The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-03-31
The American Press.
D. Bel in Edinbwgh Leader.

j. d. Bell IN Edinburgh Ledder.
The American press is the most incom-
prehensiblc of American institutions to
strangers. Day after day its columns are
freighted with astounding crimes, with
marvellous adventures, with social scandals,
with political programmes and religious
heresies. One wonders how it is possible
such surprises should be constantly hap
pening, and how their details should be so
exhaustively wrought out But the as
tonishment subsidies when it is known that
the American press in organization, in en-
terprise, in talent leads the world; that it
deals not with one country, as in the Old
World, but represents a whole continent;
that the population it controls and informs
is drawn from every European and several
Asiatic nations; that among these are
crowds of dangerous and lawless emigrants,
some of whom have escaped from European
jails and many from the European police
And whatever contempt for law and order
the native American may inherit is deep
ened by contact with the frenzied men
driven to American shores by the regimes
of Bismarck aud Salisbury.
DETECTION OF CRIME.
Forced upon it by such surroundings
the American press has accepted functions
which no other nations newspapers have
had delegated to them. The foremost of
these has been the detection of crime and
the defeat of fraud, and in the performance
of both tasks American press men have won
the admiration of the American people,
and ought to be source of pride and sur
prise to press men everywhere. American
criminals may tamper with American judges;
they may evade the police; they may defy
the law; they are never safe from the press.
Again and again have assassins been hung
on the Gallows wholly through the astute-
ness and amazing ability of American press
reporters. Again and again have scanda-
lous swindles been exploded through the
single handed efforts of press men. The
great Tweed ring was burst up by the per-
sisteney of newspaper men. The Preller
murder was cleared up through the acute
ness of press inquiries but illustrations are
endless.
Why such services are seldom attempted
by the British press is easily explained.
The British press man is a short hand
writer, whose work is mainly to reproduce
the speeches of the people who would hardly
be listened to on this side of the Atlantic.
In america verbatim reporting is hardly
wanted; it is reckoned very secondary
accomplishment. The American press man
20 tba Dr,f,sh
ter may do without The American must
be born detective, have an intuitive fac
ulty of following up the course criminals,
adventures and delinquents pursue in
planning crimes and evading their convic-
ton. He must have an address which fits
all sorts of people on all sorts of occasions.
He must be equally ready to speak on level
terms with statesman or confab with
thief; and it is his business to get at the
intentions of both. The American press
man must be an educated man of the world,
who can represent his journal under any
circumstances, and this is at once apparent
to any stranger who has opportunities of
coming in contact with the leading repre-
sentatives of the New York journals.
A GREAT CONTRAST.
To any one who has seen the position
old country press men have to bend to the
contrast is great The American who for
gets that an American press man is an
American gentleman would find himself
rebuked in way he never would forget.
But such rudeness is hardly ever risked.
The high position taken by the staff of the
American newspapers is too widely recog-
nized, and men of the proudest position
are pleased to meet the American inter
viewer, treat him graciously and give him
whatever assistance is wanted. To be po-
lite, frank and affable is the Americans
pFerogative, The Old World snob who
affects airs meets with supreme ridicule in
the United States. 1 have met one or two
in the hotels utterly Mortified at American
familiarity; even the negro walters laugh
at their comical pretensions.
There is none of the rivalry and shop
jealousy between the staff of one American
paper and the staff of another so absurdly
fostered in the old country. The Ameri-
can press men treat each other as gentle
men simply because they are so. Bad
manners and stupidity go together, and |
have not come across any stupid press men
in America. Editors and city editors make
no distinction of persons in their staff, and
they have no reason to do SO. A clever
reporter knows he will get good situation
sooner than either editor or city editor, and,
if anything, the reporter is master of the
situation. As may be inferred, talent of
the highest order is the only passport to a
position on the American press. A eanny
Scotchman without brains could not keep
berth on the New York press for twenty
four hours. With such racking work of
brain and body, it may be surmised, the
strain is tremendous, and in proof the
American press mans professional life is
short one. Among the many American
newspaper men l cannot recollect seeing
one white haired laap. No doubt some
Of tho more brilliant press men find their
way into congress and into public life, and
not few fall into other and more lucrative
pursuits Many Of the American million
aires have Started life as interviewers and
owe their success to the training so OBJ
tanned. And no other point can better
illustrate the ability SO essentially inter-
laced with the American press. To grasp
the salient points of public question, to
intercept whatever enlightenment fit ex-
ponent may throw upon these, requires no
ordinary acumen, and to place before the
public in attractive form whatever insight
has been obtained calls for subtle and in
cisivc faculties, which, displayed in any line
of life, are bound to lead to success.
A snake story from San Luis Potosi,
Mexico, is as follows "a family succeeded