The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-02-13
How Newspapers are Made.
New SorI. Tribune.
From raskArI'- Neatly

" go right up stairs now, gentlemen. Mr..
Greelcy'- there alone now ?" SAYS King.
We walk through the little gate in the counter,
turn within the doorway on our left, climb a
narrow flight of stairs. and find ourselves in a
small room. ten by fifteen. furnished with n green
carpet, a bed lounge. an open book rack. a high
desk. n writing desk. three arm chairs, a short
legged table. and a small marble sink.
Mr.. Grcelcy's back j. toward IL. He i seated
NJ his de>k. His head l. bent over his writing,
and ms round shoulders are quite prominent. He
i scribb!inE rapidly. y quirc 81 toulScap, ~cu-
pying the only clear space OF his desk. l. melting
beneath his pen. y glance at the manuscript
reveals two dozen kuJtty figures. You may he
sure Of a leader on the National debt tomorrow
morning. The desk Itself Is Il heap Of confusion.
Here l. Mr.. Grcclcy's straw Lat there l. his
handkerchief. In front of him l. a peek of news
PAPER clippings. not neatly rolled up, but loosely
-prawlcl over the desk. At his left q rickctv
pair Of scissors catches a hurried nap. and nj his
right a Iastc-pot and a half broken box of waters
appear - have had a r1ugh-ani-tumble fight.
I'm Odd-lOoking la%pcr-holdcr l. just ready 10
tumble on the floor. IN Old-i1>hiOned sand-boN.
looking like a dilauidatcd hour-glasS. l. half hid
den under a slashel copy Of the New York World.
Mr.. Greeley still sticks 10 waters and sand. instead
of using mucilagc and blotting paper. \ small
drawer, filled with postage stamps and bright
steel pens. has crawled out on the desk. Packa-
gcs Of folded mIssivcs are tucked in the pigeon
holes winking at Us from the back of the desk,
and scores of halt-Opcned letters, mixed with
-cedy brown envelopes. flop lazily about the table.
Old papers lay gashed and mangled about his
chair, the debriS of a literary battlefield. y
clean towel hangs on n rack To his right. y
bound cops Of the Tribune Almanac, from 1888
to lS6S, swings from Il small chain fastened TO Il
staple screw IN the side of his desk, two other
bound volumes stand ON their feet in front of his
nose and two more of the same kind are fast asleep
on the book-rack in the corner. Stray number
of the Almanac peep from every nook. The man
x,b x,.r1l .-nr-x- 81 l.r.glarEs hound ,fInn alp,a-
macs would deserve capital punishment. The
philosopher could better afford 10 lose one of his
legs than to lose his almanacs. The room Is kept
scrupulOusly clean and neat. y waste-paper
basket squats between Mr.. Grecley's legs, but one
half the torn envelopes and boshy communication
flutter 10 the floor instead of being tossed into the
basket. The table at his side is covered with a
stray copy of the New York Ledger, Pdckdrd's
Monthly and a dozen other magazines lay thereon.
Here is an iron garden rake wrapped up in an
hndePeadent. There hangs a pair of handouts
once worn by Old John Brown, and sent to Mr..
Greeley by an enthusiastic admirer ofboth Horace
and John. y champagne basket, filled with old
scrap books and pamphlets, occupies one corner.
\ dirty bust of Lincoln, half hidden in dusty
piles of paper, struggles to be seen on the top of
his desk. y pile of election tables, dirty, ragged
and torn, clipped from some unknown newspaper,
look as if they had half n mind TO Jump down on
the :" Old Mans bald head. y certificate of
life membership in some Tract or Abolition Socie-
ty, and maps of the World, New York and New
Jersey. hang on the wall. 4 rare geological
of quartz rock, weighing about ten
pounds, is ready to roll down Il high desk to the
ilOor ON the first alarm. Dirty pamphlets are as
plentiful as cOckrOaches.
Pen, ink, paper, scissors, and envelopes are in
unfailing demand. The cry, - Mr.. Greeley wants
writing paper - creates cOmmotion in the count
and Mr.. Greeley gets paper quicker
than a hungry fisherman could skin an eel.
Mr.. Greeley can lay Virginia worm fences in
ink faster than any other editor in New York city.
He uses a fountain pen, a present from some
friend. lie thinks n great deal of it, but during
IN experience OF three years has failed 10 learn
the simple principle Of suction without getting
mouth full of ink, and he generally uses it
with an empty receiver. He makes Il dash at the
ink bottle every twenty seconds, places the third
and thumb of his left hand on his paper
and scratches away ut his worm fence like one
lie writes maryelously rapid. Ere
Iucntly the point of his pen pricks through his
sheet, for he writes Il heavy hand, and a snap
follows, spreading inky spots over the paper, re-
-cinbling a woOd-cut pOrtraying the sparks from n
blacksmith hammer. Blots ike mashed spiders
Jr crushed whortleberries occasionally intervene,
but the old veteran dushes them with sand, leav-
inc Il swearing compositor to scratch off the soil.
and dig out the words underneath.
Mr.. Greclcy's manuscript, when seen for the
time, resembles an intricate mass of lunatic
licrOglyphics, or the tracks of Il spider suffering
from dchTiUm TencHS. But, by those accustomed
10 his writing. q remarkable e~Xactncss is observed.
The spelling, punctuation, accented letters, and
,apitalizing are perfect. The old typc-settcrs of
the Office prefer his manuscript above that of any
)thcr editor, for the simple reason that he writes
his article as Inc wishes 1t to appear, and rarely,
ever, cuts or slashcs II proof-shect. And this
punctunlIty Is, IN Il great measure, Il feature of
MS life. lie is always on time, and never waits
or anybody. lie employs no private secretary,
md when lie receives u letter, answers il on the
instant y. ttuffgr tnNt- frivf,l flo r..,.. Al
next outward-bound mail will carry away one of
lis autographs, if he thinks an answer necessary.
He knows we have entered his room, vet he
his writing. The only sound we hear
within his sanctum Is the scratch of his pen. lie
the power of concentrating all the strength of
lis mind ON the subject of his editorial, and will
no attention TO any question, however impor-
until he finishes his sentence. If the cry of
q. Fire - should reSound through the building,
;reelcy would finish his sentence and ring his
,ell before he would leave his room. The SEN
ence complete, he places the loreingcr of his
light hand ut the end of the word last written.
eizes the handle of his pen in his teeth, and looks
lis tormentor full III the face. 1t is Il glance of
inquiry, and the qucstioner intuitively conscious
this fact, repeats his interrogation. Mr.. Gree
ey divines the question before it is half finished,
md answers it pithily and quickly. The pen is
hen snatchcd from his mouth, dexterously dipped
nto his inkstaud, and his fingers again travel
cross his transverse sheet of foolscap like Il
daddy long legs caught in n storm. If his
is impOrtunate, and insists on wasting
lis time, he continues his writing, never looking
Up, and either answers absent-mindedly, or in a
Ow, inpatient tone, tinged with Il peculiar boy
sh nervousness. If his visitor is ungentlemanlv
nough to still continue his teasing opportunities.
storm breaks forth and the uncourteous person
will trot out of the sanctum with an answer ring
nc in his ears that should bring a flush to his
heck.
To Mr.. Greeley time is more valuable than
money or even friendship. When busy, he is no
cSpecter of persons. President or hod-carrier,
General or bOot-black, clergyman or express driv-
r, authoress or apple-wOman-all are treated
like. Eminent men have left his room under the
that they had been deliberately slight
while Horace still slashed away mt his inky
tickets, totally unconscious of any neglect.
II - -. r. NJ