Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-01-04
SAY WHAT YOU MEAN.
now the Eider Bennett Taught Young
Reporter a Lesson.


Reporter a Lesson.
''Thcfo should be a rule In every
Newspaper office prohibiting tho use Of
certain phrases and expressions. " said
INV friend, the old war correspondent,
o. he threw down a paper In the cle
waited car. "lt distresscs mo to SEQ
i, moor, old hackncycd, worn out expires.
? lions kept nj work daily when they
should hay. been retired long ngo.
Why should n reporter always refer 10
"A mans immaculate linen when hp
means to sny that theinan wore clean
fhirtl Aud why In heavens name
thould man or woman be described
AZ well rroomedf Here they are both
IN one paragraph, and Just beside thom
"a the man who, according TO the r..
portor, Is always saying something real
deylish with a twinkle in his eye, and
the other fellow who made this or that
remark a. he lit a ircsh cigar
There should be cemetery for
scnile aud used up words and phrases
that have outlived their usefulness,
II they ever were useful, and about a
thousand OF them should be laid away
In ouicklime at once and never rcsur.
rccted.
Speaking Of cemeteries, why should
n man, as soon a. he is dead, be 70.
ferred to as 'poorf Here read OF a
railroad conductor, who was killed in
n railroad collision. Yesterday he was
the genial Conductor Brown; today
he &, poor Brown. The word seemed
10 DO applied especially TO men who Ia
lie were good fellows, aud also TO
those whose death was caused by vio-
lence. 1t Is not used In connection
with great mon. You never read or
hear Of poor Napoleon poor Shake.
fpcarc' or poor Frederick the Groat,'
do youi
IL DO not expect the reporters 10 re-
form so long rs their employers allow
tlie uso OF such idiotic words and
phrases. When was younger than
am today and thought know about as
much a. an ordinary man could be ex.
pected 10 know this side Of the grave,
vasa reporter on Tho Herald under the
elder Bennett. Mr.. Bennett sent for
me one day. He said; Young man,
notice that In your efforts TO find men
whom YOU have been instructed to la.
tcryicw you mover enter hotel
"'Never enter hotel, Mr.. Bennottr
said
No, sir; you invariably write that
you 'driited' in and when you do DRIFT
in You never meet the man.
"'Never meet hlmf'
"'No; observe that In cvcry case
after drifting In you either run against
or stumble across the object Of your
pursuit / wish that In future you
would simply walk into the hotol and
meet these people. That's all sir
81 was angry, for ! pridod myself
on my English aud on my literary
style. said. Mr. Bennett, have boon
writing now niuo or ten yenrs and have
worked on a number Of newspapers ms
good as The Herald. ilattor myself
that know something about tho Eng
lish language, aud -
"Nouns man, interrupted Mr.. Bon
net, aid you osr' road of how n man
once boosted 20 Sidney Smith that tho
stick he carried had been twice around
The world, and how Smith took tho
stick and, after carefully examining Il,
flii, And ye,--and yet, it Is only a
stick after AIN"
"What dil you fsy 20 thatG' | asked
my friend, the war correspondent
u maintained a tumultuous silence,
and-no, / did not DRIFT out won't
out OF the room. ~. Annoy Knox.