
in New Haven, Connecticut
and then Yale University
. At Yale he was on the football and rowing teams and was a member of Skull and Bones
. At Yale, he covered athletic news for a news syndicate. This, plus the money he saved reporting in Jacksonville, paid for his education. He graduated in 1894.
After graduating, Paine worked for the Philadelphia Press
until 1901. Paine's connection to Huau came to the attention of newspaperman William Randolph Hearst
when American newspapers were publishing frenzied coverage of the Cuban War of Independence
. Hearst's New York Journal had held a contest to determine the "world's greatest living soldier", and Cuban revolutionary military commander Máximo Gómez
was the winner. The prize was a gold-plated and diamond-encrusted sword inscribed "Viva Cuba Libre" and "To Máximo Gómez, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Republic of Cuba". Hearst needed someone to deliver the sword to Gomez and offered Paine the task. Paine replied "I am the damn fool you have been looking for."
Huau got Paine and another reporter, Ernest McCready, on a boat smuggling munitions and soldiers to Cuba, the Three Friends under Captain "Dynamite" Johnny O'Brien. The Three Friends got into a skirmish with a Spanish gunboat and, in the only naval battle of the war, inexplicably triumphed. However, since the US was not participating in the war, O'Brien, fearing legal entanglements and seizure of his vessel, fled and left passengers and cargo on No Name Key
. After filing his story in Key West
, Paine managed to get onboard the Dauntless, which came to retrieve the cargo under the supervision of General Emilio Núñez
. He let Paine and McCready on board, but Núñez, annoyed by a delay they had caused, refused to let them off at Corrientes Bay and returned them to Jacksonville. Upon his return, he discovered that he was among those indicted for piracy
(a capital crime) in the Three Friends incident. With the assistance of his father, Paine went into hiding for a month. However, one of the co-owners of the boat was powerful sheriff and future Governor of Florida Napoleon Broward. Thanks to his influence, no witnesses could identify any participants in the affair and the case was dropped. Paine gave the sword to José Huau, who had it delivered to Gómez's wife in Santo Domingo
, and returned to his job at the Philadelphia Press.
The Spanish American War soon broke out, and Paine was aboard the USS New York
, the flagship of Admiral William T. Sampson
, when it bombed Matanzas
. Paine was also among a group of reporters on board the Gussie, an officially sponsored supply vessel whose captain's extremely poor choice of landing spots resulted in two failed attempts to deliver cargo to Cuban rebels. They came under fire in what was exaggeratedly called the "Battle of Cabañas
" by one newspaper and inspiration for a "comic opera" by another.
In 1900, he covered the Boxer Rebellion
and was with forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance
in Tientsin and Peking. In 1902, he joined the New York Herald
and ran a successful campaign against the beef trust, then became managing editor of the New York Telegraph. In 1903, he left journalism and became a prolific writer of history and fiction, writing about topics including Salem, Massachusetts
, piracy, merchant shipping, naval vessels, college life, sports, and autobiography. He contributed to numerous publications, including Collier's Weekly
, Journal des débats
, Le Figaro
, L'Écho de Paris
, The Century Magazine
, Scribner's Magazine
, McClure's
, Outing
, Cosmopolitan
, Everybody's Magazine
, The American Magazine, The World's Work, Collier's Weekly
, The Youth's Companion, Munsey's Magazine
, Saturday Evening Post, The Popular Magazine
, The American Boy
, Ainslee's Magazine
, St. Nicholas Magazine
, and Country Life in America
.
In 1903, he married Katharine Lansing Morse. They had three sons; Ralph Delahaye Paine, Jr. (1906–1991), editor and publisher of Fortune
, and the twins Stuart Douglas Paine, who became an Antarctic
explorer, and Philbrook Ten Eyck Paine, born 1910.
In 1908, he moved to Shankhassick Farm in Durham, New Hampshire
. From 1918 to 1920 he represented Durham in the New Hampshire House of Representatives
and from 1919 to 1921 served on the New Hampshire Board of Education.
During World War I
, he worked for the Committee on Public Information
and the United States Department of the Navy
, observing and writing about Allied
naval forces. He was also a commissioner of the Federal Fuel Administration
in 1918.
Life and career
Born in Lemont, IllinoisLemont, Illinois
Lemont is a village located in Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, and is roughly southwest of Chicago. The population was 16,625 at the 2007 Special Census.-History:...
, Paine was the son of Reverend Samuel Delahaye Paine. Rev. Paine was born in London and served in the British Army during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
before emigrating to America in 1856. Rev. Paine served as a lieutenant in the 2nd Maine Battery
2nd Maine Battery
2nd Maine Battery was an artillery battery that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 2nd Maine Battery was organized in Augusta, Maine and mustered in for three years' service on November 20, 1861....
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and later was chaplain-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
.
