The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-19

| labor IL not required that Is not flooded
with ''emateurs.' We have amateur
base ball players. amateur actors, ANA
teur editors, amateur photographers,
amateur oarsmen, amateur sailors, etc.
| In ball playing and other sports the anna
teur features are perfectly natural ana
| legitimate. but in some other instances
they are disastrous to persons engaged In
| the work who are endeavoring to gain a
| livelihood. The theatrical profession Is
perhaps the one that suffers the most
| from the amateur" In competition with
| the stage-struck young man or woman OF
means who Is willing often to pay Tor the
privilege of treading the boards, the hard-
working, impecuniouS actor. VINO mas
spent years Of study in perfecting himself
in his art. has a difficult time. Upon rare
occasions some of these ambitious young
people who desire to leap to fame with a
single bound possess talent, but in the
| majority of cases they have little idea
of what Is required to make the artist
and depend upon dress and appearance
! to create a favorable impression. By the
introduction of this horde Of cheap actors
| the legitimate thespian of merit is either
crowded out Of the procession entirely, or
Is forced to appear at Yates OF compensa-
ton that are enough to stifle the inward
fires of genius. In the larger cities the
journalist also often suffers from the am
bitiOn OF the amateur reporter. At the
offices of two well known papers In New
York and Philadelphia the news Is gath
cred by boys and ambitious young men
of means, who work principally for glory.
and is taken to the offices where the ar
ticles are rewritten by desk men for
publication. For these services the news
gatherers receive salaries about equal to
that of the office hoy, while the compe-
tent reporter is forced to seek other
means of gaining a living. These are
only exceptional cases. however. Upon
the whole. the newspaper workers have
little to complain of in this direction. The
average publisher is alive to the fact that
incompetent assistance is detrimental in
this age Of progress, and the journalist
of originality can usually find occupation
at a living salary, Notwithstanding the
army of writer's and news gatherers who
vend their wares at Job lot rates.
Bobbie-When did you come to life
again. Mr.. Bones?
Bones-What makes you ask that. my
little man?
Bobbie-why, l heard sister say this
morning that you were dead easy"
/ notice that the comment over the ap-
pontment of a janitor at the high school
professor of mathematics only receives
$1,000, continues. 1t must be perplexins
to the average pupil, who Is urged to gain
knowledge on grounds that education is
an assistance in gaining wealth and hon
ors, to find that the services of the man
who dusts off the furniture and turns on
the steam in the morning are more valu-
able to the school board than those OF the
professor. who can unravel combinations
of figures that would make the ordinary
man dizzy. But there Is no accounting
for many things about the great and
glorious school system of Pennsylvania.
I have often wondered why many OF the
talented ladies who hold responsible posi-
tions in the schools of Scranton should
not receive the same salary that Is given
the men for the same work. I have often
wondered why ignorant clods have in
some instances been allowed to have
charge of schools in OPPOSITION to pro-
tests OF parents of children in the dis
tricts. All this. of course, was in the
past, for have ceased to wonder.