The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-10-04
WHAT cMAMoRD THE EDITOR.
lHecks sua.T

WHAT cnANoRD THE EDITOR. trecks Sna.I
 A fsw montAs since half dozen news- paper men were sitting in tAe COST rooms q the Chicaeo hess Club, salking oi things connected with their husiness. and changes that had tsken place in the last decade. vken oae q the edisoss turned b middle sred man whose hair vas originally red, but who had no< much
 lefs to sAow, and said:
 But the greatest change of all has come over this dade, boys. Ten or . dozes years ago he was enc cf the Ass-
 tess wsiters h the vest. always warming
 lt to political enemy cr anybody who -was prominent. The paper Ae edited
 was eAsoaic gsumhser, nevss could see any good tn anybody, and to-day he is puolishtng . successful paper which is fail of the greatest kindness to all the people, and never saJs thing that could edend the most fassidious. lhave ofsn wondesed what made the change. Speak out, old man, and tell us."
 The ress Of the crowd insisted on kncw- ing what had caused the change, SO the warm-haifed editor said, akes lighting a cigar:
 Well, boys, f you insis, on s. here goes. Heretofore, when anybody has asked me what has caused the change in my style cf writing, 1 have said that iosnd the new way had the most monev in il. That is true, bu, that is not the cause Of the changA As you yell know. my early editorial experience vas of a sensational nature. 1 was employes. by those who seemed to d-.igh, in n.aking enemies by saying mean things, and when vent Id business tor myself, the habi, followed me. l knew ooald write as mean things as anybody in the busi- ness, and my greatest deligh, was in hay ing some other newspaper pitch into me. ] had chip on my shoulder constantly, ,o speak hguratively, and was aching for some one 10 knock II of. or. tread on the tail of my editorial coat, To think oi i, now, ] mus, have been one of those smart Alecks we read about. IL was nos safe for an editor ,o al!ude to me in his paper, for would say something mean or sarcastic, that would make him my enemy. glosied in quanels, and when went to an editorial convention, hatf the editors were no; on speaking term. with me. ln she town l vas living the editors were all by the ears and wouldn't recognize each other on the streets. 1, was a constant hght. and the idiot who runs the oppositica sheet over the way CT the feeble minded lunatic, who, in hts sane moments contracts to pay his boasd, and stands oil his landlady when in his normal condition etc. Life was one continued round of newspaper qaasrels. and doat believe had friend in the profession, unless Il vas somebody had not got around to in my general abuse. One day my little eighteen months old baby was taken very sick, and for a week l vas constantly al his bedsidc, and those ] would naturally have abused got a rest. Finally death took the little one away. and vas completely broken down. Dur. ing the interval between the death and the fenefAl though, over my course, and how mean had been to everybody, aad ] would have given the world III could have recalled some of the mean things had said of my neighboss and iorgave everything that had been said about me. The next morning l picked up paper published by one of my rivals, and there was such touching notice oi the death of my baby that l could have hngyed the idiot who run the opposi- ton sheet Not word m the article but would convey the impression that the .edl'oi ~as my dear brother, and there was wealth oi sorrow and contioienee expressed for those who moufned. Other papers, whose editors had abused spoke n even more kindly terms. and when the funeral occurred there were three of the men to whom had been the meanest. acting as pail bearers, and tenderly con. veying the body of my baby io the dust. Al the close of the exercises they all shook hands with me, and there were genuine tears in their eyes as they saw my agony. As ] pressed their haads ha.der than l ever pressed mems hasds ! before of since, they knew better than l could have told them that all animosity had entirely passed out of my heart. and that was their friend forever after. 1 When ] could do 90 without breaking down completely, called upon them, ard though nothing was sAid about the past, they knew and knew that my work as newspaper hend was over. From ,ha, day. gentlemen. have tr,ed never to write an article that would cause pain 10 any man. vom an or child on the face of Gods green earth. have made man, persons happy in the years that have passed since the day thA, ray journalistic i enemies lowered the body of my baby into the grave, have written much that would smuse, but never a wofd that would harm, os cause a hear-aehe. or make any person sorry that 1, was written 1 Now. instead of enemies everywhese who would do me aa iIlcry, have fsends among all the people that 1 know, from little children to the gTsy-hAired fathers and moshers, and thai kind of literature pays, beoanse ii has brough, not oaIy friends but moaey ID plenty. .ow. there