Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-02
NOT RESPONSIBLE.
An Editor Explains Why Certain
Disclaimer Appeared I'm His PAPER.

Star reporter was talking with south
ern editor visiting in Washington and dur
ing the conversation the editor handed the
reporter copy Of his paper TO look at and
compare with the metropolitan daiiies. 1t
was an eight-column country weekly and
mao no distinguishing marks save Ole para
graph at the head of the editorial columns
which read: The editor under no circum-
stances shall be held personally responsible
for communications appearing in this pa
per-"
THAT suggests a reason why IT should be
there. said the reporter.
Il don't KNOW" replied the editor that
1t does any good, but L have had it there
for ten years and ii shall remain as long as
L am the editor"
And The reason?'
Good enough, l think, in the beginning
A dozen years ago 1 took the paper, and /
used to print a lot of communications from
all sorts Of people on all sorts of subjects,
ana while didn't exactly assume personal
responsibility for them, | used to stand be-
tween the writers and the subjects as far
as possible. One week during the winter
something got In about one George G..
Blank, a man l never heard of, and the
article itself was, / thought, in the nature
OF a compliment. Two days after IL ap-
Leared L was in my office alone when a.
niue. snort dried-up kind of chap came
In, and, slipping the bolt of the door, walk
ed up to my desk and planted himself about
six feet from me- / looked up and smiled.
as l usually did on visitors. and asked him
what l could do for him.
g My narne,' he said, without returning
my salutation, is George G.. Blank the
same mentioned IL our paper of last ISSUE
and l have come in to pay you for it
Blank l replied. On the contrary, / was
glad to print it
You are personally responsible for it, 1
suppose? he went on.
certainly
That's why 1 want to pay for it, he
said, anSrily, and before 1 could make a
move he had me covered with a huge re-
volver. Don't get up he went on, as /
made movement. I'm going to XIII Won.
and can do 1t just as well where you Sit
Il could see now by his wavering eyes
that the man was crazy, and l was so un-
rerVed that for a moment l couldn't move
hand or foot just you feel in a bad
| dream.
" You wouldn't shoot man unarmed and
straight into his eyes, as they do with luna
tics, for / thought L might beat him that
way.
g 1T is quite immaterial to me- he laugh
ed. and pulled the trigger.
But the revolver snapped, and as il did
so he laughed again.
Don't feel disappointed he said. pleas
antly: there are four more cartridges left
and they won't all miss fire.
"As he tinkered a moment with the pistol
Keeping 1t trained on me. a form that one
of the boys had set by the stove to thaw
out yielded to the heat, and the type in il
went to the floor with crash. 1t came so
suddenly that my visitor looked around
quickly to see what 1t was, and that instant
L made a jump for him and caught his
pistol arm Physically, he was no match
for me- and in a minute had the revolver
cut of the way and had him pinned to the
| floor, where l choked him into insensibility
Then / unlocked the door and called for
help, and my visitor was handed over 10
| the town marshal and locked up. Later I
! learned that some years before Mr.. Blank
| had run for office and had been crazed by
| the newspaper Sight made against him. and
| he had sworn to kill the next man who put
his name in the paper. That happened to
be me, and he evidently intended to keep
his word, and would have kept 1t If the gun
hadn't snapped. The only real satisfaction
l got out of it, laughed the editor, in con-
clusion, was to print the notice you have
called my attention to and to lick the
blamed fool that sent in the communicat ton
as nice little joke on the editor