President T. F. Campbell wrote much for the Messenger, which is credited with assisting greatly in early Christian education in Oregon. The students of the college also used the paper as a vehicle for their offerings. The paper built up a circulation of nearly 2,000 a week.
Let's take a glance at the first number of the Christian Messenger. Saturday, October 8, 1870, it was a six-column four-page paper, issued from its office under the Good Templars' hall, Monmouth. The announced subscription price was $2 a year, and advertising rates were $2.50 a square (10 lines one column wide, or less) for the first insertion and $1 for each subsequent insertion. The whole paper was characterized by what newspaper men would call the "religious slant." The salutatory indicated it was frankly a religious paper; the need was seen for a denominational medium. "We will give," said the editor, "a faithful history of current events and an im partial history of the times. Partizan politics and sectional issues that might be offensive to any portion of our citizens we will studiously avoid. All unlovely personalities and individual controversies, not involving a general principle, will be carefully excluded. No man will be permitted to cater to a vindictive spirit, or gratify his malice or hatred against a brother or fellow-citizen through the columns of this paper." The Messenger, in this connection, promised amends for any harm done, unintentionally, in this paper. "We will try to distinguish between the man and the principle he advocates." The paper promised not to oppose a good cause because advocated by a bad man, or vice versa.
All of which is pretty good gospel to this day, as instructions to young reporters and country correspondents.
An editorial advocated adequate organization by the legislature of the common school system in Oregon; another editorial supported the resolution in the legislature asking Congress to pass an act where by the 500,000 acres of land granted at statehood for internal improvement or, in certain cases, for education, be applied exclusively to educational purposes.
In another column T. F. Campbell, editor-educator, recites that in the year he had been in Monmouth he opened Christian College (September 6), made 175 sermons, on 53 texts, four lectures on education, and one on temperance. A busy man!
In 1876 D. T. Stanley became editor and publisher. The publication day was changed to Friday. The next year the name became the Pacific Christian Messenger and the publication day was changed to Saturday. D. T. Stanley had associated with him Thomas Porter. In 1878 Mr. Campbell was back as editor with Miss Mary Stump as publisher. Editors during the eighties were Mr. Stanley, again, Bruce Wolverton, J. F. Floyd (1884), then Stanley again. In 1886 the paper was known as the Christian Herald. Soon afterward the paper
