St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-07-31

newspaper proprietor is the most dis
couraglng. The highest ambition of a
true newspaper man is to own news
paper. or at least to have controlling
interest III newspaper, for it is
only under this condition that he
can direct its policy. Here lies the
fascination of journalism, and here it
|. rises 10 the height of a profession, TO a
height, indeed, above that of any other
profession. The modern newspaper is
the greatest power on earth. In COM
parlSon with it every other individual
influence sinks into insigHiticance. To
Weld this power to exert this influence
is worth the labor. the worry, the sacri-
fee of lifetime. 1.-The glory of Jour-
nalism," said the aged proprietor of a
New York daily recently, lis to be able
to help your friends and to fight your
enemies; to promulgate the doctrines
you love and to attack the ShamS you
hate; 10 have in your hands always
weapon with which you can crush man
who is not similarly armed, and with
which you can resist the onslaught
OF any publication whatsoever" There
was savage satisfaction in this selfish
utterance which suggested the moral
bIuntneSS of some of the newspapers of
today, but it expressed the power of the
greatest factor in modern civilization,
which might come from a broader and
more Christian exercise or such power.
But how is the working newSpaper-man
to attain this goal? The magnitude of
the capital necessary to start a daily
newspaper in New York is in itself an
almost inSuperable obstacle. There are
ten great daily newspaper properties in
the metropolis: there are 5000 working
newspaper men. If the man in control
of each of these properties should be
replaced by working newspaper man
not now i'll control, there would be at
least 1890 journalists in the same condi-
ton they were before the change was
made the condition of hired men.
Must Take His Chances.
what does the working newspaper
man expect?' the newspaper will ask.
lie expects nothing but his wages at the
end OF the week. He has agreed to give
the newspaper so much labor for so
much money, and he is man enough to
carry out his contract without grum-
bling. If he does not like his trade, he
can try some other. But don't tell him
that he is professor" and above all,
don't lead any young man about to
choose a life vocation into Journalism
under misrepresentation OF its condl-
tons. Let him understand these thor
oughly, and then if he would still
be journalist let him take his
chance of finding employment in field
where the supply of raw material is
always far i'll excess of the demand. Ii
| the opportunity should afford, and he
| should disclose aptitude for newspaper
| work, he will not find his lot so hard so
| long as he has youth aud strength. He
will make better living than lie could
! as clerk, and it is possible he may
! become some day a managing editor, or
even a proprietor.
He will find, however, that there are
! some moral as well as material disad-
vantages in journalism. If he is re-
/ porter he may be assigned 10 interview
| the servants of household with regard
| to the domestic differences of their mas
| ter and mistress. If his instincts are
| those of gentleman, his self-respect
may outweigh his journalistic ambition
| and he will refuse the task. He will
! then in all probability be dismissed.
! This. however, will depend somewhat
on the character of the newspaper for
which he has engaged to work.
In a Silver Closet.
1t may even be his good fortune to
duplicate the following experience: A
! personal friend of the editor of one of
our largest dailies gave private recep-
! ton, which he was very anxious to have
! described at length in the next issue of
the newspaper. A reporter was sent to
! the house. The servant ushered him
| into closet where the silver was kept.
! He had not been there long when the
mistress of the house. entered, looked
| him over critically, and turned away to
! question her husband as to who THAT
! person" was i'll the silver closet. The
husband endeavored to explain that it
was reporter sent there to
write up the reception. He had
been seated in the silver closet
! because there was no other place to put
! him out of sight of the company, This
did not satisfy her. and she demanded
that the person be sent away. The
! husband demonstrated, saying it was
| impossible, as he had personally request
ed the editor to send the man to the
| house. All this was IN the hearing of
the reporter, but it did not prepare him
for what happened Immediately after.
! The woman fiOunced into the silver
F.! closet again, and, gathering up all the
| Such experiences as these are not so
common as they were formerly, for the
New York reporter has borne himself
! so well that he Is treated with ordinary
| courtesy by respectable people.
Adaptation TO Circumstances.
In other quarters he will discover
among reputable folk a wholesome
dread of newspaper men, dread in
spired by heartless and ineXcusable at
tacks upon private character. He will
| ind temptations to dissipation con-
| Stantly thrown in his way. for by Gu
rious cerebratiOn the average man has
evolved the idea that the proper thing
| to do on meeting newspaper man is to
| ask him to drink. This is especially
true of politicians. What is more;danger-
GUS still. the newspaper man has to en-
ploy not infreQuently some form of dis
! sipation in order to obtain news. In ad-
dition to the expense so incurred,
| which the newspaper never thinks
! OF sharing, the reporter must dress
well and in all other ways appear as a
| gentleman. He Is constantly thrown
with men whose income is many times
! larger than his, but he cannot afford j.,
more on account of his paper than of
himself TO be mean or niggardly. The
result of all this is that even on an in
come of forty or fifty dollars a week he
can scarcely stretch his wage from one
payday to another. He has to spend
| money to make money. And yet we
hear that the newspaper man is improv-
ident! 1t is not true. The conditions
of his business exact so great trib ute
from his earnings that he has little left.
! The average newspaper man would save
money If he were not forced to spend it.
Another condition which grows out OF
the circumstances of his calling is that
! the newspaper writer comes to lean
so much upon the newspaper Jor faan-
cial support that any faculty for bust
| ness other than writing becomes Utterly
| dWarfed, As q result of this tendency