James Barrett Swain

            OBITUARY RECORD.
          Gen. James B. Swain.
 Gen. James B. Swain died at his home in
Waller Avenue, Sing Sing, N.Y., early yes-
terday morning. He had been confined to
the house about ten days with heart fail-
ure.
 He was born in New-York City July 30,
1820, but had lived most of his life in
Sing Sing. He was the son of James and
Jerusha Everts Swain. He leaves a wife
and three sons, James, Chellis, and Jo-
seph. On Dec. 25, 1892, he and his wife
celebrated their golden wedding, having
rounded out fifty years of married life.
 Gen. James B. Swain began life, after
leaving school, as an apprentice in a print-
ing office, in 1834. Horace Greeley worked
with him. Later, Gen. Swain and Mr.
Greeley went into partnership, but separat-
ed in 1840. The firm was known as Horace
Greeley & Co. They started The Log Cabin.
When The Tribune was started, Gen.
Swain continued with Mr. Greeley, and aft-
erward left to go into the printing busi-
ness, and opened an office at Barclay and
Greenwich Streets. He soon drifted back
into newspaper work, and edited the life
and letters of Henry Clay.
 He went to Sing Sing to live in 1848, and
purchased the Hudson River Chronicle
from Edmund G. Sutherland, which he ed-
ited and published until 1849, when he re-
turned to The Tribune in the capacity of
proofreader. He was later advanced to city
editor. During his connection with the
Tribune, a strong attachment sprang up be-
tween Gen. Swain and Henry J. Raymond.
When the New-York Times was started,
Mr. Raymond made Gen. Swain city editor.
He remained with The Times in different
capacities until Mr. Raymond died. While
city editor of The Times he initiated the
"correspondent system," now so extensive-
ly used. For a time he was The Times's
Albany correspondent, his nom de plume be-
ing "Leo."
 During the Fremont campaign he started
The Free State Advocate, a political paper.
This was followed by another venture, The
Albany Statesman. In 1860 he went to
Washington as correspondent for The New-
York Times, and while there became one of
President Lincoln's warm friends.
 In 1861 he raised a body of cavalry known
as "Scott's Nine Hundred," was chosen
Colonel, and with his command went to the
front. In 1865 he was on Gov. Fenton's
staff, and there earned his title of General.
 Gen. Swain was the first man who sent
"dummy dispatches" over the telegraph
wires in order to hold them for his exclu-
sive use, and thus shut out other corre-
spondents. This was done while he was
correspondent for The Tribune, the occasion
being the opening of the Erie Railway
through to Dunkirk. He and Bayard Tay-
lor were working together, and there was
only one wire available for press matter.
Gen. Swain saw that unless something was
done they might be shut out, and in order
to hold the wire he got the operator a copy
of the Bible to send. The operator wanted
to know what part of it to send. He was
told to begin at the beginning and send
straight through. When Gen. Swain and
Bayard Taylor had their copy ready, the
Bible was interrupted long anough to send
the message, and then work on the Bible
was resumed. In this way the paper se-
cured a "beat."
 At another time Gen. Swain and Henry
J. Raymond reported a celebration at
Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, Mass. There
were no telegraph wires in those days and,
in order to save time, a composing room
was improvised on the steamer in which
the two were to return to New-York. On
the way down they wrote up their "story,"
and by the time they reached the pier in
New-York the matter was all in type and
locked in forms. These were quickly loaded
and a truck and hurried to the office and
"run off."
 His funeral will take place to-morrow
and the interment will be in the family
plot in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.