The morning call., 1893-11-12
BULLS OR BREAKS
Amusing Incidents in
Newspaper Offices.
A NEW YORK MANS BLUNDER
Story of Correspondent Who Was
Overwhelmed at the News and
Went to Bed.

The amusing mistakes about news
paper Office ale not always made by COM
posltorS. Editors, correspondents and re-
porters do their share. and were it not for
the scores of sharp eyes ever on the alert
during the hours of the night the public
would see blundeI after blunder in the
morning
1t is an old story in the newspaper world.
that of the New York Herald's headline at
the time of the assassination of President
Lincoln. Telegraph service in those days
was not what it is now, and it was after
midnight when the news was received in
the editorial rooms of that metropolitan
daily. The telegraph editors had gone
home, so. indeed, had everybody else. ex-
cept the slate watch, ".wholhappeDed to be
an elderly parsonage. one OF the genus OF
journalistic fungi who are found on every
newspapers staff. He realized that the
news was worth getting into the paper,
and got it there. Then he puzzled his
brain for headlines. This wasn't his
forte, but finally he conceivedsa line which
he caused TO be set in black type. and that
mornings Herald contained the news Of
Lincoln having been murdered under the
single line:
Important From Washington"
One evening about two years ago the
night city editor of the New York Recorder
noticed in the list of hotel arrivals the
name of Rutherford 3. Hayes. An i'm
portant financial question was before the
country at that time and interviews with
leading menln both political parties were
wanted. Employed on the Recorder was
a young Englishman named kenealey, not
long out from London town. One OF his
brothers, by the way. is writer on the
a IL hovx vryfth pnor
expedition for that paper; another is a we'll
known yachting editor in the metropolis.
The yOungster was doing repOrt0rial work
at the time and happening to be at leisure
the moment when the night city editor
wished a man for an assignment he was
told to go uptown to the Fifth-avenpe
Hotel and interview ex-Presldent Hayes
upon the topic of the day.
Two hours later Kenealy returned and
as customary reported to the man at the
desk.
did you get an interview" asked the
latter.
"Yes, SIR"
what did he say?"
Kenealy briefly replied.
well, write three or four sticks" said
the night city editor, mot too much, how
ever-we are crowded tonight" Then
noticing that the reporter still stood by
the desk he exclaimed, perhaps little in-
y.
Il wanted to ask you, SIR" nervously
said the young man, about certain
matter. / fear / committed a faux pas.
When / had finished interviewing the gen.
tleman | asked him what bank ne was ex-
president of. He acted as if he thought
was guying him. grew red in the face
and"
But roar of laughter from the copy
readers" at the desk interrupted his mar
rative.
Charles A. Dana. that veteran journalist
and the man who makes the Sun shine,
recently equaled this break" twas tho
day of the Saratoga On. " convention,
and when Mr.. Dana was at his office at
O'Clock in the afternoon everything see med
we'll oiled about. the Democratic machine
and the dispatches indicated that nominal
tioDs would certainly be made that day.
So Mr.. Dana wrote an editorial praislng
the men on the ticket, saying that the
convention was a splendid one. that the
party was drawn closer together than ever
by the men nominated, that it was not
cut-and-dred convention. but sp0ntane-
Gus uniting upon worthy men, etc. The
copy was sent to the cOmposing.roOm, set
up. the proof sent to Mr.. Dana. who cor
rected it, and then he wendell his happy
way home for the night. He was prob
ably the only one on the New York Sun
who knew what was in that editorial.
Several printers had set it up. 30 that not
one of them had the connection. and two
proOfreaders pro badly read it, as matter"
on the sun is proved on very short galleys.
Late that afternoon, as Mr.. Dana was en-
joyiDg the comforts of home. the news
came from Saratoga that the convention
bad abruptly adjourned without making
any nominations. And so read the news
columns in the morning, while Mr.. Dana's
editorial appeared as above stated.
1t was on the Evening World once that
boy who had charge OF the cuts caused
picture of the shoe man whose phiz is so
well known to be inserted where Bill
Nye's classic countenaDce should appear.
One night as the telegraph instruments
on the World were clicking away and
everybody was busy during the "rush"
hour the telegraph editor burst out laugh
ing, and by way of explanation passed
around telegram from a country c0rre-
spondent which began:
IA cyclone largely composed of wind
passed over our village this afternooDp
But be at least tried to tell the news.
aud In tina; differed from the young cor
respondent at Cherokee. Iowa. who nearly
drove a telegraph editor on the Chicago
Tribune crazy last summer. Ii was after
midnight, and bulletins had been received
from Central Iowa indicating that there
had been cyclone through the State. at
tended with great loss Of life. The worst
Of it was at Cherokee, so a stirring mes
sage was sent to the correspondent there
instruciing him to at once send the news
and keep on filing matter until o'clock in
the morning. For an hour nothing was
heard from him, then the following mes
sage was received:
The cyclone was awful. 1t begRars descrip-
tion. he details sicken me. and / can do
nothing tonight. l am going home to bed.
HOW much DO you want to morrow?
Rudyard Kipling says of the Fuzzy
MuzZy, ICES an 'eathen an an hostrich
an an horphan child in one." The tele-
graph editor of the Tribune said q good
deal more about this Cherokee corre-
spondent. Fortunately telegraph opera
tor at the other end of the wire helped the
newspaper out. and it had a fair story 10
the morning. AsTALoGo.