The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-04-04

cordially disliked by the man who fancies
he shows his constituencies by treating others
as if they had no sensitiveness at all
The writer is blamed for his dogmatism
his superciliousness, his encroaching disposi
ton, his ilI-conceaIed contempt for those
outside of his vocation, and many Of those
within it. He considers himself very broad
when he Is very narrow; he overrates him.
self altogether, and Is confident Of his great
superiority by reason of his trade. Nothing
can compare with writing, in his opinion,
and his opinion Is largely founded on the
fact that he is a writer. He may be very
poor one, but nothing could persuade him Of
the fact The smaller his merit the larger
his self-esteem. Shakespeare was writer;
Goethe was a writer; Hawthorne was a
writer; he himself is a writer.
The newspaper writer is often the vainest
and most egotistic Of his tribe. He loves to
speak of himself as literary man, although
everybody knows that journalism is not
literature, and to boast of the independence
and power and influence of the press. Much
of the newspaper English is not English at
all, but corruption Of the language. a cur
rent dialect, a professional patois, which
should be abolished by national enactment,
to prevent the debasement of the mother
tongue. The common, cheap journalist is q
fearful creature, absurd and ridiculous TO
degree He is q bundle Of conceit, fmpertt-
hence and assumption, uneducated and I'M
trained, undeveloped, almost uncivilized.
Attached to a newspaper, at least in name,
he has an erroneous Importance and pro-
digious effrontery. Detached from it, he
would quickly find his level, and meet with
the disdain he deserves. There are hundreds
of his order in the Country to-day who, while
commanding a modicum of respect and
welding a sort of influence through what
they represent, are wretched shams and noisy
charlatans. In the United States the liberty
of the Press tends to icentiousness, and is In
a sense despotism.
These are the principal allegations and
criticisms made by publishers and others In
respect to writer's as bodyI and they are.
it must be allowed, applicable to many OF
them, however unjust to all The most OBJ
jectionable, by their absence of discipline
and decorum, doubtless create a very dis
agreeable impression, and render themselves
liable to be understood at their worst. The
creditable specimens, on the other hand,
who preponderate, and form the bulk of the
well-behaved that their calling is not thought
of. The writer of any sort who constantly
adyertises himself and his trade, is seldom a
worthy member of the fraternity, nor is he
one from whom a favorable deduction would
be drawn. After all that may be conceded
in behalf of writer's, the average opinion OF
them has, it will be admitted, considerable
basis. They are, on the whole, othclnal'
seIf-assertive, limited, vain, unpleasant
egotistic. Despite hundreds of exceptions
such is the rule. They are impatient, II MOI
intolerant of criticism-holding criticism (oi
others) to be their peculiar province-and
are unable to see why they should get back
any of the Bullets they are so fond OF deal
| ing.
Being one of them, and not assuming tx
be an exception, feel privileged to com
ment on them with freedom and eandor, bu
i without prejudice or rancor. They arr
4 prone TO various weaknesses and faults, ant
often need to be so delicatelY handled tina
Il the labor seems not worth the pains
| L am never surprised at the animosity the1
4 excite in certain quarters, or at the unfor
,tunate impressions they impart Their man
ners are inauspicious; but they are bette
than they show. It may be urged in thei
/ behalf that the trials and annoyan
their vocation render them skeptical, mo
rose, irritable, and egotistic. Their occupa
Elton. habits and associations are certainl.
| different from those Of other laborers, ant
the difference is against them. l am incline'
Ito believe that many of the inky class VIII
| have become soured with life and them
| selves. would have been amiable and genial
\ had they followed some other pursuit.
II No trade is so unremunerative and gen
Serally unsatisfactory as the trade of writing
Il It may seem strange that so many ar
kdrawn into it; butt has kind of allurement
land offers promises that are never redeemed
To the majority of educated persons Their
L is. undeniably, a species of fascination abou
appearing in print They are likely to b
Ildelighted when they discover they can writ
anything that anybody cares to publish
h And having done it once they are prett
certain to repeat it again and again. unit
I<they have lost the power to resist the tenpts
,tion. Nearly every man who can write
all is disposed to think he has genius, c
marked talents at least, and partial klndre
OR friends have no trouble in leading hiI
to believe that he owes it to his time an
| Country not to neglect the gifts with whlc
1 the has been endowed. ne IanCAeS AVei aIui
to be his mission; that any other employ
ment would be beneath him, and therefor
he takes to it seriously. Not improbably,
is bitterly disappointed in the line of autho
ship The dull public being unwilling
accept him at his own estimate, he is force
to relinouish his ardent hope of becoming
great poet, or essayist, or philosopher, or nj
f torian. and seek some subordinate positio
ION a newspaper. He who was born, as /
| simagines, to electrify the world,
reduced to reporting accidents or VI
1 folding the mysteries of the Pole
court
I'll 1t may happily occur that he selec
II sound business, and varies it with wri
ing. If so, he is very wise; for then he wi
{ escape the miseries that so often befall tho
i who regularly dabble in ink. Literature
as has been said, an excellent cane, but
very poor crutch. Only he who has undi
puted genius, or who is in independent Ct
: cumstances, should undertake authorshi
To almost all others, it brings manic
pains and penalties.
An exception may be made OF woma
who not being naturally the money-earnil
7 partner in the great firm of domesticlt
NOV afford the exnensive luxury of writin