The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-06-03

not nearly so much rivalry among news
purvey ors now as there was ten years ago
The world Of newspaper correspondents is
a complete one in itself 1t has its duties
and its pleasures, its studies and its relaxs.
tions. its eocial Joys aud griefs, very much
| the same as that OF any other class There
q an idea that your average correspondent
/ is q Bohemian, with neither nome nor fsm-
| lily nor ambition except 70 earn his weekly
| salary and spend il. OF course there ara
some men in the newspaper world who nave
this sort of record, as there are ia any
! other professionalism Il is a professionalism
| they are the exception, not the rule. Most
| of them have their families; some OF them
| live in their own houses, keep their own
| horses and buggies and have their own paws
IN church. IL Is thing quite out of the
/ usual order to the minds o. most people to
see newspaper reporter passing the plate az
/ church or filing the position of usher at one
of the most highly fashionable churches
/ But such things happen in Washington. 1t
Is no uncommon thing TO see the names OF
I the wives and daughters of promi-
nent correspondents figuring largely in
/ the annals OF society, Or to see them
| in person taking part in the doiDgs of that
mysterious kaleidoscope compound, the CO.
/ cisl world. There is, too, more or less social
| relationship between the families OF the cor
| respondents, though, where there are so
many, there is a tendency to divide up into
/ parties whose tastes run in similar lines.
/
/ ances run in the line OF the theatrical profes.
/ sion; others who cultivate the literary; 9th
I ers who turn their attention 10 the social
/ world of Washington, and Others whose &C.
quaintance takes q more conservative line
and com RTisse department people, aud even
/ the families Of members OF Congress OF the
hun dred or two OF newspaper correspond
/ ents who are here, il is probable that more
than one-haH live in boarding houses for 60
many of them are sent here By their papers
for so brief time that it is useless for them
to attempt to establish themselves. There
are others, however. who live here, who
make Washington their permanent homes,
! who are here the year around and one year
/ after another, who have been here for tweL-
/ " years or more. They have. usually, their
homes, some of them rented some of them
/ their own.
/ There is one popularity about the Wash.
| iEgton correspondent that is worthy of notice
/ and much to be wondered at-that is, his re-
/ luctsnce to accept anything new as relates to
/ his own personal methods. Persistent seekers
/ after news as they are, they reject anything
new in their own line until it is actually
/ forced upon them through recognition by
| the business world about them. Take the
| Typewriter for instance. II is universally
| conceded to be an excellent thing for those
/ TO have much writing to do, yet these men
| WHO make their living by writing, who do
! nothing else from one years end to another,
/ and who would find il a great relief after a
| busy day in the "6eld" where they are CON-
| pslled 10 write more or less by hand, reject
il. There are few wb3 are now beginning
/ its use; q very few who have Used and CON-
mended it for years, bat they are, altoge her,
/ not 10 per cent. OF the whole. Take that
labor-taving instrument, the telephone.
/ Here il connects you with the White
! House, the home OF every Cabinet of
/ ficfr, the desks OF dozens OF department
| officials who are always willing to answer
sw,,,r ofr 10, h h.
/ Capitol, the Postotfice, the hotels, tl9 local
newspaper offices, the telegraph offices, and
| every news center; yet yoH can count on the
/ fingers of your two hands all of the news.
\ pepper correspondents who have it at resi-
/ sioence or Office. The duty OF the correspond
! ent requires him TO travel about the city
/ great OCal. He must, if successful and alert,
/ visit all the departments, the hotels, the Cap
/ i;Ol, the White House, and often the resi-
dence Of some official, besides visiting his
| own home occasionally. Here In Washing
/ ton, there is no method OF travel more popu-
| lar, more swift, more comfortable. more in
expensive or more time and labor saving,
! than by bicycle or tricycle.. The asphalt
| streets are as smooth as a floor. and extend
| all over the city. You may 60 by the silent
/ steed'' in any direction, with the utmost
ease and comfort day or night, after the
street cars have stopped or while they run.
By 1t you save time, labor and money and
I make that which otherwise would be a drudg-
| cry pleasure. The bicycle is sufficiently
popular that the person who rides it
does not become unpleasantly conspicuous
! thereby, for there are hundreds and hun.
dreds, probably thousands, in the city and
to be seen on the streets at all hours De.
| partneDt officials, business men, physicians,
| and people of all classes ride them and many
ladies use the tricycle. with grace aud ease,
| yet with all of these recommendations and
| practical advantages which the machine
10 raj
There are but two or three newspaper men
who ride the bicycle, and but one of these
| who makes it of constant practical use in
bis business 1t seems odd that these men,
| who ara constantly seeking something new,
| who may only make success by hard and
and constant work, who lead public opinion
in many things OF great importance, who
! claim TO be progressive in many things,
! should reject the very things which would
aid them in their own success, simply be-
cause they are comparatively new, and be-
cause their fathers and grandfathers before
them did not use them.
10 their Office habits most Washington cor.
respondents are gTegarols. It is not I'M
common to find two or three or four or more
correspondents occupying the same Office.
There are advantages in it, and
also disadvantages. There Is opportunity for
interchange of news and for division OF ex-
penEes, but the result is not always satisfac
tory in every particular.
OF course not all men who come 70 Wash
ingtOn as correspondents succsed. It taxes
one sort OF talent to succeed in one place aud
quite another to be successful somewhere
else. Often the man who was a successful
| editor or reporter in some city thousaud
miles away is surprised TO find himself fail.
ure here. The man who would be successful
here must have large amount of industry,
n full modicum OF common eense, q knowl-
edge OF public men and public affairs both
past and present. and a trace" of that quail
ity designated in the popular and ex prsssive
slang OF today as gall" But, most of all,
he m'st be honest, earnest untiring, Gin.
slant in season and out OF seas9n," truthfal,
fearless both as to politicians and as to the
views and opinions of his fellow correspond
ents, and always a gentleman. The key to
success as Washington correspondent may
be given In one small woodwork
II was not the intention in this letter OF
entering upon personalities, and this will
not be departed from except to give the
faces of three out of the many widely known
and honered men who have made the name