The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-10-07

|
The Chicago Herald. a $4,000 fir
In Chicago is worth moro space than {
million dollar fire in New York. The Chi
7 cago Times. which + now fast regaininl
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 q quarter Of a column 10 railway
accident in France by which forty lives
are sacrificed. The stanch Republican
Inter Ocean will use a column in telling
why n Chicago Democrat has concluded
to vote the Republican ticket, or in ex-
claiming why Republican has gobc over
to the enemy. but it has little space 10
spare for an account OF the latest revolt
ton in IIayti. A cyclone in China in
which two thousand people perish is not
worth rs much to The Chicago Tribune
as a runaway accident on State street in
which a little girl Is rescued from death
BY brave policeman.
You cannot understand why this should
be- 500 Think a moment Suppose you
are walking down street in your town or
city a crowd gathers What's up? A
man has fallen from q building and IS
badly hurt Nobody knows how badly
! You get glimpse o. his bruised body
as they carry him away to hospital You
ask several questions, but nobody seems
TO know anything about il. Next morning
you pick up your paper What is the
/ first thing You look for. The report
/ of that accident, and If II 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-
connt Of the laundering Of a Dutch
merchant vessel off the coast OF Africa
4 hundred lives and a million of treasure
have been lost Concerning this YOU read
only the headlines and are satisfied II il
had been a sailboat with four or five
people I'm it, and the craft had fOundered
IN Lake Michigan before your very door,
the paper would have given il two or
three columns. and You would have been
mad if it hadn't The best journalism is
that which gives the be-, daily or weekly
Ut does not matterl picture OF what is going
OH in the neighborhood whe.c it is printed
and where the vast majority OF its readers
live. and following this rule some Of the
best journalists in the United States live
and work ia the small cities and towns
There they can and must chronicle less
important events than their brethren in /
the large cities. but the principle is the I
same. II wanted 10 | could name news /
papers printed in cities Of thirty or forty I
thousand inhabitants which arc greater /
newspapers. because better covering the /
field which they occupy. than nine-tenths /
Of the metropolitan papers.
But | had started ont 70 tell something
about the staff Of a 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 10 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 OH his
rounds among the agents. Tho theatrical
man may be out interviewing an actress
or manager or getting ready 10 90 To
matinee The commercial mentor there
are three of them-arc hard at work on
the board II trade or among the banks or
commission houses, gathering the news
and quotations and preparing TO write a
commercial and financial and also Il
speculative review Of the day Tho rail
road editor j. on his rounds from office 10
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 tho
world
These mea arc experts in their lines
They know everybody Of Importance in
their fields # work are men OF character
and education, and must be absolutely re-
liable and iIcoTuptible They are men
VI the widest influence. too. as their writ
ings have an important bearing upon tho
markets and business OF the country.
Tho sporting editor and his assistants
are beginning their day IS work There
are three If them, and from May 10 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-
yra9Ding his reports Of games every
light. III the Chicago papers send
special men with tho ball team
vaeleve- it goes away from home
Even tho afternoon papers engage in ]
i--il1r enterprises, expensive though
ley cre, for in the season sporting news !
) aboat the best news a journal can /
l-iat. Al old fogy editor once tried TO J
jr.nt 6 morning newspaper without any !
ports in it, and his circulation fell away !
% rapidly that it made his head swim 1
The evening papers get ont extras at I
bout 6 o'clock in the evening containing i
he results Of the days baseball games !
nd horse races all over the country. /,
Within enc minute after the last man IS
out il hall game these extras appear
n the streets. Colored boys sit on horses
b the alleys near the newspaper Offices, :,
nd IN another minute they are galloping :
Or the ball grounds with bundles Of !
ytras hanging 10 their saddles. As \
ne crowds emerge from the grounds they q
nd newsboys at the gates selling news
apers containing full reports Of the
ames. It Is one Of the sights Of the
ow. 90 see these mounted couriers racing
30 miles and n half to the grounds In
rder 10 avoid arrest for fast riding they
ad 10 get q special permit from the chief
police. One OF these riders once ran
ver e man and killed him Lut the .