GCJQVA Music City Audition #7 Cup of Joe (Traditional Cache) in North Carolina, United States created by wimseyguy

GCJQVA ▼

A cache by wimseyguy Message this owner

Hidden : 6/19/2004

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

Nashville, TN has become a Mecca of sorts for serious cachers. There are over 600 caches hidden within 20 miles of city center. The Music City Audition series of caches is designed to help worthy pilgrims prepare for their trip. Please be sure to rehide this cache exactly as you found it so seekers following you can have the same experience you did.

One of this Capital City's leading citizens of the early 20th century was Josephus Daniels. His home was across the street from this cache. It became a Mason's Lodge which has since been torn down to make way for progress.The word "bystander" could never be applied to Josephus Daniels. Daniels emerged from war-torn eastern North Carolina to establish a popular and influential newspaper and serve in high government offices. Daniels' career was marked by straightforward words and actions that sometimes offended opponents but left no doubt as to where Daniels stood. The influence of Josephus Daniels may still be seen today.In 1892 Daniels purchased the News & Observer of Raleigh and merged it with the State Chronicle and the North Carolinian. The News & Observer became extremely popular and prosperous. Daniels used the paper to advance the Democratic Party position on the issues of the day. The Democratic Party of the late 19th century was resentful of the Republican party and especially of the newly emancipated blacks. Daniels was also a proponent of the Jim Crow laws that were rampant at that time. The editorials of the News & Observer and their sensationalizing of crimes committed by blacks reinforced white supremacist views that neither party disputed. In this environment, Josephus Daniels and the News & Observer flourished, and the paper became the first newspaper in the world to have more subscribers than the population of the city in which it was based.

Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst offered Daniels one million dollars for the News & Observer. Daniels refused the offer. He continued to use the paper as an instrument for political influence battling the trusts, American expansion in the Philippines, Southern railroad companies who governed politics in the South, and others. Daniels' paper quickly earned the moniker "Nuisance and Disturber." One railroad company funded a competing paper in hopes of putting Daniels and the News & Observer out of business. Daniels' paper frequently sparked dislike, but the publisher is quoted as saying, "Dullness is the only crime for which an editor ought to be hung."

As a member of the Democratic Executive Committee, Daniels and the News & Observer promoted Woodrow Wilson for the presidency in the election of 1912. Wilson was victorious and in return for Daniels' service and support, Wilson appointed him Secretary of the Navy. Daniels served in this office from 1913 through the war years to 1921. He was the last cabinet official to vote for a declaration of war against the Central Powers in 1917. Daniels appointed the young Franklin Delano Roosevelt as his Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Daniels supported creation of shipboard vocational schools for the training of enlisted men, attacked corrupt military contractors of armor plate, and increased the number of navy chaplains. He was also responsible for eliminating beer and wine onboard naval ships.

According to legend, the term "Cup of Joe" began when sailors drank coffee in deference to Josephus' proscription of alcohol. In 1932, Daniels was encouraged to seek the governorship of North Carolina, but refused. He endorsed and supported his old assistant, Franklin Roosevelt, for the presidency. After FDR's election, Daniels accepted the post of Ambassador to Mexico.
Josephus Daniels died on January 15, 1948. During the course of his life, Daniels operated several newspapers, culminating with the News & Observer, which is still in operation today. He served in public office with a strong belief in improving conditions for labor and the working class. The story of Daniels' life closely mirrors that of North Carolina during the same time period. From the catastrophe of Civil War to national prominence, Daniels was a prime example of the strengths and weaknesses that marked the progress of his state.