The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-02-24
THE AMERICAN PRESS.
CHAT A SCOTCH OBSERVER SAYS OF
OUR NEWSPAPERS.
The Vast and Valuable Service Performed
in the Interests Of the Public-Detec-
lion of Crime and Fraud-Work of Re
porters and Editors.

The American press is the most incom-
prehensible of American institutions to
strangers. Day after day its columns are
ireighted with astounding crimes, with
marvellous adventures, with social scan
,lals, with political programmes and re-
/ Npious leresies. one wonders how IL IS
possible such surprises should be con
! srantly happening, and how their details
should be so exhaustively wrought out.
/ But the establishment subsidies when 1t Is
/ known that the American press IN organl-
/ cation, in enterprise, in talent leads the
world; that it deals not with one country,
| Us in the Old World, but represents whole
| continent; that the population 1t controls
/ and informs is drawn from every turo-
| pean and several Asatio nations; that
/ among these are crowds Of dangerous and
! lawloss 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 deepeued by con
! tact with the frenzied men driven to
| American shores by the regimes OF Bis
marck and Salisbury.
DETECTION OF CRIME.
Forced upon it by such surroundings
! the American press has accepted func-
| tons which no other nations newspapers
! have had delegated to them. The fore
most Of these has been the detection of
| crime and the defeat of fraud, ard in the
| performance oil both tasks American press
| men have won the admiration of the
! American people, and ought to be n source
/ Of pride and surprise to press men every
/ where. American criminals may tamnsr
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 astuteness
and amazing ability Of American press
/ reporters. Again and again have scan
! dalous swindles been exploded through
| the single handed efforts Of press men.
/ The great Tweed ring was burst up by
/ the persistency of newspaper men, The
| Preler murder was cleared up through
the acuteness Of press inquiries but illus
| trations are endless.
Why such services are seldom at
/ tempted by the British press Is easily eX-
/ flGned. The British press man IS a short
/ hand writer whose work Is mainly 10 re
/ produce the speeches of the people who
/ would hardly be listened TO on this side Of
/ thc Atlantic. In America verbatim re
/ porting is hardly wanted; il is reckOned
| very secondary accomplishment The
/ American press man mast have require
mcnts the British reporter may do with
| out. The American must lie born de-
/ teCtiye, have an intutiye faculty Of fol-
/ lowing ND the course criminals, advent
urcrs and deliuqucnts pursue in planning
! crimes ana evading their conviction. He
| must have an address which fits all sorts
Il .ge.Qne on all sorts OF occasions lie
! must he eaualiT yeady to speak on level
terms with a statesman OF 'Gouiab with
| thief and it is his business 10 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 op-
portunities of coming in contact with the
leading representatives OF the New York
| journals.
A GREAT CONTRAST.
To any one who has seen the position
old country press men have TO bend 10 the
contrast is great The American who for
gets that an American press man Is an
American gentleman would find himself
rebuked in a way he never would forget
But such rudeness is hardly ever risked.
The high position taken log the staff Of
the American newspapers is too widely
reco-liZed, and men of the proudest posi-
ton are pleased TO meet the American
interviewer, treat him graciously and
! give him whatever assistance is wanted.
70 be polite, frank and afiable is the
Americans prerogatiye. The Old World
snob who affects airs meets with supreme
ridiculc in the Uyited States. have
met one or two in the hotels utterly hOrri-
fed at American familiarity even the
negro walters laugh NJ their cOmical pre-
| tensions.
There is none # the rivalry and shop
Jealousy between the staff of one Amerl-
can paper and the staff Of another 50 alb
surdly fostered in the old country. The
American press men treat each other rs
Gentlemen simply because they are so.
Bad manners and stupidity 90 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 ne Will get
good situation sooner than either editor
or city editor, and, If anything, the re-
porter 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 canny 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 tho many American news
paper men | cannot recollect seeing one
white haired man. No doubt some Of the
more brilliant press men find thep way
into congress and into public life, and not
q few fall into other and more lucrative
pursuits Many Of the American million
aires have started life rs intcryiewers and
owe their success 10 the training so OBJ
tanned. And no other point can better IL
lustrate the ability so essentially inter-
laced with the American press To grasp
the .licnt points Of public question, To
intercept whatever enlightenment fit oX-
poncnt may throw upon these requires no
ordinary acumon, and 10 place before the
public in attractive form whatever insight
has been obtained calls for subtle and in