The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-20

The audacity and cleVerness OF the thing
tickled Mr. Dana, and from that time he
became the patron and chief encourager
of the Shortest poem" competitive strife.
Dana was not more than an editor, for
more than qualified editor man may not
be who earns with his brain the bread he
eats and the luxuries he enjoys But amid
all the daily eXertions of his position he
found time to edit the American Encyclo-
pedia in conjunction with George Ripley,
to collect volume of poems and to mas
ter many languages. One of his biogra-
piers says that it was curiosity concern
ing the rWeg,an-Icelaudic literature
that led Mr.. Dana years ago to a syste-
matte and persistent study of the old
Morse.
1t is a legend in the Sun Office that one
day a party of three men went in there.
No one understood their language. They
were tried in French and German, but did
not understand either. Mr.. Dana heard
the visitors and came out and welcomed
them in their own language. They were
Icelanderss He learned Italian, that he
might be better appreciate Dante, whose
Divine Comedy was his favorte. 1t is
a matter of history that on a visit to Rome
several years ago he aud Leo. Kill, who
is an enthusiastic admirer of Dante, dis
cussed that poet and his writings for a
longer time than the pope had ever given
in audience before or since to any one not
an eccesiastic.
The following is given by the Journal as
an example of MIR. Dana's treatment of
manuscripts:
once clergyman Of considerable emf
| hence but sensat onal proclvities vo I'M
teered 20 write anonymously for the Sun.
In his first article he made the amazing
| blunder of trying to adapt himself to what
he supposed to be the worldly and reckless
tone proper to a Sunday newspaper Mr..
Dana chuckled quietly, and sent the man
uscript back, after ipdcrsing It, in blue
pencil, This is too damned wicked"
Mr. Dana is quoted as giving his ideas
of what should be on an ediotria, page, as
follows:
"a man at the dinner table or any
where else, who insists on giving you his
opinion about everything on earth is a
bore. So is newspaper Every single
piece of news. even IL important
need not be touched off with paragraph
of comment
IF you say a true and important thing
once in the most striking way, people
read ii and say to themselves that 1t is
very likely so; but they forget It, But if
you keep on saying T., over and over asa n,
they finally say, 1T Is really So and
they'll remember and believe it forever. !"
A few years ago Mr.. Dana delivered a
| lecture on journalism, In the course OF
which he gave his IDEAS of what a news
paper should be, and told Of some Of his
methods. The following is an extract from
the lecture:
II almost always dictate. If you have
the thing in your mind you can express IL
yourself, or dictate 1t 10 anyone If your
articles have tho ideas and thoughts. the
principal thing. they will produce their
own effect. Take the Herald. for in
stance In the day Of Bennett-he was a
great genius-it was not necessary articles
should be signed. He wrote most of them
himself, and the others got his knack. II
they had been signed. they would not have
had any more effect, or any less, as l can
see.
THE requirements for q young man
who wishes to- enter journalism are good
health, good temper upright principles,
the best education he can possibly get and
the most varied knowledge, provided 1t is
accurate. Inaccurate knowledge, is a nui-
sance. The best outfit for a journalist is
to know the Bible thoroughly to know
! Shakespeare and the constitution of the
United States. He should have convic-