Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-04-01

ecu 0frynah'' Acknowledge tine
Loan os JOURNALISTIC Expe-
rleRce
To the American .a.s.--a...-.-.-


rience.
The disgruntled, intellectual beau
ty who works the crank which
turns on the flow of philosophy and |
learning into the columns Of the /
CiarKsviiie Tobacco Leaf, seems to |
be standing on his ear (Which lifts |
him a considerable distance from |
the groaad) about something that | |
have done, or failed to do, or inten- |
ded doing and forgot Whereupon |
he delivers II lecture, deducing con-
ciusionS that are predicatetl upon |
facts that exist alone in the space |
that nature set apart in his head for |
something else besides hallucina-
tloiis. He wants me Ito retire iruIn |
the ediiorship of the American and
continue to be "Countryman,' If |
ain hunting after lame" In the
fist place, / am not hunting for
fame, aud secoldly, / am not run
ming the American, and its none of
his business ii was. If he will |
just keep the worms from destroy
ing his own Tobacco Leaf, and pre-
Vent the same from falling under
the head of "Wild Gait" and let
other peoples business alone, he
Will have accomplished fully as
much as is expected of him.
would not think of undertaking to
edit newspaper without first going
to him to find out how it ought to
be done, and when l do commence
running the American / shall just
step down to GAINESVILLE and lind
out all that is to be known about
the business. He assumes that
am the American, and tells me in
a fatherly way that editors are
made, not born" Well, yes, were
rather inclined to believe this. /
see that nature has done so little for
some persons in that direction that
she really appears cruel, and war
rants my friends conclusion, and to
have to wait through all the COM
ing years to be "made" one; my
Lord what task it must be to
him. But did you ever notice when
a new fellow starts out to write for
paper what a vast number of no
tees he receives from other fellows
in the business It's to the gigantic
ness and immens eness of the under
taking? And yet l am satisfied
that there are more simpletonS edit
ing papers in this State than there
are working between the handles of
Wheel-barrOWS.
Whenever the strain on fellows
intellect becoms too great to admit
of his peddiing a patent soap, he
starts little newspaper, and knows
about as much of the practical needs
of the public and the wants of the
State as cross-eyed goat does about
the revised edition of the New Tes-
lament.
When a new hand enters the pro-
fession, Smith, of the Goosetown
Lubricator, and Jones, of the Sheep
vile Educator, and Brown, of the
Sap-head Cultivator, spring up and
exclaim, "Oh my! What an I'M
dertaking! 1t requires time and
application and study and work to
make an editor. Just look at me
you needn't think you can be like
me all at once. I have been at this
business for weeks and weeks"
confess that | think il takes time
to make an editor, and something
else besides. But there is a certain
kind of fish that never gets beyond
a certain size. Nc matter how long
he stays in tie water he is never
anything more than a iiUrney-head
or silver-side.
l had an idea that an editor, be-
sides knowing something of the
practical details of the business,
ought to be a fellow Of ii little sense,
and have purposes 10 accomplish,
and be able to express his ideas in
the simplest language that would
convey the thought and produce
the impression upon his audience
desired /; and write not simply 10
make it readable, but to reach con-
clusions aid accomplish ends, and
when | get to be an editor | think
I'll drive at something Of this sort.
This Tobacco Leaf seems to be
aa5rX- me. Also feF-hes ~ing--a
daddy" as it expressed it, and
thinks it greatly to my disadvantage
and very much in my way in any
effort to be respectable.
I am not responsible for shaving
a daddy" Had no more to do with
it than | had with the making of
Adam, but L had as soon have one
as not-I believe little rather. If
the Tobacco Leaf fellow has the adj
vantage over me in not ''having any
daddy" that's all right, but don't
see any use in his blowing about it.
After going for me in various
ways, this Tobacco Leaf philosopher
advises me to "get Il saw and go on
IA wood-pile." Well, now, [ like
advice, but really don't think that
a fellow who has been in the bust
ness long enough to become a "made
editor" with no assistance from
nature, and has arisen already TO
the post of editor of the Tobacco
Leaf, can afford to give advice with
out charging for il. In fact, as he
has set up as lecturer upon the
subject, he had as well start out and
charge an entrance fee. Let him
begin in New York. There are
great many struggling editors there
and they would be glad to pay for
Information and ideas from one who
knows.
1t strikes me that GAINESVILLE is
vastly too small a place and the bus
mess too circumscribed to justify
one so admittedly competent us my
friend on the Leaf in wearing out his
existence worming around on To
bacco Leaf, and he ought to extend
his field of labor, get to bigger
place, one more in harmony with
his capacity and better adapted to
the breadth of his intellect. L sug-
gest-DadsVille.
don't know why this man got
mad at me. | never said anything
about him, never heard of him be-
fore and never expect TO again.
suppose he didn't like the course of
the American and jumped on me be-
cause | was smaller that it was. If
he does it again / am going to say
something about him.
COUNTRYMAN.