The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-06-21

ludt ms ludt out lew StuPo( Hcsisa are
able to careful reading, mature reflection. and
elegant composition, those Of an editor, especl
ally an editor OF daily paper This fact, even
where understood, is but rarely acknowledged by
the reader. The public has mercy for the
short comings Of an editor. He is expected TO be
wise, yet witty; learned, yet eloqusnti profound,
yet brilliant. He must always be accurate, yet
never delay his judgment. lfa bill is land before
Congress, he is looked to for an opinion before
the telegraph has finished reporting the provI-
sions Ii railroad is projected, he must immedi-
ately point out lis advantages its cost, and lis de-
merits If a revolution breaks out abroad, he Is
questioned as to its probable consequences, and
condemned, in the end, if he has not foreseen
every contingency. When he is right, he scarcely
receives credit; when he is wrong, he is censured
without end The pulpit orator prepares his
sermon in the quiet of his closet. He may refer
to his library for a doubtful fact, and revise his
composition in after hours. Even the lawyer has
usually the respite of a night, in which to collect
his thoughts and arrange his arguments. But the
editor must speak on the spur of the moment.
He cannot stop either to fortify his memory, to
digest his opinions, or TO polish his style tie
dngs off his sheets of manuscript as the news
comes in, or the cIamora of the compassion In
crease, and like thorough bred in desperate
race, he is under whip and spur from the starting
point TO the goal.
But this is not the whole. The editor must
write, not merely before he has maturey reflected,
but often when anguish or sorrow prevent his
~ L.. h. bad
cold, his head may throb with pain, his tongue
may be parched with fever, he may be unnerved
by excessive labor, yet he must write, write,wri
He is, as it were, chained to wheel that whirls
and whirls forever. He must leave the wife OF
his bosom on a sick bed, even when uncertain
whether or not he shall find her alive his return
He must come from the coffin Of his child, from
the tears and agony of the bereaved mother, and
while his heart is almost breaking, and his brain
Keeling in the effort to think he must write, write,
write. Oh. il the public but knew with what
suffering it is often served If the secrets OF but
single day Of newspaper life, in one of our great
cities could blaze out in letters of fire behind the
ordinary type, what revelations there would be J
revelations of mental torture and physical pain.
Oh tdlluE nerves duu WEaifS" SyS "Shss 49," S-
pecuniary distress and even positive want For
the editorial profession alas does not always
reqnite its followers. There is no time perhaps,
when our great cities do not contain one or more
editors who struggle, with failing hopes, ana
empty purses, to establish a newspaper for them
Selves or who are compelled, by savage necessity,
to write for mean salary that cannot always be
paid.
The life OF an editor is comparatively short.
He wears out before his time. The exactIng toll
he pursues, which is rarely, or never broken by
a solitary day Of relaxation, skaters his nerves,
exhausts his vital energies, and makes him grey
haired almost in middle age. To him the course
of nature is reversed and night is turned to day.
He labors when other men sleep. Nothing tells
sooner on the constitution than this. The close
room in which he usually sits, the sitting odors
of damp newspapers from the mails, and the
binding glare Of the gasghts increase the wear
and tear upon his system, that he is fortunate
member of his profession il he does not give out
entirely before he is fifty years old. Nothing but
distinguished success, and the consequent ability
to tighten his toll by employing substitutes, can
save him from this Irresistible doom. Some live,
indeed, to drag miserable old age in poverty
and mental labor; some become decrepit in intel
lect; and some-God knows too many-by SEEK
ing in stimulants aids to labor, go down to drunk
ard s graves, or live degraded menials.
: Happy the editor, who, by strict economy in
the noon Of life, or brilliant talents in his profess
sion, secures for himself a comfortable old age
But from what we know of brethren in the
craft, we fear that the majority fall sacrifice,
either to their own errors, to their of ability
or to misfortunes beyond their control II is
hard life--there is none Philadelphia
Erening Bulletin