Death of a General

For five minutes one morning last week the Seattle Times stopped its presses, silenced all typewriters and telephones. Death had come, at 62, to Brigadier General Clarance Brettun Blethen, best known of Pacific Northwest publishers.

Bought by his father just before the Klondike Gold Rush, the Times grew with Seattle (circ. 103,434). Blethen wrote its main editorials, originated its layouts, cartoons, slashing civic campaigns, invented several of its printing processes.

Outside the Times his sole interest was the Washington National Guard, which he made one of the best in the country. Gruff, bombastic, generous to his employes, he was famed for his feuding. Once, in 1926, he engaged the late Colonel William Mitchell in violent debate on the future of airplanes. He said that Mitchell made an ass of himself in declaring that planes would decide the next war, that Mitchell's prophecy that troops would be carried to battle by air was a "howling joke."

Biggest Blethen battle was with Hearst, who invaded Seattle with the Post-Intelligencer (bought in 1921), spent money like water. Carefully laying his counterattack, General Blethen hired new feature writers, artists, fought Hearst dollar for dollar. Hearst lost. When John Boettiger, the President's son-in-law, became publisher of the P.I., Publisher Blethen ignored him as no threat at all.

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