St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-05-15

another visits all the theaters eacl
nlght-not to criticise the play, tha
comes under another department of tn,
paper-but to learn of any importan
changes in the cast of a performance
or to obtain any interesting informa
ton pertaining fo the stage The re
porters also visit all the leading hotel.
to get the names of prominent mer
from all over the world, from the hote
registers.
From great many of these place.
no information worth printing is OBJ.
tanned once a year: but q newspaper
takes no risk of being s'left" on any
matter of news. The large newspapers
have each a reporter in BROOKLYN. Jer-
sey City, Newark and Paterson, who
does not report at the Office, but sends
in his ''copy'' by a messenger. Besides
these out-of-town men, reporters are
kept by each paper-one on Long
Island. one on Staten Island and one to
travel daily in Westchester County, up
the Hudson between Sing Sing and
New York, to obtain the news from
those places.
But all these are merely the routine
reporters. who do the same work each
day. Besides these, there are the men
who do general work." as it is called
who are sent to religious meetings
and prize-tights; who interview great
men and women; who attend funerals;
who obtain obituary sketches of men of
prominence, whether living or dead;
who write sketches of street occur
rences; attend important trials in the
courts; report sermons and lectures
and hangings; investigate rumors, and
do thousand and one other kinds of
work that goes towards filling the local
columns of the great dailies with cur
rent intelligence. If a well-known
citizen is dangerously i'll, a reporter is
sent to some friend or relative of the
suffering man, to obtain the main facts
Of his life for an obituary sketch, in
case the man should die. If the sick
man RECEIVERS, the sketch is written and
put in type. with blanks left for the
date of his death, when it occurs at
some future day. Then a proof-sheet
of the article is filed away in the obitu-
airy department of the paper, known
among newspaper men as 1.-THE grave
yard" and retained until the promin-
ent citizen does die. In these '.grave.
yards" of the great newspapers, there
are kept obituary sketches of the most
prominent men and women of the
world, ready to be filled in with the
date of death and published as soon as
the subject of the sketch. as must hap.
pen sooner or later, is claimed by the
King of Terrors.
When noted citizen is dangerously
i'll a reporter keeps watch for his death
each night. until the paper goes to
press. Should the death take place,
the reporter telegraphs at once to his
,ity editor; the blanks i'm the obituary
sketch are filled in, and the sketch OF
he mans life appears in the paper the
leNt morning. Commodore Wander
bits last illness was so long. and his
teath so lingering that the newspapers
hired a room for their reporters in the
7icinity of his residence. and during
lis illness the old man sent iocose
messages to the men who were waiting
or his death.
When great accident occurs in the
'ity, such, for instance. as the crush
If the East River bridge after it was
irst opened to the public, when thir-
cen persons were killed. a number of
epOrters are sent out to work on the
'ase. Each reporter is detailed to give
'nly one portion of the account that
hall appear in the next mornings pa
Ter. For example: When the East
River bridge tragedy took place one
nan was directed to obtain such in
as would enable him to give
he introduction to the sketch and a
,eneral description of the traGgical
Gene at the time of its occurrence.
here his work ended. Another re-
'orter was detailed to ascertain mi
utely the cause of the accident. This
e was to do and nothing more A
bird was sent to the police station,
there the dead were carried, to describe
he sad scenes there. Another reporter
yas detailed to visit the hospitals where
ne wounded were, and to ascertain late
night their condition and chances for
Among five or six other re-
orters was divided the list of names of |
le dead and wounded who had been
arried to their homes; and that list,
hich comprised names from all over |
'ew York, Brooklyn and Jersey City,
as absolutely verified by a personal
isit to the house of each victim. Two
,porters were sent out to interview as
lany eye-witnesses of the tragedy as
,uld be found, and to give each mans
escription of the scene as it appeared
} him. The different sections of the
rticle were then given to the city edi-
n, who joined them together in their
roper sequence. In this way each
aper the next morning had long and
accurate description of
lie tragedy.
Reporters are recognized institution
New York. The value and impor-
nee of their labor is universally con-
,ded. Each prominent church has its
'porters' table. where are all accom-
odations for the men of the pencil.
snate committees, commercial organi-
ltions, charitable and benevolent.
lblic and private institutions, lecturers.
'eakers, associations and meetings of
kinds are careful to send invitations
their proceedings to every newspaper
the city. in order that they may
cure historian of their transactions.
Every public entertainment has a
'mmittee to take care of the ..mem-
RS of the press" who shall be present,
Id all public exhibitions have each a
Dress agent" who makes himself
,ret able to the reporters and gives
em all the information they want,
I'd generally great deal more.-F.
drshaH White, in Youths Companion.