The herald., 1895-02-10

Woulu put HOWelS out on the street
scenes and keep Garland as a general
reporter, to be used on all kinds Of work
as occasion demanded
pierre, Lott should run the military
and naval columns, and Rudyard Kipling
could grind out good short stories. He
should write column story a day and
fill in his time on the federal detail. Jules
Verne, l thought, would probably shine
brightest at the city hall.
There was need still for a political re-
porter, a humorous man, some one to run
the secret society column and churches,
general sporting man and good horse
reporter. Yes; the staff was not complet-
ed yet, by any means, but had not I'M
limited means at my disposal, carte
blanche to get the best, as the Managing
Editor had said?
"And remembering this | stopped at
the telegraph office on my way home and
wired for Gladstone to come over and
take charge of the vociferator's political
column. He's little aged, l reflected
and may decline on that account. Well
If he does, I'll send for William G. Whit
ney or John Sherman, | said to myself
and then sent off message to Mark
Twain, telling him to name his own fig
ures.
"For secret societies and churces made
handsome offer to the Rev. De Witt Tai
mage. | cabled to the Prince of Wales
that there was good opening for him as
sporting editor OF the Moderator, and
prided myself on my originality in asking
Lyof Tolstoi to run the labor column.
Then l went home and slept soundly.
In the morning | remembered that new
Board Of Trade man was needed to go
with the new staff, so l cabled Herbert
Spencer, offering him princely salary
if he would undertake to do both the
board and market reports. You see | still
felt obliged to economic wherever | could
and was still bound to get the most for
the least money.
well, it was near the end of the week
before all the new hands reported for
duty had wisely kept mum about the
big surprise, so as to make roar, as it
were, that would bring everybody to their
feet. l pictured to myself the admiring
surprise OF our readers and the amaze
ment of our contemporaries.
cat last the new men all put in appear
ance, even to Gladstone. l dismissed the
old reporters one morning-the proudest
of my life-with orders on the business
Office for two weeks salaries.
'Then | made up the new assignment
hook pretty nearly as l have already in
dictated.
81 can tell you was the biggest city
editor in the land that day.
What wonders of journalism would the
Moderator now produce!
Each article was to be signed by the
full name of the writer and | had even
planned that when a really meritorious
piece of work was turned in-something
above the average, you know-I would
publish the portrait and little compli-
mentary notice of the writer at the end OF
his article.
THAT was about the longest afternoon l
ever put in, waiting to get my fingers on
some of that copy. | felicitated myself on
the pleasant evenings before me in read
adi 80
as the Nociferator's new staff comprised
ALAS, alas the happiness of reading
the manuscript of my new staff was de-
MED me for the night at least. | was
slated for conference with the Business
Manager and the old man, which lasted
threatening to revoke his carte blanche
salary list which he found had exceeded
all bounds.
II had left orders with the copy-read-
ers to let everything 60 SO far as space was
concerned, and if necessary to get out
sixteen page paper.
when the conference was over down.
stairs ought to have come up here and
looked over the proofs, but l determined
to wait till morning and take my surprise
along with the rest of the Vociferator's
readers.
81 did not sleep much that night, being
so anxious and expectant for the morning
paper. And in the morning l punished
myself still further by not touching the
paper till the coffee was served and I had
lit my pipe.
what rapture was mine in unfolding
those sixteen pages!
bah what a blockhead I had been aft
er all, in not securing MISSIONER and
Verestchagin and a few other celebrities
for the art department, | reflected all of a
sudden, as my glance struck the old cuts.
All, that was the mistake of my life and
it was too late now, for already the old
man had begun to talk of retrenchment.
Well, it could not be helped. The art de-
partment was not under my control, any
how, and we had the writer's if not the
artists.
"But had we the writer's? or,
if we had, where was their work? These
questions began to occur to me as turned
over the local pages. Following the edito-
rials-which were realkys weak on the Vo-
ciferator, | mused-came twelve col
umns of solid matter with scarcely a
break ltne in them all,
them all.
~ groaned as saw them, for they
spoiled the appearance of the paper, no
matter what they were. 1T is probably
paid ad, said to myself, as l looked to
the end for an asterisk. No asterisk was
there, but in its place was the name of
Lyof Tolstoi, in all boldness of fac smile
penmanship, as l had ordered the sigma
IL
ing.
"THE LABOR REVIEW
''Stared me in the face. Now, you know,
If ever there was thing | prided the Vo-
ciferator on under my administration, it
was the originality of its headlines. Here
was fine beginning for the brilliant new
staff 1t should have been,
"'THEY WANT WORK.
''or something like that with action and
OF labor when there WASH strike intown!
Merciful heavens! was Tolstoi rehearsing
his economic essays? | did not read to
see Who in the world would read half
column of such stuff? Count Tolstoi
should never write another line for the
Moderator while | welded the blue pen
Gil And the readers who had passed that
stuif-well, | had given orders to pass
everything signed. But they really ought
to have had sense enough to disobey or
ders in such case
What was this next to the labor dis
QUESTION? short article, l observed,
broken into beautiful short paragraphs
and signed W. Clark Russell. All, here
would be something worth reading, no
doubt, light and breezy, perhaps, like the
famous Wreck of the Grosvenor, l tried
to forget the labor article as l settled back
to read this charming sketch.
YES, it was charming-in diction-and
light and breezy, too. All that indeed,
but horrors upon horrors! I read trouble
for the old man in every line of it.
Captain Haltren would be down on us
with blood in both eyes. His new schoon-