National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1873-02-07
In a Newspaper Onlce.

place. A correspondent who straye,
into New York Office tells as the fol
lowing story: In the city editors room
are some ten or fifteen or twenty desk
AS the case may be. At half Of thcs,
are men, notebooks beside them, serb
bling rapidly and busily One, NJ tn
guide points out, is transcribing hi
shorthand notes, lie has been attend
ing the meeting Of the Bar Association
and after standing in crowd for NJ
hour or two, unable to obtain seat
and forced to take his notes ms best h,
could, IL PR pairing the speeches which
were delivered, TO be read eonnectedly
on the morrow. Another is engaged in
apparently the same employment: He
is one OF the law reporters, has been at
the General Term from ten A. NJ. until
four p. NJ, taking photographic notes
OF the evidence and the legal declama-
tons IN the case of the People VS.. Ed
ward ). Stokes, andis just finishing his
report. " Merely II matter of time and
drudgery / presume p says the visitor.
" Well, you. know the reply is, I'm
order to report legal techn cGlties, it is
necessary to have some acquaintance
with them beforehand. And though n
lawyer, or even Judge, sometimes errs
from Misunderstanding report must
not contain a mistake" Just beyond
are two young men hard at work "a the
rest One is describing the scene at
the ruins of the terrible fire in Centre
street, where excavations for the buried
victims are in progress; the other il
writing ont the testimony taken ut
the Coroner's inquest on the single body
VIII Gu had been found.
In an alcove adjoining the room are
two desks. The larger is covered with
manuscripts. At the lett is n tall iron
spindle on which are impaled the vari-
Gus reports which have come in during
the day which are not already in the
hands of the compositors. Large sheets
of foolscap written closely with mn ac-
count of the proceedings of the Cham
Der of Commerce; large sheets of yell
low manifold" ti,sue-paper containing
the reports of the City Sanitary Inspec-
tor and the Fire Marshal; smaller ones
of white from Jersey City and West
chester and Long Island; reports of the
Of the Brooklyn Bridge Com
pany, and the trial of Dr.. Irish, and so
ON seemingly Unfortunately. Before this
desk sits the city editor, pencil in hand,
deep in mass Of copy" which to the
visitors surprise the guide says some-
times appears in quite different shapes
from that in which it reaches the desk.
" You see, y he explains, call reporters
are not thorough journalists. and biassed
Of partisan statements might creep into
their reports. so it has to be edited
with some care. Besides, its importance
has to be calculated, not abstractly
merely, but in relation to the rest of the
matter which the morrow's paper is to
and It's length and prominence
determined accordingly. Then it has
10 be headed and 'subheaded' and
made attractive in that way" In an
other room are a number of sage and
'edate editorial writer's commenting
iearnedly upon the news brought in by
'eporters and the wires. At one end, !
= it'll a mass OF foreign papers and peri !
)dicals covering his desk and living
about his chair, sits the foreign editor, |
Watching for details of intelligence |
whose outlines only have been transmit !
ed by cable. Merlin il the evchonne
,dtor with stock f domestic iournais
'eaching re lrly to his head beside him
,ach of wi ich must I've ooraf,liv ovan,
ned. Opening q door the privileged |
NO enter the library, where sits the lit |
'rary editor surrounded by the latest
magazines and books, of which he is
Tong his best to say something kind
V. Passing by the door of the man
gng editors room, and that Of the
dltor-in-ch ito which none are ant
o gain admission unless urgent bust
ess requires it, but whose occupants
he guide might explain-are engaged
luch IN the same way as the generals
1 an army are supposed to be on the
We OF battle; and entering another de-
artment-supposing the hour to be
tie i'll the ovening-the busiest scene
all is met with. The men at the diff
erent desks are the night editor in
barge, the night news editor the sum
larlzer, an editor whose duty it is to
upon intelligence received up
} the hour of going to press. and one
: two others to be on hand in case. of
nergency. The night editors desk Is o.
'vered with proofs, which he ponders t
it'll no little perplexitv. eudeayorinc 5
perform the difficult task of putting
yelye columns of matter into six col u
ms of "form." For, full as the waste il
lakets are of unimportant news. and J
refully as condensation has been per- /
rmed, there is always too much which
must go in" and the turtles" are not =
astic. b
At the night news editors desl, dos b
Ivy constantly received written IN
,.ts Of ,,.o,,4 ,,,;,l - an y