Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1893-12-29

AAo uutHuer VI luIellectuHl young men
who are looking at this new profession, |
which for the want Of a better name We
cali the profession Of journalism, is very
great. Isuppose that l receive myself ev-
cry day, taking one day with another, half
a dozen letters from men. many Of them
college graduates, asking for employment
and an opportunity Of showing what is in
them. OF course they cannot all get 1t in
the same paper. Now and then one obtains
a place. but generally the rule that is OBJ
served in all we'll organized newspaper of.
fees is that. the boys who began at the be.
ginning are taken up step by step in accord.
ance with their faculties and their merits.
The boys who begin ut the bottom come
out at the top. At the same time these
boys do not all start out with the best out
fit-that is to say, with the best education
and l have known very distinguished au-
thorities who doubted whether high edu.
cation was of any great use to a journalist.
Horace Greeley told me several times that
the real newspaper man was the boy who
had slept on newspapers and ate ink. AL
though I served him for several years and
we were very near in our personal relations,
l think he always had a little grudge
against mt because I came up through u
college.
What sort of preparation, what sort of
preliminary education should a mar have
who means to devote himself to this bust
ness? There are colleges which have lately
introduced schools of journalism or depart
ments of journalism, where they propose
to teach the art of newspaper making, to
instruct the student in the methods he
should employ and to fit him out so that
he can go to a newspaper office and make a
newspaper. Well, I will not say that is not
useful. But there has been a department
of journalism at Cornell university for sew
eral years, and I have never found that a
student or graduate who had pursued that
department there instead of pursuing other
studies was of any great avail as a practical
been trying to learn.
lowed a little criticism, that the colleges
generally are rather branching out too
much, until they are inclined to take the
whole universe into their curriculum and
to teach things which do not exactly be-
long there. Give the young man a first
class course of general education. and if l
could have my way every young man who
is going to be a newspaper man and who is
not absolutely rebellious against it should
learn Greek and Latin after the good old
fashion.
l had rather take Il young fellow who
knows the Ajax of Sophoc!eS, and who has
read Tacitus, and can scan every ode OF
Horace, l would rather taxi him TO report
a prize fight or a spelling match, for in
stance, than to take one who has never had
those advantages. Ibelieve in the colleges.
l believe in high education, but l do not
believe in scattering your fire before you
are III the face of the enemy.
There is no question that accuracy, thu
faculty of seeing a thing as it is, of know.
ing for instance that it is 2l4 and not %:
and saying so-that is one of the first and
most precious ends of a good education.
Next to that l would put the ability to
know how and where most promptly 10
look for what you don't know and what
YOU want to know. Thirdly, l would put
DIR. Walkers great object, being able tc
tell what you know and to tell it accurate.
", precisely, without eNaggeration, with.
out prejudice, the fact just AS it is, whether
it be a report Of a baseball game. or of a ser
mon, or of a lecture on electricity, whatever
it may be, to get the thing exactly as it is
The man who can do this is a very wei,
educated man.
In addition come the qualities of person
al talent and genius. Now genius is a grea,
factor. When we think of such a geniu:
as the one I have just mentioned-the late
Mr.. Greeley, why, our minds may well b
filled with admiration. l do not suppos.
y more thar one or two gentlemen here eve
knew Mr.. Greeley personally, but he was
man of immense ability, of instincts of ex
traordinary correctness in many respects
and of the power of expressiOn-of telling
what he knew in a delightfully."- picturesque
humorous way-which not merely instruct
ed the nearer and reader, but gave him
sense of delight and satisfaction from tn,
: mere art that was applied in the telling
He had had nc great advantages of educa
ton. He had to pick up his education Il
he went along, reading in the winter even
ings by the freight, and never wasting
chance of learning something.
But he lacked one of the most preciOu
faculties, which it is another great objec
of the college education to cultivate ant
: bring out, and that is what we will call tn
critical faculty, the Judgment which, whel
a proposition is stated to you or Il fact i
> reported, looks at it calmly and says, ''Tha
: is true" or else, THAT is false;;' the judg
: ment, the instinct, the developed and cul
tivated instinct which knows the trutl
when it is presented and detects error whel
it comes masquerading before you, withou
, the necessity Of any long examination t
ascertain whether it is truth or error,
/ The next thing that / would dwell upol
!, would be the knowledge of politics and es
> ~pecially American politics. This is YER
hard subject. Its history is difficult.
: you go back to the foundation of the re
public. you will find it was extremely com
y p~licated even then, and it requires Yer
careful study and II very elevated impal
tiality to make your analysis at all salts
. factory to yourself rs you go through tn
= work. Still it is Indispensable to a MAJ
!, who means to till an important place il
journalism, and all who begin upon it Gel
Cainly have Tat intention.
>, The First Blackboard.
Howellet's Queer Facts and Curiou