While his father was pastor of the Green Street Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, Paine worked as a reporter for twelve dollars a week. He also frequented a soda fountain
Soda fountain
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores...
in a cigar shop owned by Cuban revolutionary José Alejandro Huau.
Paine attended Hillhouse High School
Hillhouse High School
James Hillhouse Comprehensive High School is the oldest public high school in New Haven, Connecticut. It is a part of New Haven Public Schools.- History :Established in 1859 as New Haven High School,...
in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
and then Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. At Yale he was on the football and rowing teams and was a member of Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
. At Yale, he covered athletic news for a news syndicate. This, plus the money he saved reporting in Jacksonville, paid for his education. He graduated in 1894.
After graduating, Paine worked for the Philadelphia Press
Philadelphia Press
The Philadelphia Press is a defunct newspaper that was published from August 1, 1857 to October 1, 1920.The paper was founded by John W. Forney. Charles Emory Smith was editor and owned a stake in the paper from 1880 until his death in 1908...
until 1901. Paine's connection to Huau came to the attention of newspaperman William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
when American newspapers were publishing frenzied coverage of the Cuban War of Independence
Cuban War of Independence
Cuban War of Independence was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War and the Little War...
. Hearst's New York Journal had held a contest to determine the "world's greatest living soldier", and Cuban revolutionary military commander Máximo Gómez
Máximo Gómez
Máximo Gómez y Báez was a Major General in the Ten Years' War and Cuba's military commander in that country's War of Independence ....
was the winner. The prize was a gold-plated and diamond-encrusted sword inscribed "Viva Cuba Libre" and "To Máximo Gómez, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Republic of Cuba". Hearst needed someone to deliver the sword to Gomez and offered Paine the task. Paine replied "I am the damn fool you have been looking for."
Huau got Paine and another reporter, Ernest McCready, on a boat smuggling munitions and soldiers to Cuba, the Three Friends under Captain "Dynamite" Johnny O'Brien. The Three Friends got into a skirmish with a Spanish gunboat and, in the only naval battle of the war, inexplicably triumphed. However, since the US was not participating in the war, O'Brien, fearing legal entanglements and seizure of his vessel, fled and left passengers and cargo on No Name Key
No Name Key
No Name Key is an island located in the lower Florida Keys in the United States. It is 3 miles from US 1 and sparsely populated with only 43 homes. It is a fairly small island in comparison to its neighbor, Big Pine Key, which lies about a half mile to its west...
. After filing his story in Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
, Paine managed to get onboard the Dauntless, which came to retrieve the cargo under the supervision of General Emilio Núñez
Emilio Núñez
Emilio Núñez was a Cuban-American soldier, dentist, and politician ....
. He let Paine and McCready on board, but Núñez, annoyed by a delay they had caused, refused to let them off at Corrientes Bay and returned them to Jacksonville. Upon his return, he discovered that he was among those indicted for piracy
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
(a capital crime) in the Three Friends incident. With the assistance of his father, Paine went into hiding for a month. However, one of the co-owners of the boat was powerful sheriff and future Governor of Florida Napoleon Broward. Thanks to his influence, no witnesses could identify any participants in the affair and the case was dropped. Paine gave the sword to José Huau, who had it delivered to Gómez's wife in Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
, and returned to his job at the Philadelphia Press.
The Spanish American War soon broke out, and Paine was aboard the USS New York
USS New York (ACR-2)
USS New York was a United States Navy armored cruiser. The fourth Navy ship to be named in honor of the state of New York, she was later renamed Saratoga and then Rochester ....
, the flagship of Admiral William T. Sampson
William T. Sampson
William Thomas Sampson was a United States Navy rear admiral known for his victory in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish-American War.-Biography:...
, when it bombed Matanzas
Matanzas
Matanzas is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. It is famed for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore.It is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas , east of the capital Havana and west of the resort town of Varadero.Matanzas is called the...
. Paine was also among a group of reporters on board the Gussie, an officially sponsored supply vessel whose captain's extremely poor choice of landing spots resulted in two failed attempts to deliver cargo to Cuban rebels. They came under fire in what was exaggeratedly called the "Battle of Cabañas
Cabañas, Cuba
Cabañas is a town in the Mariel municipality of the Artemisa Province, on the northeast coast in western Cuba. Prior to 1970 was a municipality of Pinar del Río Province. Cabañas bay is a harbor with industrial and fishing facilities, with an important base of the Cuban...
" by one newspaper and inspiration for a "comic opera" by another.
