Evening journal., 1888-10-16

representative at police headquarters.
Some Of the papers keep two men,
so that II something OF Importance
occurs ut late hour there may be two
men to rush after it without the loss of a
moment, except to telephone the Office
that another reporter must be sent to
cover headquarters. This work is called
the police, and is divided into day and
night duty. There are no more keen,
sharp, Fly" men in the detective forces
of our large cities than these same police
reporters. hundreds of stories could be
told of their wit and shrewdness. of their
courage and nudacity One will suffice.
just as his paper was abont to 70 to press
one morning city editor heard that there
had been a sensational suicide at lead
Ing hotel. This was private information
which did not come through the police,
and therefore there was chance that the
other papers would not hear of it. IL
there is anything that makes a city
editors blood run warm 1t is an oppor-
tunity of this sort. Hastily telephonine
his might police reporters. he told them
the rumor and babe them lump into q cab
and get to the L. hotel as quickly as
possible, but to make sure they were not
followed by other reporters. Then he
whistled down stairs to haze the presses
held few minutes. lis two young men,
after leaving headquarters lazily and Sc
curing a cab block or two away, drove
with all speed to the hotel, There was
a little excitement in the office, though
only few persons were awake at that
hour. The reporters entered and wanted
to know where she was. The clerk met
them with calm gaze and o. fine bluff
He did not know what the young men,
wanted, and when told Of the suicide de-
MED that any such thing had occurred in
the house. But tile reporters were not to
be blutfed away. Theyran upstairs and
found two or three porters standing be-
fore one Of the rooms, whispering mys
teriously. No policemen we're on hand.
Have the police been notifedf7 asked one
OF the reporters of porter. Eyes"
But we cant wait for the police, said
the other reporter, ''for our paper must
go to press in ton minutes" mo, we
can't wait, and won't, replied the first.
So they burst open the door of the bed
room. A strange scene lay before them.
Every gas jet in the room was lighted;
in the middle of the chamber, in q big
chair, sat a young and beautiful woman,
handsomely dressed, with her head
bent forward on her breast and the
blood oozing from hole in her head and
trickling down over her immaculate gar.
ments and snowy skin. The reporters
were the FIRST to touch her. They lifted
her head that they might see her face.
They pulled open her eyes to get their
color. They pried open her clenched Asts
to ascertain If any notes were held therein.
They pulled off her rings and noted the
initials engraved therein. They searched
her dressing case for proof of her identity
or correspondence which might throw
light upon tho mystery In FIVE minutes
the scene was photographed upon their
minds. They had even the monogram
from the corner Of her handkerchief which
one had drawn from her bosom-a bosom
in which there was yet warmth but no
life The quick eye OF the reporter had
not failed 10 observe that the dead
woman wore fine silk stockings, and that
throughout her attire was Of the richest
and fineat, as II she had dccked herself ia
her best before firing the fatal shot. Just
as the pohce arrived tho yoaAg men
rushed down stairs. A few questions of
the clerk and thoy jumped into their cab.
On the way 70 the office they agreed upon
q division Of the work of writing At
rapidly as nervous, eager men could push
them. As fact as one of them wrote a
dozen words the city editor snasched the
sheet away and whisked It upstairs to the
printers. AMDther man wrote the head
lines. In ten minutes all had Anlshed.
In ten minutes moro the papers were roll
ing froan the press, papers which con,
tanned three quarters Of a eofunn Of
double loaded account Of tho suicide.
The FIRST part Of that Recoant was
written by one reporter, the ether
half BY another. Neither crossed thO
track " tho other. You could RSt tell
whore one bsgan and the other lsft of.
1t was q spirited, graphic, Hfaetfsil nnrra-
tive. How did the cityseditor hear of the
case so quickiyf By the kindness of q
night porter whom he hhdonce bcfriended.
This porter ran Cut'o the hotel to drug
store and telephoned the news while the
woman was dying. The reporters arrived
before her body was cold. That was
called luck" beat, and luck it was. but
there was the intelligence, the nerve, the
skill to take advantage of the luck and
make the mSst Of it. That is newspaper
genius. -
At Q o'clock in the evening we get a
glimpse of tho whole process of news
paper making. The dramatic editor, the
musical editor, the railroad editor the
commercial editor and his assistants, the
real estate editor, the Grt writer, the lit
erary editor, the exchange editor, the
sporting editors, and all those persons
who work during he day on departments,
are just finishing or still making their
copy" From the hands Of the editor
in-chief come the editorials which the staff
has prepared. In their rooms q dozen re-
porters are grinding out accounts of the
events which they were sent to cover.
Telegraphic dispatches begin pouring in
by the hundred, and small boy, not
moro than four feet high, soon leaves tho
desk with buslel basket fun OF manu-
scripts in his arms. He walks upstairs
into O great room where hundreds Of gas
lights end scores Of electric lights make
the scene as light as day. and where 1876
printers are just beginning work before
type cases which cover q half acre Of
ground.
The making Of newspaper is not such
simple thing after all and If we want
to learn oil about IL we shall have to
write another letter and stay with these
printers and the pressInen and. the other
night workers till the sun rises
WALTER WELLMAN.
Europe's Chief Tobacco Market.
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