Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-04-11
soME FACTS ABOUT EDITORS AND RE
PoRTERS.

From NJ Halstead's Tales for Little Folks."l
A few days ago I promised to tell you
something about reporters. You have
learned already what easy times they have;
but often those who have the best chances
in this world do not seem to appreciate the
fact, and sometimes reporter gets this
way and thinks his salary ought to be
raised. So he speaks to the editor about
it. Editors are very liberal men.
Many of them do not think any more OF
dollar than some men do of their lives,
but they know that if the reporters were
paid too much they would save their money
and buy the paper, and then the editors
would have to be like the Chinese they
would have to go. So, in self-protection,
they are obliged to keep the salaries of re-
porters at S., 900 or $4,000 year. They
hate to do this, but self representation is the
first law of editors as we'll as of nature.
Many editors preserve themselves so well
that the reporters never buy them out.
But editors are kind-hearted. Mr.. Dana,
of the New York Sun, once heard that a
horse which had been very fast, but which
everybody thought played out, was going
to be sold at auction by his master. So he
sent around and bought the poor horse for
"a, 000 The next summer he put him in
big race, "just for fun, - everybody said.
There were a great many noted horses in
this race, and men bet large sums of money
on them, Mr. Dana's horse only bringing
81 in $50 pools. But he won the race and
all the money that was bet. This is called
"paralyzing the pool-box." So you see
that the fairies are kind to those who do
good.
Some good stories are told about report
ers. Once a young man who had gradu-
ated at Harvard College, and was a
splendid scholar in baseball and rowing,
came to large western city and hired out
to be reporter. The next day che editor
sent him to an inquest. He came back to
the office at night with enough manuscript
to make book The editor gave this to
an experienced reporter and said: "Cut
that down to stickful" After while
he went over to where the experienced
reporter was sitting and said: "How did
that new duck manage with the inquest ?"
"Oh," said the experienced reporter, "he
got everything except the verdict" And
then the other reporters that were sitting
around laughed heartily, but the editor
only let drop few words of tropical
warmth, and discharged the new reporter,
who was very much surprised to see that
the paper continued to come out regularly
after be had left it to its fate.
New reporters always tell everybody
that they are journalists, but the old
ones call them deck hands. New report
ers always think they know everything,
and in some offices it is customary to put
dish of salt on new reporters desk. This
is delicate way of telling him that he is
too fresh. Reporters never like to hurt
anybody's feelings. Once an editor in
Cincinnati hired reporter in Chicago to
do some work for his paper. After awhile
the reporter forgot to send anything about
an important matter, which made the
editor very angry. So he sent a dispatch
to the reporter, saying, You are dis
charged Why did you get left on that
murder? Answer" When the reporter
read this he laughed to himself and S; id ::
81 wonder if that old plum thinks he can
get the best of me-" So he wrote the
longest kind of answer, explaining all
about the matter, and closed by saying he
had been discharged, because he dishked
to be connected with a paper that allowed
itself to get scooped. 1t took l, $50 words
to say this, and, as it was sent by tele-
graph, the Cincinnati editor had pretty
big bill to pay. But it taught him never
to ask for explanations by telegraph again,
and that Chicago reporters were pretty
liable to keep up with the procession.