The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-04-19

economizing quality in the reporter, or /
from the meagerness OF his salary, IT has |
grown 10 be a recognized tenet of the |
business that reporter can't afford to
have family. So ne lives in his down
town clearinghouse or hotel, accustoms
himself to the society of those he meets
within dozen blocks Of his office, and
draws every week his salary with which
he paws his board and washing, receiving
possibly enough to keep him in the lux
uries OF life through the week.
His salary varies according to his abili-
ty and location. If he is in St. Louis it
runs from Sl5 to $50 a week; in Chicago
he will be paid about the same; in Cleve-
land or Cincinnati it will hardly run
above $40; in Buffalo, Albany or Boston
rarely above Sl5, and in New York there
are good newspaper men who are work
ing for so end Sl2 a week Undoubt-
ediy he is fortunate if he hasa permanent
situationin Chicagoor st. Louis, although
his living expenses may be heavier than
| they would be in the eastern cities. On
most OF the papers here the new man is
put down on the pay roll for something
like SO week, but this is soon raised to
Sl5 or $40, and there are few, if any re-
porters working in the city now for less
than SIS.
| Ii it is borne in mind that the facts l
am giving are not intended for those
| familiar with the newspaper life of great
city, but that they are written for people
who know comparatively little about it, L
may be excused for going into detail. The
reporter on morning paper, who is per-
haps more Overworked man than his
brother on the evening paper, appears on
duty early in the afternoon and is given
an afternoon assignment. He Is expected
to show up early in the evening with his
work written out and be ready to take an
evening assignment With this he returns
as soon as he can gather the necessary
facts, takes his desk and writes out his ar
ticle. That finished, he remains on duty
until time for leaving in the morning.
This time varies in different offices, rs the
time of going to press varies. In st. Louis
reporters are seldom kept after , a. m,
although a watch" is put on who re-
mains three or four hours after to give
the alarm if anything occurs of enough
consequence to warrent an extra edition.
The work of late watch was shown
in the Globe Democrat office the other
morning. The Golden Eagle fire occurred
at 345, and although the paper had already
gone to press, Tom Fallagher, who was on
duty brought in the facts for another edi-
ton. In Cleveland, Cincinnati, and some
of the eastern cities, notably Boston,a full
force Ofreporters is kept on duty till
| about o'clock.
J 80 the morning paper reporters have
hours ranging from twelve to fourteen a
day. There are some of them who are
on duty full fourteen hours a day, and
. still get time for considerable reading
and outside writing. The hours for the
/ evening paper men are considerably
about eight o'clock in the morning, and
the last edition generally goes down
shorter. Work with them commences
about four O'Clock in the afternoon 1t is
probable that taking them altogether
they do not average half as many hours
on duty as the men on a morning paper.
1t Is the exception when they have even
ing work to do, these papers as rule
; c0ndensing the news of the night before
their issue, from the morning papers.
One might suppose that the reporter on
an evening paper had picnic" but in
this supposition he would be wrong. The
work of an evening paper is hurried,
nervous work. During the four or five
hours in the middle of the day in which
news can be gathered for an evening pa
per, the force is pushed to its utmost
, capacity. The men are feverishly hurried
from one part of the city to another, COM
PEELED to write up facts that they haven't
had time to examine, driven to make
complete articles about transactions
, which are still incomplete, moved to
anticipate" happenings the occurrence
of which is still yelled in doubt; they are
: hampered by instructions about matter
that must be in time for the first or second
editions, distressed by finding that Their
I manuscript is too late for publication and
/ in every way made miserable and unhap-
py. Between the long hours of the
! morning paper and the fretful haste OF
, the evening paper, the reporter finds
! himself environed by a veritable Scylla
! and Charybdis.
This is the life of the news gatherer.
Not altogether cheerful and luxurious
, one, not altogether an enviable one, and
yet life which thousands are following
and countless thousands are seeking to
follow; for undesirable as the life may be,
every one who is filling position as re-
porter there are at least three who are
, seeking such positions 1t is profession
l or semi-prOfession to which the bars are
e always down, and whoever will may
: come" The pasture is not of the green.
= est, the babbling brook that winds its
? way among its mounds and hillocks is
! not the purest. Its banks are strewr
2 | with many wrecks and skeletons, but the
5 gates stand always open, the bars are al
, ways down. None are kept out except
by the crowd that throngs the entrance,
/ o,,1 soafI,rr.