My Genealogy Hound

THE BLOOMINGTON LEADER, Bloomington. The publication of the Weekly Leader was commenced on the 17th of December, 1868. by Orin Waters and John S. Scibird, who were formerly owners of the Pantagraph; on the 22d day of February following, the Daily Leader was started, and both publications have appeared regularly ever since; on July 12, 1869, the Evening Leader was changed to a morning paper, and as such was published until Oct. 9, when it was again changed to an evening paper; Mr. Elias Smith was editor-in-chief, assisted on the local by J. S. Scibird, one of the proprietors; as a compliment to the publishers, the position of Post master was given to Mr. Scibird, who held the office for four years; in 1872, a stock company was formed, composed principally of leading politicians, who elected O. Waters as Manager; hard times continued and it proved a financial failure; Feb. 19, 1874, O. Waters purchased the right, title and interest of the stock-holders and became sole proprietor and publisher; in January, 1875, Mr. Waters became financially embarrassed and the establishment passed into the hands of the present proprietor, Mr. M. F. Leland; the Leader has grown to be a strictly first-class paper, and is fearless in its advocacy of the right; it is Republican in politics, and does not hesitate to expose wrong, whether in the Republican party or out of it; the Weekly Leader enjoys a large circulation and the confidence of its readers; the Daily Leader is also a creditable and enterprising sheet, and has a large advertising patronage and an extensive circulation; journalistic ventures have been frequent in Bloomington, but in nearly every instance, with the exception of the Leader and Pantagraph, they have been failures and short-lived. M. F. Leland, the present proprietor and publisher of the Leader, was born in Sherborn, Middlesex Co., Mass., on the 28th day of March, 1835; came to Bloomington, in 1858, and for a number of years was engaged in the photograph business in this city; was then one of the proprietors of the East Grove Street nursery, in company with E. Beaumont; in 1869, he took a position on the Leader, as solicitor and collector; subsequently he was local editor, and still later became proprietor and publisher. Under his management the Leader grew in influence, and in the first three years the circulation of the Weekly Leader more than quadrupled; the daily also improved in its appearance and support, and now enjoys the reputation of being one of the best and most reliable publications in the State; the job-printing department is one of the largest and best equipped in Central Illinois, and turns out a large amount of choice work; in fact, the Leader is established on a firm foundation, and its future is as sure as the sunshine; considerable money has been sunk in bringing it to its present sound financial standing, an experience which we may say all newspapers have to pass through before reaching the goal which the ambition of the publishers anticipates.