Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-08-31

Journalistic Some of the
reculiaritics of the Men Who Make
Newspapers.

"Are editors as superstitious as
theatre actors, sailors and railroad
men!" ;sked the old subscriber, sit
ting down in a Queen Annie chair
and putting his feet timidly under a
center table inlaid with Mexican
onyx,
YES" said the solemn editor,
"they are. Ever since the newspapers
were invented by Cadmus, journalists
in every department have had super
stitious beliefs and ideas peculiar to
their profession. Now, there's the
managing editor. If the first man
who comes into the private office
Monday morning is man who wants
to go to Congress and has an editorial
article three columns long, written by
himself, showing how the country is
lost unless he is nominated in a
minute, the manager is gloomy all
day because he doesn't believe that
article is going in the paper. No
reason for it, you know, only he is
just superstitious enough to believe
that the manuscript will be lost in
the waste basket 10 feet deep before
the author is half way down stairs.
Then, there's the leader writer, too.
If he found his pen sticking in the
paste, he'd suspect Dan, down in the
Office, IN minute When he finds
his desk opened and all his pencils
gone, he suspects the proof reader,
and when the paper comes out dated
February 81, he suspects the make
up And another thing; if he picks
up a pen by the wrong end, he will
turn it around and say something be-
fore he will write with it. I've talked
with him about it, but he won't give
any reason for it. As for the news
editor, do you see that mountain of
exchanges on his table? Well, be
fore you get down stairs that young
man will lean out of the window to
watch your appearance at the count
ing room door, and he will say: I'll
bet dollar that old cuss stole the
Boston Transcript and tho Denver
Tribune' He is superstitious about
everything that happens and every
man that comes in. He believes it
bad luck to drop the scissors down
the elevator we'll. Did it once. and
they straddled right into both eyes of
a regular advance paying subscriber,
who was looking up to see the eleva
tor come down. He believes in
Mascottes. Gets five letters week
from somebody, and the boys believe
he has one. He won't work on Sun
day or the Fourth of July. Says
when a man works on Sunday it is a
sign he's lonesome. II he wants to
get anything out of the library when
he is sitting at his desk, he crosses
the room before he takes down the
book. Crosses it again before he sits
down. If we run out of paper, the
pressman believes it is a sign the
paper won't be out. If a printer asks
for money before pay day, it is assign
he hasn't been on the paper quite
one week. 1t is also sign that he'll
never do it again. If the pressman
asks a printer for a dollar, it is sure
sign that the printer hasn't a cent
When the foreman finds a handful of
pi in with his quoins, and picks up
a side-stick and starts down the ROOM
making loud remarks, it is a sign he
is going to land for) the devil. Oh
a newspaper Office is the most super
stitious place you can come to-"
"And yourself?" said the old sub
scriber. Now do you believe in any
of these things?"
~" said the solemn editor. "Oh
I believe it's about time-?
The old subscriber nodded thrice
put on his hat, rose to his feet, and
the Old One and the Solemn One
passed slowly. but not too slowly,
down the winding stairs.