The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-04-20
From the American Newspaper Reporter
ECCENTRICITIEs OF EDITORS.

| STAMPS Dlh!stli 81 ClcdliN III piiit tHat
the observer has in him a first-class op
portunity to get at some of his charac.
leristics. Editors, too, lead so nervous
and exciting an intellectual life that il
is likely they really have more contra.
dictions, whimsicalities and oddities
than men in other walks of life The
writer has searched out few Of their
peculiarities, and give them here with
the simple assurance that all the exam,
plies given are genuine.
A noticeable feature in the profession
is the names they often throw at each
other. These expressions are oitenest
INDUCED in by the Southern and West
ern press, and from them pass, in the
form of a two or three line paragraph,
from Maine to California. Commenc.
ing with the comparatively mild express
sions of "A Walking Nihility," "An
Ante Mortem Dead Beat IAN Old
Sausage Cover "A Designating Ma
lignant," or AN llliterate Hedge,
Priest they often get on little more
steam, and come out with the bogus
biography OF a rival, which they head
"Jackassativeness, or "A Mean Swind.
ler' IAN Editorial Cormorant, or "A
Word About Live Carton. OF late,
editors do not seem to 60 So deeply into
into the business OF calling each other
very wicked names, yet we sometimes
see such expressions a. "Nil!ainous
Truck.and-D. cker Fellows, and that
"Scoundreliy and Ridiculous Old Pud
ding Pan OF Podunk." The following
paragraph in this vein, from recent
paper, was doubtless considered tr-
umph 10y its writer:
"The mass OF condemned slum ex-
tracted from Railroad street culvert NJ
low water, packed into the shape Of a
man, and placed in the editorial chair,
amid the filth of the hovel in which the
scavenger sheet down in the hollow is
printed, is shaking his carrion paws at a
party OF ladies and gentemen-who are
so far his superiors that they would not
soil their shoes by wiPing them upon
his filthy carcase-because he did not
get dead-head tickets to the entertain
ment now held at the Union Hall for
the suffering poor"
Is it surprising that we see lines like
these:
"The season for editors to call each
other NANCY. sneaking, mongrel
whelps,' has opened in Indiana.
Or, like these:
Editors are taking advantage OF the
coming State election to call each other
Crooks d,necked old Wire-pulling
Thieves and Bastards.
Sometimes, however, the namecall-
ing takes a much pleasanter vein, and
bv creating a laugh, appears less dis
gushing in the eyes OF the reading pub
lie. One editor in Indiana stated that
a rSal who was coming to town to start
an opposition paper was pretty good
fellow, but "parted his hair IN the nit
de- Every man in the place who
could leave his store went to the depot
to see the new conner, but instead of
seeing the spruce and dandified young
man they expected, they saw an elderly
and rather shabby gentleman who, as
he raised his hat in honor Of the
crowd, they found to be as bald as a
billiard ball His hair raS parted
in the middle and the parting was four
inches wide. The incident created such
a laugh that the new publisher could
not stand it, so he departed next day
Tor pastures new.
Editors often speak OF themselves in
a funny way. One would think by some
of these expressions that they were
made to fill ont a column. For in
stance:
Sometimes We feel Ike a vial OF pep
pcrsasS, aud then again like molasses
lug; never like IA tar barrel.
Here is an example of refreshing
irankness, which does not often occur.
The editor seems to have a Just esti-
mate of his ability:
I'VE esteem ourseit better on con-
unirum than a philosophical para
graph.
We find here and there funny speci-
men OF "the dun direct" An editor is
always frankest when asking for money.
This is a gentle hint:
Money is close, but not close enough
to reach. Nobody gets what is due
them. We doubt it even the devil
gets his dues
Here Is one with little more steam
on:
odd fence rails wanted at this office
on subscription"
And this one is decisive enough:
mo paper next week, unless some
thing turns up to raise some money.
But Mr.. J. j. Barton, who signs him:
self "defunct publisher OF the NeU Era,
at Carbonate, Illinois, takes the palm.
He presents his ex-patrods with por,
trait exhibiting his sadly attenuated
proportions, and says:
II want you to liquidate! I've not
had a square meal, drink Of good
whiskev, nor decent chew of tobacco
for so long time that l have forgotten
how they taste. l have boarded round so
long that my acquaintance have shook
me. The store-keepers smile in my
face when | ask trust for a peck Of po-
tatoes or a pound of Goldfish. My wife
is growing cross and jaws me fearfully;
NV children are crying for bread. /
have made up my mind that ! can't
stand this sort OF thing any longer
Money | must have. Ifyou do not
shell out by the lst of April, I'm
blasted ii | don't sue you, that all 2
On love matters and affairs which