The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-06-16
Some Lies Nailed a, Last.
IlNFFNit F-reN ltrNNR.

An this talk about the country ed- itor being poor, hari.up, down. trpdden coyote Ia an Ahsur,lity which has outlivei It's day. Orphcas C. Kerr or Artemus Ward, or some of the other other pioneer funny fellows, started the stories about editors talk Ing wood and hay and vegetables on subscription, and of having to live between bread and cheese, and the public accepted them ss facts. For years past tho country editor has been tondly supposed 10 be crying ior "more copy,s and to be on his last sheet of paper and last shilling, and l presume my article will be a great disappointment to tho masses,
 began life as a "printer's devil" IL is popuiarly supposed that ''the devif' sweeps out and does other dirty work for year or two before promo tion. On the first morning I reached the office l was told to take things easy until the "old man" came down. went over to the bank for one of tho "comps" and deposited e2 900 tor him, cleaned up the forcman's &60o dia. mond, and dusted otr a pluah chair and opened box of Henry Clays for the pressman, and by that time the editor came down In his carriage. He ordered his coachman to give mo an airing, and when returned he bcncv- olently observed:
 "Well, Henry, you and l are to run the Gdfefte. You won't have much to do. Give me about three columns of crispy editorial per week, and If you want to dash of a poem or sketch, go ahead. Your salary will be e30 per week for the first six months, and you will occupy one of the spare chambers In my residence-- the blue and gold one.s
 He had residence valued at si25,- 900, filled with the richest of furni- ture. Ills wife thought nothing of giving washwoman a silk dress which cost $500 and had q splash of mud on 1t. No tramp went away with less than &20 in cash. Their Ice cream for one season cost &2,428. 75, and they were astonished at tho small ness of the bill. One of the rooms was known as "the coupon room." A young man with very delicate oom- plexion spent eight hours per day the year round in this room shearing of coupons from bonds, and from Novem- Der to December 3l he had to have two assistants.
 Whilo the bona tftic circulation of the Gazette was close on to 200 ,O0O, the editor kept the figures at 400 in order to avoid rush of patronage He paid six of the largest merchants In the city $2,000 per year each not to advertise with ns, aa their advcrtis- ing would make extra work for the compositors. What advertising we did do was very high-toned, and was charged for at the rate of&l per word. The salaries paid to employees were not as large as in some offices, because we could not afford 1t, but every one who had been on the Gazette two years had saved sufficient money to buy house and lot and horse and car. rlagge.
 During my tsn years in the office never knew us to be hard up but once. The proprietor bought gold mine in California, 6 coffee plantation in Brazil and railroad in New England at one time, and carclessly made GU the papers % that we had to raise about e3.000, 900 in one day. Vel raised 1t, but had to chip in fifteen cents from my private finances to make up the sum. It was only . 1 week later that the wife of the pro- prietor paid coco In cash for blne- | faced suDdower for 6 corner of the back yard, and the only remark made | by her husband as he learned of the purchase was:
 "Why, my dear, you should have taken pair at si ,000."
 In the seventh year of my stay the 0dzette changed hands. There was the usual notice of sheriff's sale, and of the plant being bid in by young aud contemplating man who would seek | to make 1t popular local organ, etc, but that was all tar. The proprietor sold out to open ehsin of national banks extending from Portland to Galveston, and to put i've new lines of ocean steamers into operation. 1 can remember the day he Left the town. was called upon to see his wife's jeweiry to the srscia. csr chartered for It. There were seven large dry. goods boxes full, and . peck or % of diamonds which could not be crowded in was brought along in coffee sack.