The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-09-25
"PRIRTY WAS IN"
A Newspaper Story That Might Be
True, Even if it is Not.

IL is WelI-knoWn TACT that news
paper men, as rule, do not get credit
for being susceptible to anything like
the feelings that ordinary human b. ings
have, but one case is on record of
man worn out with hard work, and
perhaps some dissipation, who showed
to the few that knew him a nature
more like a woman's than the blase
newspaper man that lie was, writes
Luther Little in the st. Paul Globe.
He had his Office at the time in an
overhead and badly lighted room, such
as are often made TO do duty as news
paper offices in a New HAMPSHIRE city.
He was the telegraph editor" on q
morning paper, and all through tn
evening and early morning hours he cut
the sheets of manifold, dotted the ''i's.'
put in periods. Strengthened the twirled
sentences and occasionally swore about
the operators that made such poor COPY
His name matters not. He bad been
one of the brightest reporters in Chicago
at twenty-five, and had worked in ST
Louis and q dozen other cities during
the ten years that followed.
He was at the time knew him strictly
temperate, as | afterwards learned, due
to the fact that while in New Orleans b..
had fell in love with young lady in
moderate circumstances who ha Or, -
missed to become his wife when he
should consider himself in circumstan-
ces TO warrant such a step He never
told me of this. but often spoke of pre-
ferring 10 live in a small city away
from the boys, and where he could save
more money. He had picture of a
young lady that was always on his
desk. and often in the night his eyes
would wander from the manifold"
and looA for five minutes on the fac of
that of a sweet faced girl with dark hair
and big eyes that seemed deep and
LIQUID.
One night, or rather morning. for it
was nearly time for the paper to go to
press, the night editor came in and
said: Mr.. -, how is the report
coming?" The Western Union Kid"
had just brought in the last sheet of
cony, and the telegraph editor replied:
Thirty is in" When the telegraph
operator receives the last dIspGtcn for
the night he writes under it the con
venuonal sign. 80 The night editor
said unless there was something impor-
tant to kill it, for it was getting late
Ny friend, with his pencil In his
fingers. ran hastily tn ough it and
when he reached the last paragraph
stopped short and for moment turned
pale as death, while his pencil dropped
from his fingers. But he recovered
himself in a moment, and in reply 10
the night EDITORS question, said YEARLY:
There are TWO paragraphs-one on the
Beecher trial and another about some
young lady being struck by lightning in
a town in Louisiana. that's all " "Send
up the one about Beecher and kill the
other" said the night editor; nobody
III this part of the country cares a d-p
about any young lady being killed 900
miles from here-not at this time in Il e
morning.
My friend wrote a head for the
Beecher story and put the rest of the
manifold paper in his pocket. He put
on his coat with tired air and left tie
office, passing the police reporter in
the adjoining room with a briet good
night.
Next evening he did not show up at
the usual hour, and the night editor
>wOre, for he had TO handle the tele
graph himself. Il was two days before
saw or heard from my friend, aud
then l had heard that he had Quis his
Job. and went to his room way down
on Elm Street.
L am not well " he said. ~ had
quit night work for while. l am about
done up"
That was about all he said, and for
week, as 1 make calls on him, it was the
same. He got no better, but said, wien
he got over bad cold he would be all
right. Two weeks later he died. a
doc or had attended him, and said il
was 8 sort of quick consumption. IN
b 8 pocket was found half dozen let
:rs, one, which the dead man had evil
I entity written and neglected to mail.
was directed to Miss Anna Z. Clement.
n W Orleans. l was intending to mail
it VIII n came across, among the pa
peTS f und In his pocket, blt of mani
fold co Y, on which was written, as near
"a remember it, the following:
NEW ORLEANS, S.-During severe
thunder storm sevening lightning
struck house Mrs. E. Clement, number
= Caro- delet street, and lsdy's daugh
ter Annie aged twenty Instantly
killed
T lat evening 1 went down to the of
T &c where the dead man had worked.
new man was doing the telegraph
an no one seemed TO remember that
the dead man had worked there. TIE
pic u. was pushed over to the. windJw
sill. a. d was covered with dust. 1t was
the picture Of Annie, who had been
killed by the bolt that day that the tel
graph editor had quit his desk forever.
The picture, with the letters. were
mailed To the girls mother, with short |
notice Of his de ath; but no one ever |
told her the blow that broke the poor |
hardened Newspaper mans heart was
the unimportAut paragraph that the |
ne bit edltnr bad ordered nkillad =,