St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-02-20
A REPORTERS WORK.

10 the great majority Ol Inc uh-
thinking public the work reporter
suggests an underbred, prying fellow,
whose delight is to spy into the pri-
vate affairs of his neighbors. He IS
Jenkins, the despicable eavesdropper,
who counts the wedding garments of
the bride, listens to family quarrels
and unearths the miserable history
of the suicide in order to furnish the
morning meal of gossip to the public.
They forget that the public are
hungry for this meal of personal
gossip or it would not be served to
them, and that the reporter whose
assignments" call him one hour to
interview a tawdry actress and the
next to give list of the leaders OF
| fashion at a ball, is no more response
BILE for the pettiness of his work than
is the compositor who puts 1T INTO
type. Tomorrow he may be assigned
to give to the world clear true ac-
count of a political conference IN
which vast interests are involved, or
to risk his life in plague-stricken
district in order to bring it relief.
He is not now, as he too often was
thirty years ago, an illiterate penny
a-liner, trying to make scanty llv-
ing by his unframed wits. The local
staff of the great daily newspapers IS
largely made up now of men who be-
gan their preparations for the work
of journalism in Harvard, Yale or
Johns Hopkins, and who are going
through the apprentice drudgery OF
their profession with zeal and abil-
itv which deserve other reward than
the sneers of an uncomprehending
public.
Of this one man who fell the other
dav in the first steps of his career,
should like to say a word here. His
life seems to me typical of his class
and of the times.
Jennings Crute was the descendant
of a Southern family, who since colo
NAL times have made themselves felt
in the history of the country. 1t was
good fighting stock; the men have
ALWAYS been stout belligerents as
politicians, theologians or soldiers.
Jennings was a delicate, slight, blue
eyed lad with the low voice and shy
ness of a woman; but underneath
was the tough fiber of his race.
He began work as a reporter on a
country paper in Delaware when but
boy, and soon made his mark by
the exceptionally vivid sharpness OF
his descriptions. In a short time he
held leading place on the local staff
of one of the principal Philadelphia
papers.
The lad, who looked like a sensi-
tive girl, was remarkable specialist
in his way. He had a peculiar facul-
tv for unearthing crime, and for
bringing hidden wrongs to light
Set him on the track of concealed
misdoing which exposure would
right, and he would follow it with
the silent energy of a bloodhound
Through his obstinate pertinacity IL
a famous murder case which batf1eC
the lawyers year or two ago an in
nocent man was saved from the gal
lows.
Two winters ago he penetrated IL
disguise into the worst olives" o
: Philadelphia, publishing each morn
ing an account of the horrors which
he saw After the first exposure h'
l continued this work at the risk OF hi:
life, but he persevered until the city
authorities were able to close all o
these houses and to punish thei
keepers. Hordes of young girls ant
lads who had been 1ured to ruin il
these dens owed their rescue to tn
quiet courage of this boy.
l Hehad inherited consumption, ant
knew it He knew, too, that the all
night work, the irregular hours, tn
? exposure in every kind of weather
would hasten the end. But he hat
; no thought of himself. He had blu
! one idea-his work. How to do /
best, how best to serve his paper an
the world. He had two or three at
; lacks of serious illness, but after eaC
5 he staggered to his feet again an
went to work with breathless haste
A stranger in a great city, and be
set by the temptations which com
: to men at his work, he lived a clea
= life, now and then stopping to dra
up other men out of the slough. H
i was a reserved man, with but fey
II never spoke a word of affection; blu
u his loyalty touched them as some
y thing strange and unworldly. Hi
u feeling for them was part of his Iii
as was the blood in his veins.
" He was worn out with har
" winters work when there came or
day last spring the vague report of
disaster at Johnstown.
wonder if the readers of the Ind
pendent ever thought of the wor
done by reporters at Johnstowl
> They hurried to it from every city {
- the country. The whole d1strit
II around was laid waste-railway
" bridges, roads washed away; tt
valleys were still flooded The