The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-01-26
JOURNALISM IN LONDON.

Correspondence Philadelphia Press
 Ascending the ladder of London jour nal,sm. immediately superior to the :. penny a. liner" may rank the police ,aurt reporters. There are fourteen uoetropolitan police courts, where charges and summonses are "taken" l" daily. Of these. the most important are the Man son house, at which the lord mayor or an alderman of the city of London at- ,ends from L, noon 10 p. m; the Guild hall. a court presided over by the alder men. and Bow street, which. in addition n is being q divisional, IS also the ex- tradition court. and the cour, where all notable prisoners are first charged. Marlborough street. lnasmueh as its luris- dic,ion covers mos; of the rich west end s reckoned sufficiently valuable court 10 require the exclusive services of l rep yeseniative from each journal of conse- cuence \ similar system IS followed at he Mansion house. which IS responsible for the city but at each of the other courts. for which stipendiary magistrates are appointed. the ordinary police court reporter holds undivided sway.
 There Is no, much difference between :he police court reporter and the penny s-liner in regard to the appearance of ,heir copy. Both write on .' flimsy." and and the same reports are, in both in- stances, forwarded to all the papers. Usually the same disregard for grammat- ical accuracy IS characteristic of them alike, bu, there the resemblance ceases.
 The liner is, as have described him in my previous article, the sport of for tune. and ekes out preearious living. On the other hand. the polioe-cour re- porter enjoys comfortable monopoly and steady income. derivedN from d sal ap multiplied in amaun, by the number cf iimsies he = lays down.. In most oi khe courts accommodation Is provided ;or not more than two reporters. and one sea; IS usually allotted to local news- paper, whilst the other Is the property of the police court reporter. For long pc rods together this fortunate person Is lei, in undis,urSed possession, and IS only al exceptional times that he Is troubled with Elslts from members ot the regular staff. In the majority of instances the envied position has been in the hands of gen tleman who has grown gray in the pre- cine,s of the place. Very respectable old boys are these, and very incompetent w,;hal. As they die out, so fierce IS fhe competition that not unfreqHently two men set themselves up to do the work of one, and, by independently se- Funng commissions from morning and eyening journals, they divide between khem the income which hitherto was en- loved by sole individual. Occasionally the accredited reporter of the court farms ], out, and still conirives ,s make good .hing Of it. Some hire assistants. who Go all the work for very little pay Others are more liberal
 II will surprise many to hear that George Grossmiih. the actor and main stay of the Savoy theatre, IS still police court reporter. He retains the appoint ment held by his late father f. giea, lumber of years as reporter oi the Bow street. police court. The bulk of the work ]; is true. is done by an assistant. bu, George Grossmlth invariably writes the !:mss copy in his own hand As the Lord Chancellor in Iolan,he' he Dc trays his acquaintance with the modus operandi of reporting when he evinces so much anxiety to take down the words of the fairy. It is commonly said the connection IS worth to hlm | net :,.,c1 per annum. l. IS because Bow stree. Is properly attended to tha, the editors are content 10 leave the courts Tn Nr. Gros- smiths hands, but whenever d " big ' ease demanding verbatim reports crops lP the rule has to give way and the press seais are crammed to their fulles, capac- y. There are two court-rooms ln the building which has been recently con- s,ruc;ed.
 The ex,radition court IS upstairs and Euring the the magis,erial investigations oi the dynamitards there was always some uncertainty as to which court would oe used; consequently reporters for morning and evening journals, reporters 'or news agencies and reporters for the American press hovered like restless spirits upstairs and down stairs, appre- nensIve lest the prisoners about 10 be cnarged should be rushed Tn and rushed out before soul was the wiser. They were exciting times and the solicitors able was all too small to accommodate ne soribes who took possession of t, 10 me exclusion of the legitimate occupants.
 folice court reporters are unlike pen sy-a-liners ' in that they condense and co no, expand. 3u; they are not to be credited with the smoo,hness of the ,ol- eably readable lines published, for the suo-editor. al infinite cos, Of tIme and temper. has 10 cut down. polish up ' and in other ways improve the iiimsy submitted to his judgment. The pos' of sao-editor of police copy Is ;he most shAnkless in that department. police sourt reporters are indifferen, as 10 the a'e of their copy. for they are paid shether it is used or not and, as they ,eidom get chance of reporting really afa-class cases, they drop into a steady, nachine-like frame of mind which IS no, zsorable to literary work of quality. senerally speaking their probl,y is above sespicion. bu; it must be confessed that saey are often sorely tempted to accept a pso6eEed bribe and turn deaf ear 10 shas is going on before the magistrate
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