The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-15
AFTER YELLOW PHANTOMS.
a FUTILE sEARCH ron IA OF IN TINE
NEW JOURNALISM.

VIEW JOURNALISM.
A western Reporters sea Lot in the Land 81
Pfpe prenms-Pires, storms, Grimes, and
Rescues which Rr,.,ed Only In yellow
mines and the Type That suGereth Long.
Should this get into print It will be my first
success In that direction. In six weeks OF news-
paper work, during which timo l have fairly
reVelied In murder, suicides, catastrophes, and
accidents OF all Kinds, my total crop Of clippings
rom my own pen is half O dozen semt.para-
graphs This is the fault of the new journalism.
10 not Tor a moment suppose. however. that
have been working on either OF the yellow jour
nais' NO; they caused my downfall extrane'
ously, 30 TO speak. Before left tho Western
city whero L had made a success OF reporting
l had some thought Of trying TO get into the
new Journalism upon my arrival In New YORK
IL seemed TO mo that the chances OF rapid nd
vancementw were better. But 1 could not bear to
cut myself on from family and friends, even
had L been willing to forfeit my own self-re-
spect. 80 went on one Of the old and reputable
newspapers six weeks ago, and this is the end.
To recount all the incidents In my prohtless ca
reer would insure this effort against being
printed, therefore l give only few In tho hope
That the reader will agree with me that the fault
OF my failure lies beyond myself.
When I began work my city editor knew that
ShS uNDOElthCC.
attributed the fact that one Of my earliest as
signments was what looked like a column story
an account of an exciting fire in Hoboken,
with any number of gallant rescues and thrill
Ing escapes. Tho real reason for a groom hand
getting that story was that 1t appeared In the
evening edition OF one of the yellow journals, a
paper which never got a story right In
the course Of its existence but once.
and the next day three editors were dis
charged. Well, 1 set out upon this story
full of hopes and landed In Hoboken
with my Introductory paragraph all planned
out. went directly to the site OF tho ultra
fashionable apartment house" which had been
"razed to the ground by the ferce names." &C
cording to the clipping which my city editor
had given to me. There I found q threestory
frame house. omewhat blackened by smoke,
outside Of which stood various articles Of fur.
niture.
This Is tho place where the fro was. isn't
itf' I asked of a man who stood in the doorway.
YAH" he said. "Dere vas q leedle fire to-
day."
D they take tho lady that jumped to the
hospital Z"
Vat latyf'
Mrs. Caroline Schmidt, aged 40" I replied.
looking at my list of seriously injured"
DOTS mein frau" said the man. "She didn't
jump nowhere except out Of bed ven der en-.
chimes come"
This article says that she jumped from a
ffth.story window. and would have boon killed
but for a brave fireman who caught her in his
arms"
"Td like to saw dot fireman after he doed 1t,
said Mr.. Schmidt. "She Weigh more as two
hoondert pounds. mein frau. guess dot fire.
men be purity fiat like your hat. Ha-hel No.
she don't jump. She don't got no fve.story
| Dlace IN iunp From, oxcepf aha nj ,roaa Jon
street and climb der roof"
where's the telegraph wire that tho beauti.
full young girl went across hand over hand I" l
asked, hope dying down In my breast.
Beautiful young girli Oh, yah! Dots my
Lena. She didn't slide on no telegraph wire.
She Just got up and put on her dress and carry
water for me to throw on der fire. She's q Root
girl. my Lena"
But didn't the bravo firemen dash through
the choking flames and rescue the shrieking vic.
tins from the clutches Of the fire demon T. 1
asked. referring to my clipping.
"Young weller" said Mr.. Schmidt, dis is Ho.
boken. und We don't spoke no such langkwich as
dot over here. / guess somepody's been foolln'
init you; hey ."
l thought so myself when I reported to tho
city editor and observed the smile that fitted
across his features. He gave me another clip
ping from the other evening yellow sheet, stat.
ing that Coney Island had been wiped out by a
tidal wave. 1t took three hours of inquiry to
find the basis OF that story; but I found it at
last. A hydrant had burst and flooded a hotel-
keepers back yard. The night editor said he
didn't think the paper wanted more than a col.
umn Of that. l went home and meditated on
my chance OF over getting anything printed IL
'H That Ho Is Just US w What atM they Suf dia. On et thep faIiowipp
day l investigated an official scandal furnishing
the names OF various public men In a Jersey
' fnWn The nnnaa kyara all that an TarnJ Thu.
were no persons in existence who answered TO
those names. and the offices filed by the names
week or SO / fitted around the suburb, IN pur.
suit OF persons who existed only in the columns
then got the thrilling story Of the man Who
swan He'll Gate. This was quite circumstan.
tisL 1t gaye e the name and address Of 2 man
had invited him to the feast. and also told how
an Astoria policeman had pulled him out of the
He braved, the ,treacherous, mighty Hell
Gate current" said the article. and then came
an interview with the swimmer, in which no
way When 1SR,, | found ah the - man at the address given I
even tried to swim across He'll Gate. Then
i tSe ma up the hO sps qlloena G:.o Y es he he had arrested
the policeman, had heard. He had his clothes
on, and the clothes weren't wet. In court he
was that promising story settled. Next went
up TO- one Of the Hudson River cities
newspapers had this. one having stolen it from
ne other. For composite thrills OF excitement
this tale was a prize effort. 1t seemed too good
TO be true, and It WAS, The reporter had 1t that
city was terrorized by the hand OF armed con.
victs that had taken possession of It. The near.
est could get to that was that a ton-year-old boy
locked up for vagrancy had two weeks before
crawled between the bars Of his cell and escaped.
Two Or three days later n yellow daily, even.
Ing edition. told of a murder out in Passaic
In an ultra fashionable district" Everything
!n mIir eyer bhiaPpe%nI s in a., this yellow daily 10 n an
cality.'" or an avenue whose residents reckon
Their fortunes In the millions" This. 1t hap.
Pehed, was IN a tenemcnt-house street. A well
known and highly respected resident" had been
iouliy murdered" A trail Of blood had been
traced from his door to IA neighboring creek. The
body had not yet been found. l found the body.
~ sat upon It's own doorstep very much alive
ana rather drunk. 1t had had "a fight with AN.
other body on tho previous evening, had suf.
IeTed n nose bleed, and had gone to bed TO sleep
ON INC cnects.z So much for that murder.