Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-09-17
REP0RT0RIAL RECEIPTS.
THE AVERAGE IN NEW YORK
ABOUT $50 A WEEK.
Crack Men Who Earn Many More
Ducats-Space and Salaried Work-An
IdiOtic Literary Thief-BaIlard Smiths
Copy Cut-TheatricaI Critics Wronged
-HaStinge as a Politician

I Idiotic Literary Thief-BaIlard Smiths
Copy Cut-TheatricaI Critics WrOnged
-Hastinge as Politician.
Correspondence Of tie Morning Nelos.
NEW YORK, Sept. 1.-THE statements
of an editor who was witness before the
/ United States Senate Committee on Fdu-
cation and Labor last week, need correc-
ton as they are not entirely correct. He
/ sald that the salaries Of reporters i'm New
/ York ranged from $40 to $75 a week-the
majority getting $50, while editors were
paid proportiOnately more. Now he eth
er misunderstood the question. or based
his estimates on his own salary, which. l
believe, is $3.50 week. The average
weekly salary of reporters for the morn
ing papers here is probably rather under
than over $25; including the evening Jour-
nails would lower this figure to below 500.
The newspapers which pay the best sala
ries are the San, the Herald, and the
1 ItneS. The two first named pay at the
rate OF IS column. The Times paws Sc
but its rates are really more liberal than
these figures signify. A .SuR reporter
gets fifty cents an hour, when he has spent
more time on AN assignment than is COW
cred by what is printed. That is, if he
works ten hours in preparing an article
which, when printed, only occupies
quarter OF column, he charges 50, in
place Of ~. An evening assignment is
paid -, without regard TO the time it Oc-
cuplcS, unless it exceeds four hours, when
tlty cents an hour is paid. One dollar an
hour is paid for work after l an Should
a reporter write and get printed there's
the rub) a sufficiently long article in all
these cases he is paid on ''space" in place
OF time" Reporters who work thus by
the job are called ''space men," They
make on an average $35 a week, the bet
ter paid, that is, those who are best repre-
sented in print, getting as high as be-
tween $40 and 500. There are. besides, re-
porters who get regular salaries, without
regard to the amount of work they accom-
pllSh. These salaries, with some eXceD-
tions, are comparatively small, and are
only given to new men.
Very nearly the same mode of payment
is to be found II the Herdld and Times
offices, but the average salaries of report
ers are smaller. The weekly average is
probably about $50 on the Herald, while
the lines averages 81 less.
THE PAPER
which has the reputation of being the
meanest in New York is the 1ribuAe.
While Dragging of at least being able TO
pay dividend, it remunerates its en-
plOyes more poorly, in proportion 10 the
amount of work they have to do. than the
tNtItuS BdDtl6s WHICH are nOlOflOuSlX
poor pay. The average weekly salary of
a Ifibuhe reporter is not over Sl5-$I0 less
than the Times average, and but little
more than half the weekly receipts of a
san man. The World pays 80 a column
and the journal $4, and the weekly remu-
neratlon OF their reporters are proportion
ately small. The average weekly salary
of reporter on an evening paper is about
$15.
TO offset these last figures, let me tell
you of what was paid to Big Connolly.
as he is universally called shorthand
writer, who "did' the Potter Investi-
eating Committee for the San. For each
of the four days the committee sat Mr..
Connolly was represented in the next
days SIN by over eight columns of
space" and he consequently made 500 a
day, or a total of $500. His report of the
examination of Tweed was equally re-
munerative while it lasted. There are,
however, few men who have the skill and
physical endurance to take eight columns
of shorthand notes and write them out
the same day. Mr.. Connolly is called
Big" for very good reason-he weighs
800 pounds.
| see that one of the Bah ballads. that
about the ginks tree and the wogyly bird,
by Gilbert, of ''Pinafore" and ''Patience''
fame, appears in the Detroit ChqG as the
original composition of one Arthur
Gleason. The impudence of the
plagiarism reminds me of the fellow
who, some years ago, offered as
a contribution to the San Halls
story of "a Man Without a COuntry.v
carefully written out on foolscap. In ad-
ditlon to its popularity in this country.
due to political reasons, the story has
been translated into nearly all the Euro
pean languages, and the man who thought
to pass it off as original must have been
but one remove from an idiot.
SPEAKING OF THE "sUN,"
"A story is told OF Ballard Smith, now of
the Herdld, debating, when he was man
ager of the two-cent paper which shines
for all, to stenographer some scenes in
one Of the great walking matches in which
Rowell carried off the honors. The short
hand writer omitted to mention. after
writing out his notes, that his contribu-
ton was not original, and it was conse-
quently corrected and cut down as if it
had been the composition of the reporter.
and not of the managing editor!
/ understand that Mr.. Ferguson. the
Dude IN GA Friendly Tip,' is following
the example Of Oscar Wilde and other
unsuccessful playwrights, and account
ing for the justice untempered with mercy
which was vOuched his stupid perform
ance on the ground that the theatrical
critics were in combination to suppress
meritOriOus productions not to the manor
face. A single writer may have grudge
against an actor or playwright, and may
use his position to crafty his
hostility, but when the large majority OF
the papers here either praise or condemn
a play or an actor, you may safely accept
the verdict as righteous one.
THE DEATH OF THE VETERAN EDITOR
of the Commercial AdUertiser, Hugh Hast
ing, removes a stalWart of the stalwarts'
from the list of President Arthur's suD-
pOrters. The Democratic party will have
reason to regret his loss, for he welded an
influence which tended to bring about the
nomination of Arthur to the Presidency
next year-a cOnSummatiOn most deYOuf-
ly to be wished by all who think that the Re
publican party should 90. For Arthur, in
my opinion, is almost the only Republican
whose nomination would be equivalent to
defeat Although the half breeds profess
to be satisfied with the = lesson !" which
they gave the administration in this State
last autumn, should Arthur capture the
Convention, enough Republicans
would vote for the opposing Presidential
or stay at home, to insure the
thirty-five electoral votes of New York to
the Democracy. Pretend to disguise it as
they may, half breeds and stalwarts hate
each other with a hatred compared to
which their feeling to the Democrats is
love, and, if possible, the half breeds
ability to hate is the stronger.
The weather. which, un-il today, has
been that of November, continues to drive
New Workers from seaside and noun
Jains, and there are probably more fash
IOnable people to be found in town now
than almost ever before so early In the
season.
81, ! az. frI-