The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-11-10
The Country's Greatest Editor Dis
cussss the Training Of News
paper Makers.
Abstraot Of His Recent Lecture on
the Subject at Union Col-
leGe.
u.....s rhi.k Colleges Worry ful n
Making Josrnsitsts-Wha Greeley
Said sn the subject.

In a lecture delivered at Union college
On the education needed in preparation
for journalism Charles A. Dana said:
The number of intellectual young men
who arc looking at this new profession,
which for tho want of a better name we
call the profession of journalism, is very
great. l suppose that l receive myself ev-
cry day, takingon N 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 aretaken up step by step i'll accord
ance with their faculties and their merits.
The boys who begin at, the bottom come
out at the top. At the same time these
boys do not all start out with the best out
ft-that is to say, with the best education
and Ihave known very dist guished al
thorities who doubted whether high edu-
cation was of any great use to a journalist.
Horace Greeley told me several times that
thereal newspaper man was the boy who
had slept on newspapers and ate ink. Al
though / served him for several years and
VIC "ClDN Q u IA IN ma
I think he always had a little grudge
against me because I came up through a
college.
What sort of preparation, what sort Of
preliminary education should a man have
who means to devote himself to this bust
nessp 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 20 to a newspaper Office and make q
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
observation-disclosures instead Of pursuing other
studies was of amy great avail as a practical
worker in the newspaper work that he had
been trying to learn.
In fact, it seems to me. If I may be al
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.
/ had rather take a young fellow who
knows the Ajax of Sophocles, and who has
read Tacitus, and can scan every ode OF
Horace, l would rather take him to report
a prize fight or a spelling match, for in
stance, than to take one who has never had
those advantages. believe in the colleges.
l | believe in high education, but l do not
believe in scattering your fire before you
are in the face Of the enemy.
There is no question that accuracy, the
faculty Of seeing a thing as it is, of know
ing for instance that it is 24 and not 225
and saying so-that is one of the first.and
most precious ends of a good education.
Next to that | would put the ability to
know how and where most promptly to
look for what you don't now and what
you want to know. Thirdly, I would put
DR.. Walkers great object, being able to
tell what you know and to tell it accurate
ly. precisely, without eXaggeration, with
out prejudice, the fact just as it is, whether
1t be a report of a baseball game, or of a ser
mon, or OF a lecture on electricity, whatever
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