About The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892
Woodstown, N.J. (1884-1892)

The Monitor

The first issue of The Monitor was published on February 1, 1884, in Woodstown, N.J. It was a four-page, five column newspaper. Published by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Woodstown, The Monitor had a banner that proclaimed, "With Malice Towards None; With Charity for All." The first editorial stated that the paper would "be published in the interest of truth and morality." An initial subscription was one dollar a year, though for the first three months the cost was fifty cents for a year's subscription.

The Woodstown Woman's Christian Temperance Union was established in 1883 and was part of a growing movement of women dedicated to moral and social improvement. The Woman's Christian Temperence Union (WCTU) was originally established in Ohio in 1874, and Frances Willard, a women's rights advocate, became president of the national movement in 1879. She extended the group's interest beyond sobriety and prohibition to include suffrage and labor issues, growing the WCTU to the largest women's organization in the world by 1890. As Lillie Deveraux Blake stated in the April 27, 1888 issue of The Monitor, "The cause of morality requires your presence at the polls, the cause of temperance needs your voice in the choice of public officials, the cause of home demands that the mothers have some political control. In the name then of your sacred duties as women and as citizens insist upon your rights as legal voters."

The Monitor was established out of a dispute with another local Woodstown newspaper, the Woodstown Register, which claimed to be a supporter of temperance but was found lacking by the members of the WCTU, due to its support of local hotels which served liquor, the printing of bawdy, pro-drinking rhymes and the closing of its columns against the WCTU.

While The Monitor answered to the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Woodstown, it was not managed and edited by the group, though they did provide articles and content. The WCTU hired a committee, the Monitor Publishing Company, and a manager and editor, Edward Wallace Humphreys, to be responsible for the business and day-to-day running of the paper. Edward W. Humphreys was also an accomplished photographer who established a photography and postcard business, documenting life in south Jersey from 1895 to 1930; he also later managed the Woodstown Opera House, bringing moving pictures to Woodstown.

One of the founders of The Monitor was Edward W. Humphreys' father, Edward Bilderback Humphreys, who was a prominent Woodstown businessman and ardent supporter of the temperance cause. His business ventures included the E.B. Humphreys & Co. general store, a source of much advertising revenue for The Monitor. The paper was originally published in Camden in the offices of the Temperance Gazette. In 1884, the paper was printed on a large Cottrell press and the office also had three smaller job presses and an assortment of new type. By 1887, the newspaper had a circulation of 750.

As a temperance newspaper The Monitor advocated for individual abstinence from alcohol and constitutional prohibition for New Jersey. Page one of the newspaper was typically filled with poetry, sayings, and household tips of "things worth remembering." Moral tales and customs from around the world completed this page. Page two included the editorial, news about drinking and intemperance, along with the progress of the prohibition cause in New Jersey and other states. Articles about crime, violence or mishaps always emphasized the alcohol that was viewed as being at the root of these events. Page three featured a directory of church services, a train timetable, library hours and local news, along with births and deaths. Page four was advertisements.

The paper opposed bars, taverns, the high license, and the brewing industry and worked to prevent taverns and hotels from serving liquor. These efforts made the group enemies in the town, and on April 4, 1886, The Monitor office was egged because of its opposition to license signing.

The Monitor was last published on January 29, 1892 when it was sold to W. H. Compton.

Provided by: Rutgers University Libraries