The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-08-29


And there (pointing 10 anetherl. are some
Russian fables which am now reading.
Where DO You get your linguistic FAC
ulty. Mr.. Dana?''
4 don't know. - replied the man OF many
Languages, unless I was born with *.
When / was II wears cid l was working
IN store in Buffalo. We had among
our customers many Seneca Indians. 1
picked up much OF their language from
talking with them We had also many
Germans at Buffalo. / learned something
Of the German language, and later on.
WREN l went TO Harvard college. ! found
no trouble at all in acquiring the German
pronunciation
CoIleGe-Bred Men ms Journalists.
You are college-bred man. Mr.. Dana
Is college education a necessity 20 the
making OF a good journalist"
I think II is good thing for a man 70
have college education" replied Mr..
Dana But I don't think it is a neces-
sity. a colloge-bred man has better
trained mind, and as a rule he can use his
faculties TO better advantage; stlll the boy
who is self-educated often surpasses him
who Is college bred 1t depends upon the
person. II he has it in him he viii be sue
cessful; II not. he won't"
Please give me word OF advice for the
young newspaper men of today. What
should they do to suceeed?"
Tell the truth and shame the devil"
replied the editor OF the Sun.
Wages of Newspaper Men.
How about wages in newspaper work?
Have not the hard times affected them
81 don't think they have in this Office.
though | am told that they have In other
places. i he forces have been cut down as
well as the wages. Here in the Sun our
men stay with us for years. We have the
merit system. and some of our best men
of the Sun has a chance to become man
aging editor If he can show that he is the
best man for the place"
some of Dama's Earlier Salaries.
But the pay of newspaper men OF today
must be far better than It was when you
were young. Mr.. Dana" said L.
Yes" was the reply; lit Is. For some
of my first newspaper work I received s. a
week. This was when I was . years old,
and was one OF the editors of the ~hrono-
type of Boston. A little later on ] came
to New York to be city editor OF the
Tribune. My wages then were 80 a week.
After a while l was raised TO 800 a week,
and at last. when I became managing edt-
tor OF the Tribune. I was given an equal
salary with Mr.. Greeley. receiving $50 a
week"
How Dana Refused Russian Mission.
I here referred to Mr. Danas connection
with EfeslQelt Lincoln as dSslsAdllN StC-
rotary of war. and asked Mr.. Dana why
he had never again accepted office. and
whether he had not had ambition TO be
high public official He replied:
No | do not care for such things. 1
have always thought it best to stick to
the newspapers. though I suppose I could
have had official positions had / desired
them. I could have been minister to Rus
sia under President Lincoln. but when
looked into the matter I found that It
would cost me nearly $4,000 a year TO keep
up the proper style Of ST. Petersburg. and
that my salary would only be $4,000
year. II did not take much figuring 10 see
that I could not afford that"
The Passing of the weekly.
.rwhat has become of the weekly news
paper. Mr. Dana? Such papers have not
the great circulation which they had IN
the past"
.sNo the great weekly is no more II
has been killed by the low prices OF paper
and the cheapening Of newspaper making
People win not subscribe for q weekly
when they can get daily from their own
territory at from to cents DAY " men
left the New York Tribune It's weekly
7,a1 a circulation OF 10000. I doubt II II
has half that number today.
The one-Cent Newspaper.
speaking Of the prices Of newspapers
T.
be made to sell for cent?
a newspaDer can be sold at margin
NJ nrofit al a cent but n good newspaper
should cost at least cents. In order TOT
its publishers TO do justice TO theF GUS
toners and themselves. The higher price
enables the paper to be more independent
and less careful about extra expenses
How about the dime museum features
of Journalism? Have they come to STAY?
81 don't know what you mean by dime
museum features"
81 mean the turning Of a paper into
dime museum show b. the publication OF
monstrosities OF all kinds. with sensational
articles and horrible pictures.
ct don't know whether such features viii
continue or not" replied Mr.. Dana. Il
know one man who IS very tired Of them,
and that IS myself. J do not consider such
publications the result OF good newspaper
work The filling Of the papers with pic
lures crowds the news into corners. II
makes the paper not a newspaper, but
picture paper"
More Individuality Wanted.
What. Mr.. Dana. are some Of the chief
faults Of the newspapers OF today
zone great fault IS the lack or individu-
atty. Many OF our papers are too much
alike in their makeup and in their news.
They are set up by type-setting machines.
which make all look alike The result is
not artistic and there Is too much same
ness think II IS a bad thing FOR paper
20 publish the same news IN the same
words that It's sister cities publish Il. Why,
there are three great newspapers I'm New
York using the same press dispatches. 7
don't Ike that. 7 think every newsDa per
should have IT'S own Individuality. and DO
nh that I can 20 give the sun o character
Of It's own. We are now getting Cur owu
news from our own correspondents. and
We hope 70 Do thfz more and more. 4
large part Of the sun IS SET up by hand.
This Is always so with the editorial page"
Syndicate Articles.
''You were 70 a certain extent the origin
stor Of the syndicate system. VIII syndi-
cate articles continue 20 b used -
II suppose so. though I 10 not think
they contribute 20 individuality So news
pagers. As 10 my founding the syndicate
system. 7 dd that merely 70 help some II
ny friends Bret Harfe Henry James
and other writer's were selling their
stories % TIA gaines for an ordinary price.
! proposed that they should Per me place
them ~ number Of newspapers and that
] would give them what Z could make ont
% them. I paid the regular price for
what the Sun used and also turned In
what 7 received from other papers. The
result was that 7 paid Henry James g lp3
f9r ous O. MS short stories and ether
authors gee almost as much. 7 found
however. that the work eHtaile6 a great
deal az correspondence was making
nothing out ~ IL and gave r. up. After
that the system 81 synd.catng al kinds
u articles sprang up
The Counfrv Al Right.
~ this point Mr Dana began 20 put hls
papers together. II was about time for
hsrn - take ffe train FOR bis country