In 1900, he covered the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
and was with forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance
Eight-Nation Alliance
The Eight-Nation Alliance was an alliance of Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States whose military forces intervened in China to suppress the anti-foreign Boxers and relieve the siege of the diplomatic legations in Beijing .- Events :The...
in Tientsin and Peking. In 1902, he joined the New York Herald
New York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
and ran a successful campaign against the beef trust, then became managing editor of the New York Telegraph. In 1903, he left journalism and became a prolific writer of history and fiction, writing about topics including Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
, piracy, merchant shipping, naval vessels, college life, sports, and autobiography. He contributed to numerous publications, including Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
, Journal des débats
Journal des Débats
The Journal des débats was a French newspaper, published between 1789 and 1944 that changed title several times...
, Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
, L'Écho de Paris
L'Écho de Paris
L'Écho de Paris was a daily newspaper in Paris from 1884 to 1944.The paper's editorial stance was initially conservative and nationalistic, although it did later become close to the French Socialist Party. Its writers included Octave Mirbeau, Georges Clemenceau, Henry Bordeaux, François Mitterrand,...
, The Century Magazine
The Century Magazine
The Century Magazine was first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City as a successor to Scribner's Monthly Magazine...
, Scribner's Magazine
Scribner's Magazine
Scribner's Magazine was an American periodical published by the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons from January 1887 to May 1939. Scribner's Magazine was the second magazine out of the "Scribner's" firm, after the publication of Scribner's Monthly...
, McClure's
McClure's
McClure's or McClure's Magazine was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with creating muckraking journalism. Ida Tarbell's series in 1902 exposing the monopoly abuses of John D...
, Outing
Outing (magazine)
Outing was a late-nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American magazine covering a variety of sporting activities. It began publication in 1882 as the Wheelman and had four title changes before ceasing publication in 1923....
, Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...
, Everybody's Magazine
Everybody's Magazine
Everybody's Magazine was an American magazine from 1899 to 1929.The magazine was founded by Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker in 1899, though he had little role in its actual operations....
, The American Magazine, The World's Work, Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
, The Youth's Companion, Munsey's Magazine
Munsey's Magazine
Munsey's Weekly, later known as Munsey's Magazine was a thirty-six page quarto magazine founded by Frank A. Munsey in 1889. Munsey aimed at "a magazine of the people and for the people, with pictures and art and good cheer and human interest throughout". John Kendrick Bangs was the editor. The...
, Saturday Evening Post, The Popular Magazine
The Popular Magazine
The Popular Magazine was an early American literary magazine that ran for 612 issues from November 1903 to October 1931. It featured short fiction, novellas, serialized larger works, and even entire short novels...
, The American Boy
The American Boy
The American Boy was a monthly magazine published by The Sprague Publishing Co. of Detroit, Michigan from November 1899 to August 1941. At the time it was the largest magazine for boys, with a circulation of 300,000, and it featured action stories and advertising for the young boy.In 1911 a copy...
, Ainslee's Magazine
Ainslee's Magazine
Ainslee's Magazine was an American literary periodical published from 1897 to 1926. It was originally published as a humor magazine called The Yellow Kid, based on the popular comic strip character. It was renamed Ainslee's, the following year....
, St. Nicholas Magazine
St. Nicholas Magazine
St. Nicholas Magazine was a popular children's magazine, founded by Scribner's in 1873. The first editor was Mary Mapes Dodge, who continued her association with the magazine until her death in 1905. Dodge published work by the country's best writers, including Louisa May Alcott, Francis Hodgson...
, and Country Life in America
Country Life in America
Country Life in America was an American shelter magazine, first published in November 1901 as an illustrated monthly by Doubleday, Page & Company. Henry H. Saylor was the initial Managing Editor, and Robert M...
.
In 1903, he married Katharine Lansing Morse. They had three sons; Ralph Delahaye Paine, Jr. (1906–1991), editor and publisher of Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
, and the twins Stuart Douglas Paine, who became an Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
explorer, and Philbrook Ten Eyck Paine, born 1910.
In 1908, he moved to Shankhassick Farm in Durham, New Hampshire
Durham, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,664 people, 2,882 households, and 1,582 families residing in the town. The population density was 565.5 people per square mile . There were 2,923 housing units at an average density of 130.5 per square mile...
. From 1918 to 1920 he represented Durham in the New Hampshire House of Representatives
New Hampshire House of Representatives
The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 103 districts across the state, created from divisions of the state's counties. On average, each legislator represents about 3,300...
and from 1919 to 1921 served on the New Hampshire Board of Education.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he worked for the Committee on Public Information
Committee on Public Information
The Committee on Public Information, also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee, was an independent agency of the government of the United States created to influence U.S. public opinion regarding American participation in World War I...
and the United States Department of the Navy
United States Department of the Navy
The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...
, observing and writing about Allied
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
naval forces. He was also a commissioner of the Federal Fuel Administration
Federal Fuel Administration
The Federal Fuel Administration was a World War I-era agency of the Federal government of the United States established by of August 23, 1917 pursuant to the Food and Fuel Control Act....
in 1918.