Evening star., 1895-09-14
An Interesting Contrast in the Life
Of Newspapers.
IMPROVED MEN AND MECHANISM
Perfect System Observed by the
Great Journals of'the Day.
OLD REPORTERS AND NEW

Along about 1876, when the writer first
felt an itch to see his mental emanatiors
iE some print more renowned than the "old
boys" column in the monthly college
paper he went down Az street one day and
saw lot of broken glass on the pavement
In front of a shoe shop. 1t was early in
the morning, and the street cars were run
ring at infrequent intervals, but the point
of destination was the 18th street wharf,
where it was his intention to ascertain If
the early fish would take the worm as dill
gently as the early bird. The broken glass
would have never caused any interest save
perhaps a piece of it might have been
picked up to use in scraping the butt of his
fishing pole smoother, bat right in the midst
of it was q long piece of steel, with
slightly turncd-up and sharpened point at
one end of it, and he stopped to gather it
in
Just then a sleepy man came out of the
door next to the shop ard Immediately be-
came wide awake. The door of the shop
had been broken open, but it had been
! closed again. so that Only person familiar
with its appeara nee would have noticed it
The man entered the place. and then his
walls rent the close atmosphere, foul with
the smell of half-tanr ed leather and
worked out in the street and attracted the
attention of a policeman, who, for
der in these days. was within hearing dis
t&rce 1t was very funny interview that
followed between the man in the shop and
the policeman when the latter got there
In broken English. that showed its pos
SCISSOR was Low Dutch. the man recounted
the story of his rlisfortunes. The door had
tt en- broken open; the door TO d:Iap:dated
desk had been ransacked; things had been
pulled topsy-turvy, and the lamp CHM
rey had been broken.
Miser. Turns to Joy.
Have yez lcsht anytng?" asked the po-
iiceman.
The man stared. His senses slowly re-
turned. Then his joy became az; intense as
his lamentations had been ,nournfuI
broken door and a broken lamp chimney
made up tie sum total of his trouble. He
seized the pie7e of steel. which the youth
full fisherman holding, and which his
later experience teaches him was
jimmy" and waved It niumphantly.
Il want boxer he circulated ''eint de
tam teef lef me dees von.'' The amiabie
policeman never thought OF taking posses
sion of the burglars tool, No such thing
as clue ever entered ihis 6btrse Uranium
He departed swinging mis- club. and the
young fisherman, dangling his legs over
the 11th street wharf.I felt his risibil:t!es
rising time and time again, as he waited
patiently for nibbles. y There was much
hunor in that morning experience, and
next day he sat down. and wrote an ac-
count of it. 1t was aoerude and labored
attempt, perhaps but it met a mana cing
editors eye when that awful parsonage
was in genial mood, Something in the
situation aud the dialect perhaps, struck
his fancy, and he told the trembling author
OF it to bring him some more stuff like
this when he ran acifSs II. If that first
item had reached the city editor first in ali
probability TINS article would never have
eecn written for the city editor in those
days wanted only cold facts. without gar
niture or dressing.
Starting in q Sub.
A year later saw the youngster regularly
engaged as a sub reporter in the capital of
the nation. leg for, distance was as good,
almost, in those days as nose for news
Being we'll equipped with shanks and an in
dustrious readiness to utilize them he
passed muster in the city room, and re-
ceived distant toleration from the full
fedged reporters. A full-fadged reporter
In those days was ere who never failed to
get the exact moment when an alarm of
fre was sounded, the name of the officer
or cluZen turning it in and the way the
fire was first discovered. The damage the
insurance and the companies carrying the
rlSk were matters of secondary considera-
ton TO him The police stations were as
far apart then as they are now, and IS
there We're :no telephones, personal visits by
the reporters We're necessary to each one.
After the cars had stopped running it was
dent young sub. who eloried in six dollars
a week and seeing himself in print, to go
down on the Island" across the dark
mall, after midnight, to get items at the
police station, and then when he returned
to the Office to be sent over near Rock
creek to discover what there was in the
lumor of fight in Foggy Bottom.
Ihere was queer teiegraphic contriv-
ance at police headquarters. over which old
Mr.. kendig presided. 1t was circular
disk, having arranged upon IT the alpha
bet and the numerals. with punctuation
marks and a dollar mark There was
Similar contraDtion in each of the police
stations, and if there was murder or any
thing of immense Importance to communi-
cate the station keeper would laborously
spell out the message letter by letter. and
old Mr.. kendtg would take it down. There
We're lots of pranks played on that primi-
tive telegraph line by mischievous re-
porters
Some Reporters Practical Jokes.
Sometimes one would be at an outlying
station after midnight, and would send a
message recountins some shocking occur
renee. There was always a reporter drop
ping in at intervals of few minutes to
Mr.. kendig's Office, and if he stood we'll
with that old gentleman he would be told
about it. Then. with visions of a great
scoop before him, the reporter would util-
.ze his gifted legs and make tracks to the
posed crime, only to find at last a sleepy |
station Keeper, who gave him a half-snor- |
ing laugh of contemptuous scorn. Some |
times the sleuths who represented the Bal |
timore papers were sent on wild goose |
chases of this sort. One rainy and disa- |
greeabie midnight countryman appeared |
at detective headquarters, In the basement |
of police headquarters, a few doors below |
their present location, on Louisiana avenue, |
with woman's shawl and hat and a |
poorly scrawled note. He, said he had |
found them on Benning bridge. The note |
tcld story Of intended self-destruction. |
The countryman casually remarked that |
some people were trying toll find the body |
when he. left. The bright young man who |
wss then local correspondent of the Balti- |
more Sun was the only reporter present. |
He swore the detectives TO silence and hur- |
ried to the night liner stand. at 1th street. |
He hired man to drive him like mad to |
Benring bridge. He returned at a slower |
pace, a sadder and a wiser oman. Some of |
the other reporters, knowing Johns great |
prediction for scoops, had employed the |
countryman down at the American House |
to do his little. act at tie detectives room. |
The trap was laid for the Sun man, and |
he got caught in fine fashion. When the |
Sun turned down his expense account for |
the occasion of $3.50 he felt worse.
Wa rennrfar9