Morning journal and courier., 1882-02-10
Newspaper Reporters

In talks and writings concerning journalism
the reporter has long been overlooked; even
the intelligent general public habitually under
estimates the Importance of reporters. On
the great city dailies the reporter is of as
much Importance as the editor n-chief; with
out his assistance the forger of the editorial
thunderbolts would be at loss for his most
scathing material News fromtthe four quar-
tiers of the globe is flashed to him by the tele-
graph wires, scaling mountain ridges and
diving under ocean Depths of the doings in
his own city the wires are mute. What Is of
interest to the vast and influential bodies of
municipal taxpayers must be unearthed by
the reporter before it can be commented
upon by the editorial wheels that grind, but
it is the nimble reporter who brings grist to
the editorial mill.
How great a power the reporter really is in
Journalism was manifested in New York city
some years ago-it was long time since !;
James Gordon Bennett was still alive and SO
was Horace Greeley, but both were old men,
if silvered heads and boards make age: 1t was
when A. A. Low, the then president of ths
New York chamber of commerce, had re-
turned from European tour. A great COM
plimentary banquet was given Mr.. Low at
the Fifth Avenue. His Honor the Mayor
was there, so was Judge Brady; in fact all
the big guns of the bar and all the famous
editors, except the elder Bennett, who never
mates were seated the reporters were
admitted-there were fourteen of them-and
were taken to long table which
was not set for a dinner, though adj
mirably adapted for writing purposes. The
walters trooped in with the viands, but ig-
nored the reporters, who bore the slight
until the courses had been served; then by
| lently out of the banquet hall in Indian hle
Horace Greeley, Manton Marble, Jones of
| the Times, Hudson of the Herald, Brady of
the Mail, and Brooks of the Cypress, saw
the departure. Mr.. Greeley laughed and
| said. I'D if the boys amt serving m jest
| right" The guest of the evening looked on
| in dismay he was primed with a long speech
| that he wanted well reported.
After an absence of two hours the report
ers returned from the bar room of the hotel,
where they had whiled away the time in
| sampling ice water, and perhaps something
stronger. No sooner had they got back to
| their table than walters were sent to them
with wine and cigars. Both were indignant
| ly rejected s'We are here to work, not to
| drink and smoke" said the fourteen in
chorus. The chairman of the committee of ar
| rangements came to apologize: he was heard
| in grim silence. He said special dinner
should be provided. ''We are here to work,
| not to eat dinner answered the fourteen.
To work apparently they went; pencils few
over paper; the speakers glanced nerVously
| at the writer's they seemed to suspect their
| diligence; perhaps they thought it was not
| deserved at all.
Next morning confirmed their suspicious !;
| the poor, snubbed reporters had got even
with the millionnaires, judges and lawyers.
| The Tribune had no reference whatever to
the dinner; the Herald had twenty lines !,
the World apologized that the Low dinner
was crowded out in the Times there was a
stickful dictated by the editor, who smelt a
mouse and hurried to the Office from the din
ner to find not line of it, just as he expect
| ed
| All the reporters were severely reprimand-
ed by their chiefs; one of them-him of the
| Herald-lost his place, for the elder Bennett
was merciless master he dismissed men
for the verisst trifes, but his shrewd manag-
ing editor re-engsged all the valuable ones as
fast as they were discharged by the inexora-
| BILE proprietor, who, IN the last decade of his
active life, did not know his employees, with
perhaps five exceptions, by sight.
| However, the poor-in-purse reporters dis
| comfited the millionnaires, and from that dis
| tant day to this the reporters have not been
snubbed at any of the grand public dinners
| given in New York.