The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-05-08
A GLIMPSE OF THE NEWsPAPER WORLD.

= There are few outside the journalistic pro-
fession who have not felt considerable trepida-
ton on entering the editorial rooms of one of
Gotham's great dailies. The merchants Office
and the bankers private room are less formi-
dable than the editorial sanctum, for the sim
ple reason that journalists, as class are the
most irritable men in creation, and dislike
being interrupted when in the mediosas of
some profound political article. And then,
again, it's hardly in the range of humanity to
find sufficiently sympathizing temperament
70 take as much interest in every axe brought
TO be ground as the possessor of the article;
tberefore. in time the mildest-mannered man
that ever had to bear with bores becomes brusuue
and laeonic. The visitor to the editorial rooms
of the Haald should keep the epigrammatioal
before his mental vision, and be as concise as
possible in his conversations this mode of pro-
eeeding will simplify matters wonderfully, and
leave the editorial temper unruffled. Suppose
the visitor is an uptown exquisite, who is used
to coming down Broadway in a stage to Wall
street about once in three months, to draw his
quarterly income, then, the purlieus of Nassau
street is to him terra iRcogaitd, and as he
winds his way past the Horse Fair, and escapes
without being kicked while admiring the arehi-
tectural beauties of the ornate Post Office he
will suddenly come upon the sensational bulle-
tin of the EUeRing Post, around which gaping
crowd of quidnuncs are clustered. ElboWing
his way through this obstacle, he passes along
a narrow pavement lined mainly by saloons
and lawyers offices. After passing Fulton
street he may safely be said to tread on the
"Printer's Paradise" On this corner arises.
amid cloud OF steam, the grim old Herald
Building that looks as if it had been built of
the bricks Of Babel, and might have been used
by the named tribes of the aborigines as a
Polyglot bureau. The visftsr, on entering the
building by the Nassau street entrance winds
his way up a narrow uncovered stairway to
the side of the large advertising Office, where a
score of clerks are bu,ily engaged attending to
advertisements, which have to be classified
with care, as this journal has reduced adver-
tising to science, and is particularly solicitous
that cooks and coachmen should be classified
on the soundest principles of natural history
and newspaperology. Leaving this, the
mechanical department, where the employees
require no more intellect than is sufficient to
drive quill, the visitor reaches the head of
the first staircase, trodden time out of mind by
breathless reporters, eager to dash on paper
the news of the day, especially if it be big
thing on which they can spread themselves,
and finds himself in a large, dingy apartment,
fianked on one side by pile of paper, and
on the other with windows opening into Mas
sau street, by eight or ten oak desks, each
one marked with the name of the present
occupant. In the centre is a long table hav-
ing drawers that contain the yellow paper on
which the reports are usually written. This
paper has a peculiar orange tinge, and is
supposed to be less trying to the eyesight
than the ordinary white, and bundles of it
are generally lying about the desks. At
the extreme left-hand corner sits lugubrious
darkey, who is grand usher and footman ex-
traordinary to the Herald. After informing
this plenipotentiary of the name of the person
whom the visitor wishes to see, the colored
Mercury wings his way down a dark alley that
seems to court burglary and garroting, to any
of the editorial rooms in which the expected
recipient of visitor is located. Immediately
adjoining the former apartment is the Office of
the Managing Editor, which, in its turn, is the
ante-chamber to the SGnctum SdnctOraaH devoted
exclusively tothe Messrs. Bennett. DR.. Hosmer,
the present Managing Editor, is here seated,
and has quite pleasant, cheerful apartment,
where he can examine the editorials and
other copy during the leisure time between
visitors calls, which time must be quite in
fnitesimal on some days. The doctor is
gentlemanly and affable, and has that je ne
Sdis quOi air of the journalist about him. He
must have pleasant times of it occasionally,
listening to inventive geniuses that want puts
direct for the offspring of their prolific brain,
and who insist on giving an unabridged ex-
PLANTATION OF all its benefits and Beauties or he
has to bear the brunt of abuse that criticized
actors or ridiculed politicians may gratuitously
heap upon his innocent head. Now it's an
aspiring scribbler that wants to Jump
nstanter into the editorial chair, or
gifted lady with a contribution that
she modestly says 'might help to fill up
the paper" All ! my dear madam, that
filling up is a fallacy, alas too much INDUCED
in by the outside world, who think a journalist
is in chronic state of hunger from a paucity
OF news. To our knowledge as much as from
forty to sixty columns of written matter have
accumulated in two or three days. DR.. Hos.
mer has to treat all these people politely, and
get rid of them in any way his aifability may
suggest, not often an easy matter with mono
manacs, and like Poe's Craven" he mus
often wish to see them ''never lnore.' All
there are several of the editors going into thu
sanctum. What are they going to do there
Bully the proprietor into increasing their sala
ries Oh, no, they are convened to a cabine
council generally held once a day between
twelve and one, in which they receive in.
structions as to the Tone ETC., of the nex
days editorials. Here it is, according tC
Horace Greeley, that Mr.. Bennett tosses III
the penny to indicate the policy of the paper
the head and the tail representing the Presi
dent and Congress respectively. We are in
clined to think that this is a myth, promul
gated by those who do not understand tn
Ga;,ous of the Herald which, being non-pal
4isan has endeavored, like the London Time
to be the reflex of public opinion; it makes
good story, however, and therefore ought nj
10 he totally discredited; nor should the or
obo,t tbe pentlaman who desired q pOsito