Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-06-07
A WONDERFUL MAN,
The Individual Who Furnishes Editors
With Ideas
Ne'0 York Horaiag Journal
F. q. BANGS.
Consulting Editor,
l,l2l East 59th st. Seven bells


A Herald reporter last evening stood in
front of No. l ,121 West Fifty-ninth street
and rang a septuple knock on the front
door bell. He walked down the steps and
looked up at the great building. 1t was
a fourteen story fiat. After ringing seven
distinct times he hurried away, striking
the pavement nervOusly with his cane
and angrily mnttering that it didn't make
any difference to him whether the Herald
came out next day or not.
A JOurnalier scaled the picket fence
and went to the back yard. He climbed
up the fire escape and water spout until
he got to the fourteenth story, and then
tapped gently ON the window pane. A
tall, lank man, who wore nightcap and
was dressed in a suit of thread-bare black.
came to the window, raised the sash. and
cordially invited the reporter to enter.
The tall man, whose look was half cIeri-
cal and half starved, resembled a country
preacher on a salary of 5000 year. The
JOurnalier crawled through the open win
dow and sat down on the only stool the
room afforded. The apartment was almost
bare. 1t contained a library and a deal
table high with manuscripts.
care you Mr.. Bangs, the consulting
editor - asked the reporter. The tall man
rubbed his hands together until his
knuckles cracked, and then in a cOnsump-
tive voice said he was.
''What is the nature of YOUR wOrk?''
81 give advice on the editorial manage
ment of newspapers. Instead of people
running to newspaper offices and telling
editors how to run newspapers, editors
themselves come here and ask me how to
run them. Mr.. Dana often calls. Col.
Bundy, of the Mail and cypress, has long
conversations with me. The Herald is in
great perpleXity about what to put in its
edition tomorrow. ArepOrter just called.
l was too much engaged to receive him.
The fact is, Pm very busy just now writ
ing commencement oratiOns for college
students"
Besides advising editors, you do other
work %
eyes; 90 good trade in class-day odes
and speeches; and essays and Orations
for class suppers."
what do you get paid for this class of
work ?"
commencement orations sell as low
as $40 apiece, But l often dispose of the
same Grafton to students at five or six
different colleges. For a speech suited to
competition in a prize contest in OratorV
l generally ask, and readily obtain, 800.
Last year | took prizes in nearly Il dozen
colleges, besides several Interstate
collegiate contests. Three out of five of
my speeches for college students take
prizes"
might not some of the students who
buy your wares be detected and accused
of false pretences"'
81 have several rivals in the trade, and
l need not say that they are INSCRIPTIONS.
one student at a well-knOwn university
in New York State won prize in Oratory
at the annual oratOrical contest of his col
lege. Some months afterward it was dis
covered by one of the college faculty that
the speech was familiar chapter in one
of Thomas Carlyle's best known books.
The student was accused of plagiarism.
He refunded part of the prize money.
He was innocent of the charge. He. did
not steal the speech. He bought it. The
unprincipled man who furnished it to him
stole it. | do not do business that
way. You will excuse me while | finish
this funeral oration." The reporter.bowed
himself out and went down the fire
escape.