The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-07-08
NE W.YO KAs M 9 4.
From oar own Correspondent


The New York reporter II he would make anything
OF living, must be q very industrious animal He
must never dream OF going to bed until O'Clock in
the morning, and he may account himself exceed
ingly happy II he aocompshes that feat for one
month consecutivey. The salaries OF reporters
being rather limited, not averaging over fifteen dol
lars per week. he write for several papers II he
would do more than keep body and soul together.
He must be continually on his feet II IL is only to
keep his hand in. The fire and police reporter is
especially goaded in this respect. Every paper OF
any pretensions has at least one man known as the
hre-and-poce reporter, whose duty it is to attend
to nothing but the matters indicated by those
two words fire and police. He has to visit all the
police courts every day. and to occupy the reporters
room at police headquarters every night from half
past 10 until half-past l. II, between those
hours, an alarm OF fire sounds, he
will consult his own judgment as to whether
II is necessary to repair TO the scene Of connagra
tioA and woe to him II that judgment misead him.
II he yield TO the allurements OF supneness and pre-
fers settling himself in reporters chair with the
back OF his head against the wall, and his feet
elevated on the desk opposite, well and good I;
only he must bear the brunt OF being eclpsed next
morning. Ten to one some less sleepy hand will
have furtivey repaired thither and devastated a
notebook in the endeavor to create fre-fend SEN
sation To make a hit by flood or fire, must
always be his prominent idea
The reporters room at police headquarters, where
King Kennedy reigns, in Mulberry street, is low,
square room in the south basement. It faces 'front.'
and has two windows protected by thick iron bars.
Its floor is bare; small platform raised a step
high runs along the part of the room nearest the
windows, and the furniture consists solely OF desks
and chairs, and not too many OF either. Each OF
the principal and all Of the unprincipled newspapers
have desks and chairs. Each reporter is furnished
with deaalatch key whereby he lets himself in at
any hour Of the day or night One reporter from
each paper is likewise provided by the Paid Fire De-
narfD nj with fra -hado unfph him. ad
mission within the Gordon in cases OF fire. These
nre-badges are comparatively new institution
ihaving been in use only bout year. The
Aare 'scrumptous" in design, and effect just the pur
pose they were intended to-that of excluding from
aGes all persons not wearing them or other badges
provided by the department. or not otherwise entl-
tied to admission The fire duties of the police and
frNreporters may be defined to extend between two
O'Clock In the afternoon and two in the morning.
Their police duties also often exceedingly
neious At the three principal city police courts
the Tombs, the Jefferson Market, and the Essex
Market-the principal business Of the day is trans
acted between ten and twelve and two and four and
II the reporter is conscientious, he will naturally
wish to know precisely what has taken place at
court during those four hours. 1t also frequently
happens that while one case is being tried
in open court another that has been
good while on the tdpis, and has
grown very complicated and tedious or that ia of a
nature which asks for private inquiry, is being
investigated in the magistrates private room All
these cases must be listened to, and their general
drift understood by the reporter He is thus brought
into intimate familiarity with every species Of crime
There is no vialny perpetrabe by man, woman, or
child but what comes under his cognizance during
long experience. / have often, in bygone days,
watched the silver head OF one Of the HerGIdS
staunchest criminal reporters, and wondered what
that mans notion of human nature was. There he
sits at his DESK perambulates into the magistrates
ofta I'm witt
every species of vice that can be named among men,
and yet remains most unimpeachable and respect
able oil rjon-his silver hair combed virtuously, his
well pared nails as clean penknfe and piety can
make them his shoes beaming with religion quite as
much, am sure, with French polish, and his
black clothes sleek as though the oil from Aaron's
beard had run down them. 1 won't say whether it
is at the Ton bs at the Essex, or the Jefferson he
sits, year after year, but the old owl is bird Of most
rigid virtue, and is generally pairing apples be-
tween sessions.
The reporters have two places of rendezvous
One of them is the reporters room Of police head
quarters and the other is little room leading out OF
the Coroner's Office Here they deal out the gossip
and scandal Of the day, jog each others memories
and borrow one another's notebooks. These
amenities do not belong to all, however. The new
conner has to work himself into the ring" for in the
world OF reporters, in every other world in New
York, there exists "ring." If he cannot accom-
psh this he is not apt to meet with much success,
for the New York reporter is notoriously grasping
and selfish, and will only give to those from whom
he hopes to gain as much or more. This ring Is
very exclusive. 1t embraces some OF the best men
OF the best papers, and no is admitted unless he
proves his right by creating some success" in the
newspaper he represents. Perhaps 1t is well that
this exclusiveness should be preserved since it
stimulates the newcomer, and makes him achieve
more than he otherwise would. Until he is admitted
into that ring he is regarded rather poor
ture. When he does something to exalt his his
merit is recognized and he is received with open
arms.
New York reporters are intensely jealous of Phla-
delphia ntruders, and try to 'scrunch" 'em all they
can. They are jealous of the growing influence OF
Philadelphans this city. At the time of the Young
tmbrogio all the small sptes and nasty scandals OF
Bohemian New York came hoating along the fetid
stream OF the lower order OF reporters.
There are two newspapers around which this
order OF reporters swarms and those two news
papers are the extremes OF one another. One Of
them is the III d9le and the other the Sunday Mer
curry. There are no other papers in New York thai
furnish so much employment to Bohemians-poor
tattered, wornout, journalistic bummers, whose
breaths smell OF Blackwels Island and the station
house, and whose dirtcased fingers shake like digit
atorial aspens. Not but what there are plenty o
talented able, and in every respect gentlemanly EN-
ployes in the reportorial departments OF these
papers, but the assignment system is retained ther
to a great extent and wherever the assignment sys
tenn obtains there will the Bohemians be gathere,
together.
The reporters life In New York is not an easy one
Every dollar he earns represents good solid cubi
work. He may not excel in putting words togethe
grammatcay, but ne is great on getting facts. Whe
you get the reporter who is equally perfect in fac
and phraseology, you get the artist, and you don
get him at all in New York. for directly lie learns
mite these two qualities he oats out of the repertc