1866-1871.
La Tribune Francaise made its bow October 22, 1866. It was published by a society, of which G. Morhard seems to have been the head. This society, it its fierce democracy, had not president, secretary or other officers, as implied authority was aristocratic. The Tribune paid more attention than any of its predecessors to local and American politics. It sought to be a recognized power in the local Republican party, but beyond obtaining a small share of the “political printing” of the day for itself, it accomplished nothing in the interests of the French colony (so-called) of St. Louis. It really spoke only for the socialistic and red-Republican element, and its circulation was very limited. It suspended early in the seventies.
(From the Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri by Alexander N. De Menil, 1902).
