The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1891-11-03

Mr.. Dan Logan gave an interesting
talk at the Y. NJ. G.. A. last night, on
Journalism. The audience was much
smaller than the merit of the lecture
deserved, but still somewhat larger
than usual.
Mr. Logan said he had heard this
spoken of as lecture; it was, how
ever, no lecture, but merely practi-
cal talk. He had not had time to ar
range the matter with care, nor to
give it literary finish. The classes
of the association would perhaps best
be served by the presentation of few
interesting facts:
l - Mechanical Development.
Without the great progress made
in mechanical matters Journal
ism would not be what it is to-
day, with great papers like books
published daily. The London Times
with the news of the battle of Water
loo was little sheet about the size of
the Daily Bulletin and GAZETTE
when they first started. The first
press was the handpress. 1 have
used that myself and with it q ream
an hour was considered fast. Next
came the Isaac Adams press. There
are two now in the GAZETTE office
and this is still very good for book
work. But it was very incOnVenient
for newspaper work because an elab-
crate devise with strings had to be
used to separate the paper from the
type. Then came the cylinder press,
such as are now used in Honolulu.
After this followed the double cylin-
der, then four, six, eight and think
ten cylinder presses. The speaker
stated that he was four years
in an office where an eight
cylinder press was used. This
was still not rapid enough, SO
stereotype plates, which could be
made in a few minutes, were in
vented. Even that, however, was
cumbersome and slow, so an inven-
tive genius invented plates which
were cast in circle and the paper
runs from a continuous roll webb
press). This is one of the finest pieces
of machinery one would like to see.
No men are required to feed tit
feeds itself. A man goes around with
an oil-can, and that is all. The paper
unrolls from a roll a mile long, and
the papers comes out flying, folded
and counted.
Pictures formerly had to be cut on
wooden blocks and then stereotyped.
There are much quicker processes
now, some of them very cheap. The
speaker predicted that there would
be illustrated papers in Honolulu be-
fore long. This great mechanical de-
velopment had made the business de-
partment of paper of great import
ance. Without good management
good writing would not make paper
pay. 1t was great undertaking to
dispose of such vast mass of papers.
Newsboys took them, and some great
papers ran special trains to supply
the country districts. Local papers
could only compete with the metro
politan journals by devOting special
attention to local matters and working
up local news. The promotion of the
circulation is business by itself.
Persons with special talent that
way became widely known and their
services were bid for by different jour-
nails, just like persons successful in
brightest ornaments of journalism
not famous by the pen. George w.
Jones, the editor of the New York
Times at the time of the great Tweed
ring, obtained documents which con-
tanned complete disclosures and
locked them in his safe. On the eve
of publication he was offered $1,OOO,-
600 TO withhold them. He refused
and was asked to name the sum he
would take. He refused the tempta-
ton, published the matter, and the
power of Tammany for the time was
broken.
George w. Childs was another such
man. He became one of the richest
and best known as well as one of the
kindest and most charitable men in
America. The younger Bennett was
another who did not write much. He
made himself famous by sending, in
conjunction with the London Tele-
graph, Stanley to Africa.
The staff of a large paper consists
of the editorin-chief, managing
editor, city editor, night editor, a
corps of reporters and host of others
who hang around the Office and are
connected with it in one capacity or
e another. The editor-in-chief is gem
orally the owner or controls the stock
of the paper. He sometimes writes
for the paper. The burden of the
work falls on the managing editor. He
does not control generally the policy
of the paper, but he knows just what
that policy is, and has to see that it
is carried out in all the departments of
the paper. The reporters are response
BILE to the city editor and he to the man
aging editor. The reportorial depart
ment is now considered the most i'm
portant, and there is school of
newspaper men who think the edi-
torial has had it's day, but the speaker
did not think so, especially when one
considered the comment heard on
what newspapers say. The managing
editor sometimes wrote editorials, but
generally not. r. III. Dana was q
case of one who was famous for his
writing. The managing editor had
to receive the kilograms at night,
which was great deal of work. The
speaker had filled as substitute the
position of managing editor in the
evening on large daily, and had
never had such lively time before or
since.
Reporters are not sent out at ram
dom, to buttonhole people and ask for
an item. There was a thorough sys-
tenn. Certain districts were assigned
u