The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1894-08-03
NO %
PARIS REPORTERS.
TO BE SUCCESSFUL They MUST az
BORN WITH THE TALENT.

u
What II Expected Of Tbcsu aud How Their
woris II Graded why None oG aisein .Aro
Old Men-One Reparter's Experlenca In
Securing IInpoFtant Infer1natien.
when tho aehief Of tho service Of In
formations consents to ariaax do
butante his aptitudea are first utilized
in tho department. des ohiens oreyes. =
This ID the professional slang for piok-
3 ing up such items at the police stations
as are not sent in to tho oprefecture. For
this work he will be paid on Q con-
times O line for those inserted on tho
average about ono In twenty Of what he
hands In. These modest auxiliaries have
only exceptionally tho perspective Of
power TO make themselves noted, In
deed their role Is limited, for IL they
learn Of am accident or an affair out of
the common run they must telephone
the fact 10 their papers, from whence
the chief sends as soon as possible one
or two staff reporters, but II the late
ness Of tho hour on tho gravity Of the
event justifies such an initiative, tho
titular OF tho 'ohiens creyesH becomes
somebody In this case, IL no ia clever,
ho can render his journal special service
by avoiding beat, and no will be
woll reeompenaed This Ii why ovor at
tho Cafe do Cog don consumers some-
times hear young man at neighbor-
ing table shout gleefully to his com
rades, AT last have my first orilnel'
and tho comrades press his hand and
congratulate him warmly
Perhaps no Is promoted to tho dignity
Of "enqueteur on Interviewer Now
he receives q retaining salary 81 $50 to
500 month and il paid oxIa for ali
tho lines he writes SO that he usually
earns $50 to $50 weekly. He must giya
his definite measure however, aud show
if he really has tho gift Of the profes-
sion, for after two on three failures he
would be thanked and have his head
cut off. OF the 100 reporters who each
yoar spring up on tho PaIisian press
eight on ten at most survive and become
| cOrporals and sergeants In the profess
sion, To succeed 1t il necessary not only
to have good health, perfect bearing, d
courtesy and education which permit of
being received everywhere, but great
olearness Of ideas aud q remarkable
power Of assimilation The reporter
may know nothing but no must DO
| quick OF understanding everything II
is necessary that, nquestion being given,
he should know IN few instants who
Is tho person in Paris the most probable
to solve it, He must go to 500 this per.
SON or Bomo one 0lso equally informed
and In 20 phrases OF an interview gather
q clear, net and precise resume of the
responses to mako, Ho must also havo
the scent of detective and above oil
love for his profession,
know Paris reporter who was sent
out TO write about the doings OF for
eign sovereign then at French water.
ngplaoe. Howent to the chateau whero
the monarch was stopping, but was POI
htely kicked out by the grand chamber
lain. I'VE telegraph daily, the latter
said, 'n0ws relative to his majesty TO
our national papers. You can take from
them for your columns" " This did not
satisfy my confrere. He had been sent
at much expense on this special work,
and 1t would never do for him to do
nothing during his sojourn. A brilliant
idea struck him, Ho had got acquainted
with an old man who had formerly beon
employed in the telography department.
of tho army. So ho said to tho ex-heu-
tenant, Would you be capable Of writ
ing out tho valuo Of the letters trans
mittod by tho Morse system by simply
hearing tho tiGlttaok of tho instrumant?1
"Parblou, that Ia only the infancy Of
business, 7" answered tho other. "Well,
sir, | win give you louis every morn.
ing IL You will como and pass quarter
Of an hour at the postofilce
Tho next day, at tho hour when the
dispatches from tho chateau arrived,
those two men We're very busy in the
office over an imaginary correspondence,
but as soon as tho Morse instrument be-
gan to tick tho old man inscribed On d
sheet Of papor letters Of foreign words
he did not understand The reporter
read these words over his shoulder. BE
Immediately translated them, and tho
official dispatch was scarcely of when
ha sent tho sama thing in French to his
Paris paper The telegraph employees
naturally supposed that this literal
translation was given 10 its sender by
one Of the soyereign's household, while
as for tho royal guest and bis grand
chamberlain, they had tho pleasure of
reading In the Paris journal details con-
cerning themselves long before thair
national papers arrived.
Whom o reporter has in analogous cir
shown the resources af his
mind, he generally obtains q iixed salary
which assures him d reYenuo independ-
ont Of tho luctuation Of actualitiea
He Is, for Instance, charged with rala-
Lions with o cabinet minister, reports
of oxpositions, public reunions, eto., but
,yen ia favorable conditions II Il oxeop-
Iional thai he gains moro than $500 a
month Moreover, tho fatigue Is such
md tho nervous tension 81 constant that
lhe employment cannot be illled for
many years. This Is the reason why
here are ne Old reporters il Paris and
why these wh0Bfe moro than 10 years of
lge arc pointed Qlst with pride, Long
before that age tla9 WHO are nble la
make their caleera as Journalists nra
,lassea ns ''articlieTs Tkay haYa
ihpwa that they eali 20 reporting other
,Yise than with their legs, and then thaV
Snow the honor af tie lfst page aid tba
Joys ~ signatures I an Rlaa to ada
hat generally these aTtioli6@, Y what
lFer thelf rank oF elnploymonts ppe errn
q their hearts good opinion of fiiosa u.
'ogters ana thego IS p local saying ta
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