The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1894-01-04
DANA ON JOURNALISM
EXTRACTS FROM A RECENT
ADDRESS.

The Great Editor Tells Something
Of the Qualifications Necessary
To Attain the Highest Success
in the Profession.
Charles A. Dana, of the New York
Sun, in a lecture delivered at Union
College, Schenectady, N. Y, OIL" The
Press and Journalism" some time ago,
said in part:
"The profession OF journalism is an
affair of the last fifty years. l receive
half-dozen letters daily from men,
many of them college graduates, ask
ing for employment. 1 have known
distinguished authorities who doubted
whether high education was of any
great use to journalist. Horace
Greely told me once that the real
newspaper men were those who had
slept on newspapers and eaten ink.
Compare professions: The clergy
man breaches two or three times a
week to a few thousand, while the
newspaper man reaches millions daily.
As 10 the education necessary a pro-
found science in baseball will be useful !;
SO will any study man may pursue.
Give the young man first t-class gen.
eral education with Greek and Latin
after the good old way. l believe in
the colleges. The great end ofeduca-
| ZION is to tell what you know.
"Accuracy is one of the most pre-
cious ends OF a good education. Next
is the ability to know how and where
most promptly to look for what you
don't know and what you want to
know. The man who does not know
Greek and Latin does not really know
the English language and its wonder
full resources, and without the Teu-
tonic no mans knowledge of English
is perfect. The next most important
factor is style. In this line let me
suggest to you DR.. Channing's essay
on Napoleon Bonaparte. Channing's
style was sweet, pure and delightful,
simple, translucent. Another exam
| pie of beautiful and admirable style is
that of Nathaniel Hawthorne A
knowledge of politics is absolutely es-
sential. Especially is this true of
American politics. 1t requires care
full study and elevated partiality.
"1 look at young man entering
journalism to see what part of paper
he reads first in the morning. If he
turns first to the political page that is
good symptom of his tendencies. II
he takes up magazine and begins on
a love story he will never make news
paper man, though he may make a
good writer of love stories. TO know
politics one must know not merely the
recondite part of politics, but practical
politics as well-the history, the men,
their ideas, their deeds. One should
know where this Government came
from, where it belongs in the history
of mankind. You must study the
Constitution of the United States, OF
the States, English history, from which
our constitutional history is so largely
derived. Study the history OF all
European countries. The course of
human history offers safe guide for
political action.
"As to what books you should read
the most indispensable, useful, and
effective is the Bible. l am consider
ing it not as religious book, but as a
manuel of utility. No book is so sug
gestlve, none which recounts the
greatest event with solemnity, none
from which you can learn more di-
rectly that sublime simplicity which
never exaggerates, none which you
open with such confidence and lay
down with such reverence-no book
like the Bible. Everybody going into
the newspaper business ought to know
Shakespeare. He is the chief of Eng
lish speech. He is the head of Eng
lish literature. Considered as a
writer, considered as philosopher, l
do not know another who can be
named with him. He is not merely
a constructor of plays that are pow
-erful and impressive when they are
shown upon the stage with all the
auxiliaries of lights and scenery and
characters he is high literary treas
ure, mighty storehouse of wisdom,
the glory Of the literature OF our Ian
guage. John Milton should be
studied. But take no model. De-
.velop your own style into simplicity
and Clearness.
Now as to the practice Of the pro-
fesslon. A department employing the
greatest number of men and the
highest talent is that of l-porting.
+ About seven-tenths Of the writers on
the great papers are reportes. Re
porters are paid literally. l know
many reporters who earn ten to fifteen
dollars day, and some more. They
have constant employment and their
labor is agreeable. He must learn
exactly the facts, state them clearly,
and if he can throw a little life into
his writing his reports will be perfect.
This department is really high art.
The cultivated man is not in all
cases the best reporter. One of the
best l ever knew could not spell four
words correctly, but he got the facts
exactly, saw the picturesque, the in
teresting, the important aspect of it
SO vividly that it was worth the time
OF another man to rewrite his report
Another indispensable and highly
paid man is the Exchange editor. His
is onerous and requires knowledge,
experience and talent. Those who
edit manuscript and copy have hard