The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1894-05-15
AN EDITORS INTERRUPTIONS.
1t is Hard to Get Time for Everything
Tho Limitations Around u Busy

1t is Hard to Get Time for Everything
Tho Limitations Aroun u Busy
Man.
A large amount Of unfair and snarl-
ing criticism would be avoided If peo-
Pile intelligently considered the limita-
tions that old Father Time puts on
every busy man. There are only six
working days in q week, and it. is not
within the bounds Of possibility to do
more than q certain amount Of work
each day. The limits Of time and
strength are soon reached, and when
you come Il these limits you must
stop, nc matter how willing you may
be to go on.
You pick up a newspaper. read a
leading article or paragraph, and you
see at u glance how the article might
more skillful arrangement of the facts
or in some other way. You notice the
paragraph has little point and no
sparkle. You, modest reader, think
| you could give it both point and
sparkle if you tried. Perhaps you
could and then again, perhaps you
couldn't. Something depends on how
much time you would have for the
! work; and a good deal more on how
much you know about writing para
graphs. Perhaps the man who wrote
GildG rdpH only low LuluuIcS
to do it. Possibly tho printers were
mail by which he had to send it was
closed before the ink on the paragraph
was quite dry. 1.-THE man who penned
the paragraph had been given a day
to work at it the work would perhaps
have been done in first class style, but
he had only a few minutes and that
made all the difference in the world.
Literary critics, and some critics
who are quite innocent of any close
connection with literature, often say
that the writing on most newspapers is
poorly done. Without affirming or
denying tho truth of that statement,
we may well ask how can any ordinary
editor do high class literary work and
attend to all the other duties that
devolve upon him? If an editor had
nothing to no except write a column
or two each week, he would be q poor
editor indeed if he could not write
them we'll but writing what the
public sees is probably not the fiftieth
part of an average editors work. The
editor of a country weekly does some
thing at everything in his office. A
writer OF a daily has q much better
chance, but even he may nave to sit
down late in the evening and write a
column or two before the paper goes to
press. Small wonder if the work some
times seems to lack finish.
1t ought to be remembered too, that
q country editor may have to write
amidst many Interruptions, not to say
anything about tribulations. When
he is getting nicely under way with a
leading editorial q neighboring law
student may come in and hand him IL
letter gravely informing him that a
libel suit Is looming up in the vicinity.
AN angry citizen may appear with a
horse whip concealed about his person
and mildly ask, Who wrote that
article ?" A subscriber may come in
and want to discuss cordwood or maple
molasses as articles to be battered for
a years reading of the paper. Various
other matters Of business may ir terrupt
an editor just as the atflatus is beginning
to strike him and spoil the best edi-
torial ever begun in that part of the
country. Would that editors were
the only .,nen who r liable to intor-
ruptions