Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-04-21
SOME GOOD STORIES.
They Were Designed to Fill Want, but
Were Unavailable.

81
Were Unavailable.
"1hc editor, presumed" said the sallow
man with the real hair watch chain us he
st'I ped over bundle of exchanges and
a. reached the careworn person at the
desk.
''Im the editor. What do you WANT"
II come, " said the sallow man, "to Offer
you some original matter for publication
Poetry, ! suppose
"Poetry! Not at all. Verse has no com
J mercial value, and routine news no longer
rouscs the tired reader. The matter that l
ef'cr you is of the kind that will call atten-
ton to your sheet 1t is matter that will
he read aloud at the 1ireside and given
place in the scrapbook.
Original matter, you sayf"
Entirely so. Now, if you have mo.
ment of leisure will read you the first
thing that my eye falls upon in this manu-
script For instance:
g Francis Talbatson, farmer residing
three miles southeast Of Collodion, O., has
Il chicken that successfully initiates a
hooking bird. The chicken has a rich
golden plumage, and subsists entirely on
begonia seed, refusing all other kinds of
food.
"Who told you that?' demanded the
editor.
Sir" said the stranger, with wave
of the hand, II have already informed you
that this is original matter"
well, you don't expect any one to be-
lieve thatS"
II expect the publication to excite doubt
and wonder, possibly scientific discussion;
h,,t al, 10, II
diction of the story y"
"Why not? Don't you know that half of
the people of that town would write and
contradict that storyf"
impossible, sir. There is no such town
in Ohio y
"Then people will know the story is q
fake"
my dear sir, do you suppose that
among all your readers there is one man,
woman or child who knows the names of
all the postotlices in the state Of Ohio? If
man residing in the eastern part Of Ohio
reads that item he will suppose of course,
that Collodion is some town over in the
western side of the state, and vice versa
1t is, of course, advisable to print only that
which is true, but ask you candidly isn't
a story which cannot and will not be con
tradictcd and which will interest youi
readers without in any degree corrupting
them or debauching their literary tastes
just as valuable as if it were truc?"
well, here! How do you know there
isn't II town of that name in Ohio?" de.
manded the editor who was becoming in
tcrested.
Because l always work with postal
guide at my elbow. Suppose, now, that |
decided to tell u story of "A man in Alexan-
dria, Ia, trapping rabbit that weighed
SO pounds, and commonly mistaken for a
sheep when dressed and hung up in front
Of Henry Martins meat shop on Third
street, opposite the Baptist church. Turn
to the postal guide and learn that there is
an Alexandria in Iowa. Very well. How
about Missouri? l learn that there is ne
Alexandria in Missouri, and so 1 locate
the story in Alexandria, Mo-, without in
any way detracting from the artistic effect
Now, when you read something about
Owen Brecse of Alexandria, Mo-, don't
you feel convinced by the very sound of
the thing that there is a man named Breese
and that he lives at Alexandria, Mo.?'
'I'll admit that wouldn't have my
suspicious aroused. ("
"Certainly not, and neither would any
one else. Suppose you print special tele
gram from Catherwoud, Ind, telling how
Oscar Brennan, well to do farmer resid
ing about two miles from that place, has
applied for divorce from his wife Julia
on the ground that she has treated him
cruelty in compelling him to have a cal
cium light apparatus rugged up in the
kitchen, and to throw the calcium on her
while she is fitting about at her household
duties. You never heard that story before,
did your"
II never did, said the editor decisively
''Do you think you can use some of this
matter?'
"I'm afraid not. But I'll tell you what
can dol can recommend you to friend
Of mine who wants to be United States
senator. He is now looking for the towns
in which there have been popular upris-
ings' in his favor / think you have some
of the towns in your manuscript there.
II can give him any town that amt in
the postal guide.
"Well, those are the towns that are for
him. Chicago Tribune.
TI.nr