Evening journal., 1888-10-09


to publish it, To that brilliant paper.
The Chicago Herald, a $50 900 fire
In Chicago is worth more space than n
million dollar fire In New York. The Chi.
cago Times, which is now fast regaininp
its former greatness, will give two col.
umns to an accident on the cable railroad
in this city, by which one life was lost
and quarter Of a column to railway
accident in France by which forty lives
are sacrificed. The stanch Republican
Inter Ocean will use q column in telling
why Chicago Democrat has concluded
to vote the Republican ticket, or in ex-
planning why Republican has gone over
to the enemy, but it has little space TO
spare for an account of the latest revolu-
ton in Hayti. A cyclone in China in
which two thousand people perish is not
worth as much to The Chicago Tribune
as a runaway accident on State street in
which a little girl is rescued from death
by a brave policeman.
You cannot understand why this should
be SO? Think q moment. Suppose Won
are walking down street in your town or
city. A crowd gathers. What's up? A
man has fallen from building and is
badly hurt Nobody knows how badly.
You get a glimpse of his bruised body
as they carry him away to hospital. You
ask several questions, but nobody seems
TO know anything about it. Next morning
you pick up your paper. What is the
first thing you look for? The report
Of that accident, and II it is not re-
ported fully, you say the paper is no
good. The man was only laborer, and
was not badly hurt after all, but your Gu
riosity has been reused by contact, and
you eagerly devour all the details. In
the next column is printed short ac-
count Of the laundering of a Dutch
merchant vessel off the coast Of Africa.
A hundred lives and million of treasure
have been lost Concerning this you read
only the headlines and are satisfied If it
had been a sailboat with four or five
people in it, and the craft had foundered
IN Lake Michigan before your very door,
the paper would have given it two or
three columns, and you would have been
mad If it hadn't. The best journalism is
that which gives the best daily or weekly
Gt docs not matter) picture of what is going
on in the neighborhood where it is printed
and where the vast majority of it's readers
live, and following this rule some of the
best journalists in the United States live
and work in the small cities and towns.
There they can and must chronicle less
important events thnn their brethren in
the large cities, but the principle is the
same. II wanted to could name news
papers printed in cities of thirty or forty
Thousand inhabitants which arc greater
newspapers, because better covering the
held which they occupy, than nine-tenths
of the metropolitan papers.
But had started out to tell something
about the STAFF Of big city paper like
The Chicago Tribune At noon we find
few people at work. The city editor. who
has charge of all the local news, and who
is about the most important officer of the
ship, is locked up in his room preparing
plans for the days action. We shall
have to leave him to another letter. The
real estate man, whose descriptions of the
transfers, deals, new buildings, and of
all that pertains to the real estate field are
generally printed on Sunday is on his
rounds among the agents. The theatrical
man may be out interviewing an actress
or manager or getting ready to 60 to a
matinee. The commercial mentor there
are three Of them--are hard at work on
the board Of trade or among the banks or
commission houses, gathering the news
and quotations and preparing to write a
commercial and financial and also a
speculative review Of the day. The rail
road editor is on his rounds from Office to
office, boldly walking in on big presidents
and general managers, with all of whom
he is well acquainted, preparing to print
on the following morning the railway
news Of the greatest railway center in the
world
These men are experts in their lines.
They know everybody Of Importance in
their fields of work. are men OF character
and education, and mist be absolutely re-
liable and ineorruptible. They are men
Of the widest influence, too, as their writ
ings have an important bearing upon the
markets and business of the country.
The sporting editor and his assistants
are beginning their days work. There
are three Of them, and from May to Octo-
Der they are very busy. If the Chicago
ball club is away the baseball man is with
them, travelling from city to city and tele-
his reports of games every
night, All the Chicago papers send
special men with the ball team
Whenever 1t goes away from home.
Even the afternoon papers engage in
llinilar enterprises, expensive though |
-hey ere, for IN the season sporting news
= about the best news a journal can
print. An old fogy editor once tried to
PRINT morning newspaper without any |
sports in it, and his circulation fell away |
% rapidly that it made his head swim.
The evening papers get out extras at |
about 6 o'clock in the evening, containing |
.he results Of the days baseball games |
md horse races all over the country |
Within one minute after the last man is |
ont in q hall rama tbasa nv-4ras o,,v,o,,, /
N the streets. Colored BOYS sit on horses
n the alleys near the newspaper Offices, |
md in another minute they are rallopine /
'or the ball grounds with bundles Of /
lxtrGs hanging to their saddles. As /
ne crowds emerge from the grounds they |
ind newsboys at the gates selling news
'apers containing full reports Of the
James. Ii is one of the sights Of the
'owR to sec these mounted couriers racing
wo miles and half to the grounds. IN /
rider to avoid arrest for fast riding they
lad to get a special permit from the chief
y police. Ono Of these riders once ran
'ver man and killed him, but the
curriers' continue to race just the same.
Lhe people like sports and will have the
porting news.
Nhno / have been gossiping o'clock
D inc cfternoon has arrived and the re-
'orters arc coming in, and the printers.
nd the kilograms, and the business Of
making great newspaper has begun in
arnest. Twelve hours later they will
put the paper to press" and of that [
hall write in my next letter.
WALTER WELLMAN.
Coming Down the Ladder.
=