The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-04-29
SOME OFFICE BOYS.
SEVERAL TRUE STORIES ABOUT THE
NEWSPAPER SPECIES.

Tales of Youths Who Rave Made Life
Miserable for Workers in Various Edi-
toriaI Rooms-A Young Creature Who
Is Never Abashed at Anybody.
There are office boys and Office boys.
That of course is a self evident fact. The
newspaper office boy, though, is king of
them all. By the newspaper Office boy is
not meant the lad who works in the count
ing room and runs errands for the proprie
tor, and the business manager, and the ad
vertising man, and such of the clerks as
have his good will, but the boy who mails
the managing editors letters, and gets the
afternoon papers for the city editor, ana
goes out after cigars for the reporters and
cigarettes for the sporting editor; who
mislays the telegraph EDITORS shears, and
puts ink in the paste pots, and steals all
the pens and pencils that he can lay his
hands on, and has other little idiosyncra-
sizes that are peculiar to the breed. Unless
you have had the inestimable privilege
of worSing fifteen hours a day on the edi-
torial staff Of a daily newspaper you have
never perhaps known any of them. That
is your gain and the office boys loss.
They do and say funny things occasion
ally, and every Office has its stock of tales
about them.
In a certain newspaper Office not thou
sand miles from Buffalo there was an Office
boy once who rejoiced in the euphorious
name of Micky Jones. Micky was an am
bilious youth and wanted to be reporter
He worried the life out of the city editor
by teasing him 80 let him write a 'piece,"
and one day in fit of desperation that
dignitary called him to his desk and said:
"Now, Micky, | am going to give you a
chance to write something, and on how
well you do it depends your future in this
office. If you show any ability l will put
you Oh the staff as a sub, and one of these
days you will be reporter. Sit down and
take these points, and then write fifty
line puff for the Lake Shore and Michigan
Southern railroad"
Micky's eyes danced with joy, and he
took the points, stole a lead pencil from the
city hall reporter Gust where the city hal
man got it is not matter for public com
ment) and sat down to write. At the end
of an hour, during which time he chewed
the end OF the pencil industriously and
used up good many sheets of paper, he
came over to the city EDITORS desk and
handed in the following composition:
The Lakes Shore and Michigan Southern
railway is CRATE Railway. it runs for good
Many miles along the Shore of lake Erie. In
the Summer Time you Had better take Boat
Yours respectively N. Jones. Reporter.
Micky is now chief engineer on horse
car.
1t wasn't so very many years ago that
Joseph O'Connor, the scholarly and talent
ed editor of Of the Rochester Post Express,
was Buffalo journalist, and it will be
remembered that then as now he let his
auburn hair grow a la Paderewski. In
one of the offices over which Mr. O'Connor
once presided was an office boy who unfor-
tunately did not stay in the business long
enough to let his name be known. He
came to work one Monday morning and
wicked reporter called him to one side and
told him that his first duty would be to get
acquainted with the editor in chief
He suggested that as soon as he had time
the boy should go in and make some pleas
ant personal remark TO Mr.. O'Connor and
break the ice. Along about II o'clock that
morning Mr.. O'Connor was listening to
delegation Of prominent citizens who had
come to ask some editorial notice for some
thing or otber, when in the midst of the
conference the Office boy walked in. He
stood around for a moment and waited I'M
til there was a lull in the conversation
Then he walked over to tEs chair in which
the editor was sitting, and assuming an
angelic smile said pleasantly: Good morn
ing, Mr.. O'Ccnnor. Why don't you get
your hair cut?"
The career of that budding journalist
stopped snort at exactly HOS o'clock that
There is a certain western New York
city editor who has Jacob Tor front name. !
What his last name is it doesn't signify |
He is digniiied and dyspeptic, and as the |
reporters have it, ''makes his own ice" |
The local staff always called him Jake |
when speaking of him among themselves, |
but when addressing him personally al |
ways use the mister with the acute ac-
cent. There was wicked reporter on this
staff also, and in fit OF inspiration one !
day he called the office boy aside (his name |
was Tommy Campbelli and said: Tom |
my, l see that you and Jake don't get |
along very we'll together. You ought T. /
be the best of friends The last Office boy /
who was here used To GO ont TO lunch witt /
him every day. Now, tonight when you
take in the weather report TO him be kind /
OF familiar with him lie IL respect you |
more for it and there IS no reason why you
shouldn't get along swimmingiy."
Tommy pondered over this state for I
time. and that night when he took in the /
weather report walked up 70 the dignife- /
city editor and slapped him Gu H. shoa. /
der, saying at the same time: Hello /
Jake. Here's that darned OLD weather re /
port OF yours Two paste pots, pair q /
shears and psnergvei at were thrown a. /
him, and be rever dared APPEAR in the /
office again Tommy Is Tow plumber
Buffalo Express. /
Chinese wom.n give . Reception.