Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-07-22
NEW STYLE OF EDITORIAL WRITING.

The people of the interior have but an
indirect interest in the "new charter
campaign now progressing in San Fran
cisco, but our contemporaries there are di-
vided by an alignment which has SO long
stood given test that the subject has be-
come one of amusing interest, and recent
manifestations by those journals in the
pending local campaign call especial atten-
ton to it at this time. 1t would seem
that these papers are SO utterly unable to
agree upon any question, however trivial,
and so persistent is this disagreement that
people who look on dispassionately are in
clined to believe it is referable to other
causes than those arising out of the particu-
lar questions discussed-in short, they very
naturally conclude that these journals have
agreed to disagree ON all matters. Standing
off at a distance, and looking on at the
charter" fight, sometimes feeling in
clined to take hand for Betsy and some
times for the hear, we of the interior note
in the savagery of the affair new develop
ment which awakens our curiosity, if it
does not engage our deep interest, and it is
found in the form of new style of edi-
torial writing by an ardent advocate of the
new charter" This new style is the
conversational. 1t presents itself in the
form of dialogue, and takes on not
a little of dramatic interest. Invari-
ably these dialogues are between two
citizens-one the advocate and the other
the opponent of the new charter-and
with uniformity the fellow who is for
overcomes and demolishes the fellow who
is against. These conversational editorials
always open in manner suggestive
of the elegance which marks the
Johnny s-yer-dog" style of talk.
The fellow against always halls the fellow
who is for, and asks him conundrums,
which the latter cracks with perfect ease,
and winds up by demolishing his fellow
citizen go completely that he is converted
out of hand, cries "quits, and is inconti-
nently taken into the new charter camp.
Every morning, with remarkable regu-
larity, the straw citizens meet, and every
morning the editorial dialogue records the
capture of one of the enemy. The
pitiful thing about it all, and that which
excites our sympathy, is the vacuity of
thought which marks the stalk of the
chap who is against the charter; he is
never possessed of much of an idea he
seems to be in maze of doubt, and alto
gether ignorant of what is due him in de-
bate while the charter man generally has
some "power " to his tongue, and is given
some force in his argument. This con-
stantly putting the sharp fellow on the
track of consummate idiots savors of inhu-
manity and awakens our indignation in
the interest of fair play, and we insist that
once in while the paper in question shall
set its charter sharp after fellow on the
other side not wholly a fool. AS it is now,
the anti-charter fellows, in the fiat dia-
logues, dignifed by the editorial garb, H.
variably are so soon cornered, so completely
shut up, and SO utterly out of powder, that
they remind US of Dundreary, who, when he
could think of nothing else TO say, asked
the girl with whom he was conversing
if she could wag her ear. Should
the anti-charter chap PROFOUND this in
quiry, however, it is probable, to use the
expressive slang, that he would suffer
mayhem of that member by its being
"chawed off, for the dialogues indicate
now that the charter fellow is getting
frantic, and lead us to the conclusion that
he expects to be beaten in the end, and
that his friends, the charter advocates,
look upon their cause as lost. However,
if the thing is to go on, we suggest to the
journal in question that if it can't be fair,
it may be generous, and now and then
introduce an anti charterer who is not alto
gether an ass. But for our part we've seen
quite enough of this Johnny bow's-yer.
dog" new style of editorial, and submit
that it is worthy only of g patent-medicine
circular, and that it is utterly devoid of
reason or sense, and in no wise calculated
to convince or confirm.