Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-01-06
GREELEY'S DISCOVERY.

HOW THE TRIBUNE PHILOSOPHER FOUND AMOS j. CUMMINGS. The Typesetter's First Interview with
 tho Famous Editor - Something The
 Tribune Had to Take Back-Reading
 Dana's Choice Obituaries.
 The cleverest newspaper men, when p,isss:ed into the walks of statesmanfhip, have rarely fulfilled the promises of tESssr journalistic ca reers. But look for a different result in Amos J. Cummings case. He has an abund- ance of that rare mental commodity known as horse sense. There is nothing of the the orist about him. He is eminently practical, earnest, energetic, courageous and honest. know of no young man who ever entered congress with brighter prospects. He was offered $500 year-as much as his con- gressional salary-to write over his own sig nature one letter 8 week for a newspaper about the doings of the house.
 Cummings name brings to my mind his in- direct connection with the newspaper killing of a number of American statesmen for whom the last trump had not been blown-or played, whichever you prefer. When Horace 0Icc1cy3 Ouo Ol Guo OcSO t1IiQ plOlduSSb Ol men, was editor of The Tribune, Amos Cum mings entered the employ of that newspaper as typesetter. He then lived in Newark. One afternoon The Evening Telegram pub ished report of the death of William Wright, United States senator from New Jersey. 1t was an event in the political world, and Greeley wrote an editorial upon it. It fell to Cummings lot to place DOT tion of the article in type. Having just come from his New Jersey home, he knew that the report of Senator Wright's death was un- true, and so informed the foreman of the composing room, who told him that he should go down stairs and ''tell the old man."
 INTERVIEWING HIS CHIEF.
 Cummings, with his sleeves rolled up, and still wearing his ink smeared apron, walked into the sanctum of the Sage of Chappa- qua, and in his blunt way said: Senator Billy Wright is not dead"
 Looking up, Greeley, in his peculiar fal- youa"
 s'I work upstairs ill the composing room, 1" was the quiet answer.
 "Young man," squeaked out Greeley, s'you're = fool Go read The Telegram. :"
 The young printer said not another word, but walked upstairs and finished putting in type the editorial sermon over the living sen- ator's body. Two days afterward The Trib- une was obliged to correct its false state ment of Wright's death.
 It did not take Greeley long to find that Cummings was not a fool, and it was not very long before the typesetter was city editor of the great journal. At that time there were two New York congressman bear ing the name of James M. Humphreys. One was from Buffalo, and a Democrat; the other was from Brooklyn, and Republican, and was at one time postmaster of that city. The rcws editor, Otterson, in recording in the columns of The Tribune their votes on i'm portant public measures almost invariably mixed them up in one way or another and led Mir. Greeley into mistaken criticism that filled him with agony.
 GLAD TO HEAR IT.
 One night the dear old man walked into the editorial room and asked is there any news on which he could make editorial com ment. Congressman Humphreys is dead, Il answered Cummings.
 'Is hes" squeaked Greeley, "Pm = glad to hear it. Now The Tribune can be right about his vote. What have you got about himr' he continued, turning to Otterson
 The news editor promptly reeled off what be had before him about the Brooklyn Re 1 publican. Greeley went down stairs and wrote a strong editorial on the subject. The next morning all the other newspapers contained particulars of the death of the Buffalo Demo crat. The Brooklyn Congressman was still alive. When Greeley discovered the error he had been led into, the azure hue in which distance robes the mountain is pale, indeed beside the sapphire atmosphere of The Fri. bune office. After he had become valued 1 attache of The Sun and one of its stockhold. CTS, Cummings had the privilege of reading editorial obituaries of Daniel Manning and Henry Watterson, written by the nervous f forceful pen of Charles A. Dana. They were put in type-at various times, of course but were not published because the outstretched wings of the angel of death were again closed in each instance and the shadow passed away But Cummings thought it a monstrous shame that men in memory of whom Charles A Dana had poured forth his choicest utter ances should not hear them while, favored above all others, they were alive to enjoy themt Accordingly he had proofs of both articles struck and actually read to Manning and Watterson what The Sun had proposed saying over their piers. A man who could do that will be able to hold his own, think even in the American congress.-Cor. Phila delphia Press.