The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1885-01-02
MCARLEY'S SCOOP.
The "Mercury's" Great Sensation
and It's Sudden Collapse.

and It's Sudden Collapse.
About two years ago l was managing
editor of the Daily Mercury, a journal
yet in its infancy, which was published
in the pretty little City of N, a
busting place of $4,000 or $4,000 in
habitants in the Mississippi Valley. The
aforesaid journal was started with
abundant capital and with the express
purpose Gin addition to reforming man
kind and thus placing it's founders
names among those of the wise and
famous of earth) of crushing out of
existence the Morning Item, a paper
which we sarcastically referred to as
"our esteemed orning contemporary"
or to which we applied some other
equally appreciatiye term that we were
sure would carry on its face our belief
in its being the veriest falsehood Our
hated rival was doing a good business
and we Wero not, q fact patent to all of
us, even down to the office boy and
"deyil." We had been working hard
to secure a share of the patronage be-
slowed on it, and our failure to make any
material progress in that direction may
have added somewhat to our Cnmity for
the Item. However, the stockholders,
who were amusing themselves by sup
plying the weekly deficit which the
book-keeper's statement of the lIatr-
c"ry'S business regularly exhibited,
had unbounded faith in the ultimate
success of their enterprise, and had in
structed the manager to spare no ex-
peuse in adding taking features to
the journal. All that was needed, they
solaced themselves, was to be thorough
ly prepared for emergencies, and aston
ish the public on the occasion of the
first great sensation with the fullness
and promptness with which the Mr.
cury would supply the minutest details.
Some such piece of news must come to
light ere long, and to distance all COM
pettOrs would be to bring our paper
into notice as one of great enterprise,
and the start thus given would finally
place it on the top pinnacle of journal
istic success.
One night, as the hands on the big
clock over my desk warned me that
there barely remained three hours of
darkness, as the presses in the cellar
changed and clattered over the last
edition of their daily grind, the drowsy
Office boy handed me card. 1t was
considerably soiled aad had written on
it in a nervous hand, in pencil, IT. Nc
Carley." began to feel sleepy, and
muttering anathematizations on poll
ticians in general and Irish ward poll
Gcians in particular who would make
calls at such an unSeemly hour as this,
hurriedly cleared off my desk, and put
ting on hat and coat, preparatory 10 90
ing home, went into the outer office
where the caller had been told to wait.
found a young Irishman, but not a
ward politician, as had anticipated. l
pride myself somewhat on my ability to
read human nature, and think l never
met face that impressed me more
favorably than the one | saw before
me then. A high forehead, with clearly
cut features; q large mouth and long
upper lip, which indicated his nations
ality even though his name had not
done so; an abundance of light-brown
hair pushed well back; a pair of as
honest and intelligent eyes as | ever
saw slowed in a skull; an erect, 1.-the
figure, which showed his motive tenn
permanent and preposSessed me greatly
in his favor, all went to make man
who would instantly attract attention
in any place, and who would command
respect for his intelligence and power
without ever having spoken a word.
His story was soon told. A native of
the Emerald Isle, where his family vet
lived, he had received a good education,
and on reaching a proper age had been
sent to London to take a course in
surgery. There he had been attracted
TO journalism, and learning short
hand, had finally secured position on
one of the prominent London news
papers There he worked year or
more, when, thinking to better his pros
poets, he had come ito the States.'' as
he expressed it. lie was a too thorough
Bohemian to be long contented in any
one place, and so, after knocking about
from one to another of the large cities
IN this country for three or four wears
he had determined to return home and
was literally working his way thither
when he reached N without money
Snd applied to us for q position. An
Important State election was to be held
within few months and | thought to
myself "Here is chance to utterly
distance the Item; they haven't stem
%grapher on their force, and with this
Fellow to furnish us with verbatim re-
ports of speeches during the campaign
excitement we can show the public
What enterprise is" After consultation
with the manager and listening TO his
own pleadings for position, ''even as
. space man." hired him in the latter
capacity, telling him the, place would
probably yield him but little for few
%eeks, but that as soon as the Guber-
natorial canvass began we would give
aim all he could do in his specially, and
that he could then make up for the time
in which he was able to do but little.
He went to work the next evening and
gave good satisfaction. The assign
ments, however, that was able to give
him were unimportant and the wages
he made the first couple of weeks were
barely sufficient to pay his board; so
small, indeed, were they that hardly
expected him to stay with us. But that
shrewd face of his, as we afterwards ex-
planned to ourselves in recounting the
affair which am about to relate. indi-
cated unlimited resources In his fertile
bTala sad ''smartneSs" 81 d dangerous
@ge w ela sss tAGak 81 shls tssn, q