Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-02-21
BILL NyE,s ADVICE
To Friend who Took u Into Ills Read to
be an kditor.

10 friend Who Took 10 Into His Head To
be an kditor.
We have received letter from an
old schoolmate who IL about to grad
uate from an Eastern college, in which
he says he has n taste for literary work
and wants TO know If we can't find
him situation IA city editor on some
live western country Journal. This is
not singular occurrences, and yet the
possession of n LITERARY taste" by no
means fits man for the position of
city man on n paper-at least coun-
try paper, where that much abused
individual is city editor, telegraph ed
itor, proof-reader, city agent If neces-
sary, and general roustabout.
ii our friend could only take up his
residence in our coat pocket aud fol-
low our movements for just one day,
we fancy he would stifle his literary
aspirations and go to saving wood.
When we get up at 1880, snatch
hasty meal and run down to the Office,
we pitch into the following duties
Run over the exchanges and boil them
down; read several letters from cor
respondents and mark them up for
the compositors; write up notes gath
cred the previous evening rush up
town after an item; answer the tele-
phone and hear some one inquire why
that buckwhcat wasn't sent up last
night; answer letters of inquiry from
people wanting To know all sorts of
| things about all kinds of subjects; read
few proofs, for the inside pages;
stand oil two or three of the most ac-
| tive bill collectors in town; make an
other trip down To the telegraph Office;
return and laboriously unravel the
vngarics of the electric medium of
conveying intelligence; gossip with n
| few friendly visitors; listen To one or
! two tedious lectures about how To run
n newspaper, by people VINO never
/ tried 30 down few more times after
an item-sometimes we get II ana
| sometimes we don't; decipher some
more photographic hieroglyphics go
| down TO the train---no one on board
I but the king of the Cannibal Islands (;
| interview him; return to our den and
1 write him up, while the foreman
stands over us crying copy" go home
/ to dinner, stopping in some half dozen
/ places to ask friend If he knows any
| Thing; return am. tackle the telegraph
again; read few proofs; convince a
half-dozen suspicious compositofs That
| they had deylated from their copy IN
instances where the proof was marked;
write q humorous pay local and u
death notice; make n lew more trips
down town, 30 as not to get left on
any important item; write few tele-
| graph heads, and have the
foreman tell US IL is al
most train time, and he must
have those last proofs, read 'em "a
though printers never made errors;
give the foreman hints abont getting
two advertisements ut the top OF the
same column, next to the reading
matter; go to press with half col
ulnn OF important news still on the
hook; 20 down to the evening train
find out after the carriers have gone
out with their routes, rs we ala liist
night that some fiendish compositor
has set up the word agricultural,
for Architectural" which error had
been overlooked because ol the rush III
reading those last proofs before gong
TO press; get down on your knees ana
beg the foreman to correct IL before
: the rest of the edition Is run OIL
which he does 20 home and get sup
per; go back and husk hall bushei Oh
30 of exchanges, and--now that on
chief is sick--dash oil n column or tw'
of editorial and slash out some reprint
for the inside: trudge home and read
/ fifteen or twenty exchanges, Tor news
for to-morrow's paper before we so tt
: bed.
Now, as to qualifications: The sue
cessful city editor, to begin with
should he himself Il printer; must no.
| be afraid to tell the truth, yet not an
! willing TO lie for the good that may
, come OF il: must bea man OF peace
| vet ready TO fight when the chip iail'
: from his shoulder; must be positive III
his opinions, yet not too noisy In pro
: claiming them; mny speak with th'
tongue OF blackguard If he likes, huI
) write with the pen OF n preachers mus
sIt anon the upstart and lend han'
To the modest and worthy, must KNOW
dsadbcat by instinct, yet never
offend the reliable by doubt
: must have public spirit that coNcr
6 the territory, but see 10 IL that his9owi
fences are kept in repair must waii
i I'm the sunshine but must Welcohi'
, the shadow when II falls upon hun
must he a Scion, II hero, patriot, ana
above all, philosophers and stoic @
+ the modern pattern~-in SNORT anu !,
: fact, must be an eptome oil those gun,
tiles which make men IN othef cA,i
ings wealthy and famous put az
must be content To SOW iHht otheIl
n,ay reap: to find reward for toll u
an appreciation that Is born after IA
. il dead. when he Is dead his NOM
ment is "A sigh. -. ~
How man who has the wofld pe
fore him and all the professions y
:, choose from can long for the iitle .
y editor after acqualnling illilse,
J, with above facts, IL left 10 the cons ~
= Grafton ola world whose charity W Wv
!, editor has always been eoiu anu
/, clammy, -
If .,e, aud Tandcr