The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-03-17
A PROPER NAME IN PRINT.


ter, Il poetess OF Terrytown, Canada, caus-
ed Il long statement to be published, re-
garding her husband, Irving Hasbrouck
Delamater. and said she was going to get a
divorce. He was described as Il good-for-
nothing hus' and, and divers other uncom-
plimenta,y illusions were made to him:
On the following day Irving Hasbrouck
! Delamater made answer: Il was not sur
prised a. the fusilade made on myself by
! the gentle poetess. 1t is the old, old story
with her, a craving, a morbid craving TO
pose before the public and obtain newspa-
| per notoriety" Succintly, the wronged
spouse. who might have been, with a less
ambitious mate, the most luxurious OF
husbands, plainly shows that the divorce
is undertaken for the sole purpose of at
tanning newspaper notoriety.
While there IS fund of the ludicrous
! about Minna's extreme measures to attain
| her desired end, still must she be regarded
as a radical Of that great army OF people
who cabal INCREASINGLY for public renewp,
alike national and local, and hold the
| newspaper as Il common and Indispensable
instrument for the requisite elevation.
| And If we assume that Minna is q
| radical, we imply that she * only to an
extreme that others of her class will
reach. if time is given them.
1t mas come to be a great thing in the
! world to get your name in the paper. The
society woman will stretch point of
decorum or matroniy dignity for m ere
mention; the discreet politician has long
since ceased to decline, without punctilious
apology and profuse explanation, an in
terview. The newspaper PERSONAL is
only a few years Old, but it has reached
point Of importance in journalism which
makes its former absence seem today an
impossibility The most humble being in
the world can see the letters of his name
in public print with little personal effort,
IN this year of our Lord, 1892.
At this point let us make bold to say
that a respectable quota of the American
public is engaged at this moment il a frant-
ic rivalry to see whose name will appear
in the papers most frequently.
True. there are some without wit enough
for ambition, who do not seek it; some of
too high birth and position to stoop TO it:
some of the acrid temperament that de-
spises notoriety and renown alike, and
others who desist from inherent modesty
fact remains that the seed of the personal
mention in a local column may bud into
an editorial reference and burst,
anon, into full bloom-a telegraphic
dispatch of widespread interest. There is
no doubt but that as help TO a man local
" or in a broader field the repetition Of
his name in moral way and a general
familiarity with it, is without a known
equal.
Because it is help and an advantage
to him-that is the superficial reason. But
there is another reason why person likes
TO see his or her name in print-a stronger,
subtler cause.
There is one very anomalous stage in
every mans life. IL comes usually forty
eight hours or SO after our nativity and APP
pertains 10 one of the most important
matters Of our earthly residence. In short
we are nameless. We are still a baby-a
red-faced, pudgy-fsted baby-nothing else;
without personality; without distinction;
unmarked; an anonymous nonnenity. But
this is remedied-Bibical lore is conned; the
Roman andGrecian histories pored over the
names of best friends considered, and, fin
ally in this suppositious case. the name
OF rich uncle is chosen and as John
Henry Smith, you have at once become
factor in your family and community You
are no longer mere baby among babies,
but are honored, distinguished, marked by
and inseparably joined to that name. You
grow up and your young tongue first
learns To lisp John Henry Smith," To
your schoo!mates you are plainly John !
Henry Smith and nobody else. In the first |
headv youth, your wild pranks are re-
corded as characteristic of John Henry |!
Smith. And at last you are at manhood, !
an individual, but still only a name, John |
Henry Smith.
1t is so that an individual and his name |
become indlssolubly unified.
Ii is but natural that John Henry Smith /
is great admirer of his own name, both !
for latent nicely of photographic con-
struction that every man sees in his own .
name, and its pleasing euphony. AS its |
attunes to his ear cOucordant-
ly. so does it in type appear prim and /
superbly to his eye He may change it as
fancy rules, to John H. Smith, or j.
Henry Smith, bat the same charm hangs
around it at every change.
This is the subtle reason that every man
admires the lettering of his own name, |
and which tricked the Canadian poetess
into such a ridiculous move that she
might have the keen satisfaction that
must accompany the sight of such an ex-
ceilent name as Nina Irving Delamater
spelled out full in print.