Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-08-11

Tor tssrF@t months VIII paper OF sui
fcient circulation % maintain life
gives ne authority - speak. and seo-
ondly. am living illustration % my
Subject, for II me- you behold the sn-
prsme trial of al journalists the indi-
vidusl who thinks he knows IL AL, aud
Il wiilias % impart his information ~
the slightest provocation- Not that his
e0unseis are salueiess With the
proper conditions any one Of them
wouid lad . paper 10 success. bat
those conditions are an editor with
TWENTY-FIVE million dollars and . pa
tient and enthusiasts public. Having
noticed one OF the qualities needed by
an editor To endure his trials. let me
consider few other requirements OF
tho man whom tho general public pic
tures a. = person whose chief duties
are 20 WELD the scissors and the paste
brush. wear cot en- oftiee chair behind
. door inscribed: "This Il my busy
day and hurl paper weights and
curses ~ the printers devil. while his
only trial IL to listen 70 the perpetra-
tions of spring poets In brief, the ed
itor of q struggling paper flor that In
dividual being the martyr Of Journal
ism shall take him rs its representa-
tive) must be = printer. proof reader,
author. critic. politician. diplomat,
business man, hustler, scholar. ency-
clopedia and-but this will do for .
suggestion. Don't believe Ii? Let me
particularixc-
As . printer he must be able to ex-
anime the proofs and see II the willy
typesetter has not double loaded the
matter or measured the type with too
generous rule, and he must see that
the paper is produced in an artistic
form; as . writer he turns out those
jewels Of eloquence and intellect
known a. editorials; az . diplomat he
must devise measures 20 lift his paper
into popularity and keep It propped
mp; and of course he must be careful
critic, separating the grain from the
chaf Of literary work De under
stands the art Of statcsmanship. for
the people expect him to unite tho
gordian knot of politics for them; and
he must have an enormous bump Of
agressiveness, for who but he must
champion the peoples cause? AS
proof reader he reviews his paper. con-
tanning from thirty-five thousand to
one hundred and sixty thou
sand words. from beginning to
end, looking for the smallest
errors, and proof reading as those
who have tried it know, requires more
endurance than the geometry tests
from which we are about TO escape.
But pause here. for this list has al
ready assumed soporific proportions.
To sum mp. the editor must have
money, experience, influence and
brains, the neekness Of Moses. the pa
thence of Job and the energy of dy-
namo, and when he has done his best
he must bear the blame for the false
reports and bad English of his report
ers- The mere mention of these quail
ties Is bad enough But in order TO
appreciate them fully IL Is necessary
for as TO see them in action In the ed
itor's sanctum. not the private Office of
q journalistic magnate. who can avail
himself Of the equivalency of time and
money. but that of the editor of q pa
per with patent insides and . circuls-
tion Of about City copies . week.
counting exchanged
THE life Of such an unfortunate ID
long and exquisite torture Of bills.
complaints, refusals, book agents.
spring poems, indignant citizens and
accidents. resulting In q perpetual
headache, rebeliious digestion and
an intimate acquaintance with the
L. - d. I'D hn -
of all the pain and trouble Is only .
newspapers worthless thing that
lives for day. like May fly. and then
Is lost and forgotten. leaving To its au-
thor no fame. no reward but the price IL
soils for, and what sum of money, how
ever large. il n Just rccompense for arti
Poor unapprecisted thingl Who when
he reads IL win think Of the trials that
were necessary to bring IL out3 Here's
the news Of great FIRE. Who stops 70
think that tho man who wrote that
article braved danger and death to
serve the public7 Here's an article by
he funny man Would you laugh 60
loudly II you knew that the man who
wrote that article was given a little
more space this week 20 that he
might earn moro money 20 pay doc
tors bills7 Here's an account cf an
embexzlcr captured You never knew
The pangs that the editor felt Is he
read the words that ruined the name
and family OF his best friends
Lets see what sort of an editorial
menu has been served mp to-day. Ali
Very spicy, that But the man who
wrote 10 hsdn't siept Q night for .
week and felt more like composing his
viii. This Il the cost Of our American
newspapsr Il Il too much. IL IL too
little7 II appeals 10 me 80 . great
price Tor great thing In return for
self-sscrifics and undaunted labor We
have received the embodiment Of sner-
gy. liberty. enterprise and originality
lin q word, AmcricaniSm- ] shall not
enter into . sulogy Of The American
Newspaper. You need no one 10 tell
you what u has done II Il the edu-
Gator Of our common people. ths In
SEPARATION - our youth. the censor Of
our morals. Nercensry7 Yes. a i
rnercsuary. hut the articles ~ the
nameiess authors who attack and de-
sfroy public abuses. guar. our liberty
and serve tbe nation. though write
for money. are quite az full % true "a,
triotism o. these bursts ~ eioqttsnee
in legislative halls where the reward
10 that food Of concentrated selssaness
giory