Telegram-herald., 1891-02-25

Especial Csrressoadeocs.I
Nav ToRz. Feb - -fhs myriad u
peopia that m4ks ap the array n ne~s-
papes readers II the United states read
a fs~ days ago II the -oroas illness Il
dsa. Wlidaa feruu4seh sherman sab
seqaans e,hEl.ans II the psper informed
tnnm regularly II his condition.. Dat Il Is
MT hkaly tHat oas Ia Thousand even -
much 40 Voaa.zred ho~ the reports q
ths dyiag ssldaeTs LasE hours were OBJ
tanned
A soon as the serious iriEsass u the
gsnsral wss announced, tAs newspaper
reading public anconsci0asiy eIDected 10
he sappiIed with al The as~s oa tho sub
ioct. as . matter 81 course. How was
tina news snpphed, Who gathered The
Information regarding sns occurrences
IA the SICK chamb Der, the opinions Of tho
attsading physicians from time % time
And al tho other data Tor the ne ~spapsr
rrportsS
20 a person outside the newspaper
world thene questions woaid most likely
prove hopeless riddles. To newspaper
man they suggest ons Of the most trying.
eHhAusting and tAAakless branches OF
newspaper work reportins the serious,
and probably fatal illness Of a public
character Ia whose coodItion the world
al lAFgs IS deeply Interested. The re-
porter - Engaged must be constantly on
the lookogs for the death Of the person
whose illness b. Is covering, slLce his
position GA the particular newspaper
star % which he is attached would %
surely forfeited were thu sick man or
woman 20 pass away. and he long TO
main In ignorance q that AL important
fact Probably this Is why this branch
Of Newspaper reporting Is known in tech
meal parlsnee az death watch" duty
Asa rnls it is Only In metropolitan
critics that newspaper death watches
are sc. bat ia exceptional cases. when a
person % great prominence Is lying III
in provincial city OF country district,
reporters and correspondents for Leading
Journals ia that section OF the country
arr detailed % remain - near as posi-
bio To the sick man unul conyalescence
or death ends their laoors. IL is now
lust about nine years since such a
death watch" was set at Elberon, n
J the subject being no less parsonage
than the president OF the United States,
James A. Garfield Every one rcmem-
bers the detailed reports and frequent
bulletins Of the dying presidents condi-
ton. which were Published In every pa
per in the land.
About four years later the newspa-
yers termed with bulletins from the bed
side OF q man whose name was known
throughout the civilized world. Gen.
L. !. Grant
In this case the death watch" was
kept up for months instead OF weeks.
and when the failing hero Of the civil
war WAS borne 20 Mount McGregor,
thither followed the reporters who had
done duty IN front Of or near his New
York city residence. IL Is too long
story 20 be told here. but an account OF
the systematic watch which the score
and more of newspaper men kept up on
the house in which Gen. Grant was
slowly dying. and the incidents Of that
watch. would BE- 70 the uninitiated a rev.
elatOn. What these tireless, indefati-
gable and sympathetic newspaper men
saw and learned each day was spread
before the reading public Of two CONT
ncnts. Often q single paragraph repre-
sented the labor OF ap entire cold. cheer
less and seemingly endless night. and the
public little knew when il read the sim
pie announcement. "Cfen- Grant passed
a quiet night" that that sentence was a
summary Of the news Obtained by an all
Ugh. watch.
When the inevitable end came. and the
world read the sal words, ''Gen. Grant
died. this morning" did any one picture
tn, solitary newspaper man, who first
learned the news oy private signal
from tho house IN which the dead hero
Law. dashinx over the rough mountain
road 20 the telegraph office. bearing in
formation which was an instElt later
flashed 20 every corner Of the civilized
world. or tho telegraph operator click
inr OF the fateful senteace with fingers
trembling ike an aspen leaf Dramatic
and stirring As was this situation. it was
but one OF many which the reporters
who were ION the Grant death watch"
VIII remember to the last day Of their
lives.
Since the Illness OF Con Grant the
most notable death watches set by the
New York papers have been those IN the
cssss IL Miss Catharine Wolf. exSena-
tor Roscoe Conkling. Jacob Sharp and
Congressman samuel :. Cox. though
there have been q number of ssss nots-
bile instances. In three Of the cases
mentioned the watch was necessaril y
maintained for several DAYS or weeks.
AMI the work was thoroughly system
ati1ed. For weeks and weeks not n day
or uighs went by that n dozen or 80
newspaper men did not mount the steps
of Miss VOLTS residence during her last
Illness. carefully examine the tag at
kached - toe door bell and marked.
.poat ring: no change and silently
depart.
Ra@cos Ccukling's Illness was DOT quite
AZ u-otracted. but for nearly three weeks
there was not an instant 81 the day or
pixht that tie house IN which the for
n1er New York senator lay was not IN
der the eye of one cr more reporters.
The men who represented the press asso-
rtat,on= served twelve hour watches. the
different men from each sssociation "a
l,evinx each other twice day. The dsy
sstrick~-frosa 8 a N. 70 8 . m.-wss
rot 81 BAL. for there w1s a life IN the
streets which broke the monosouy. bus
ncnc save those who did that weary.
a. a a