The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-08-18
NEWSPAPER MAKERS
THE MAGNETISM THAT THERE is IN
THE PROFESSION.

of Reporters.
like to brag about newspaper men
VINO nave done good work, because tho
men themselves don't like it. For one
newspaper man to chant tho praises of
others OF his craft is considered taboo"
ana tho very fact of its being tabooed
makes 1t exceptionally tempting at
times, so frail are we all. The proper
professional attitude for q newspaper
manufacturing to convention-is that
OF being always slightly bored and Of
mating above all things to see his own
or another newspaper mans name in
print. AS to being in love with his pro-
fesslon-wcll, that's all right for new
hand Just from college, but now-ratsl
Don't you believe word about news
paper work making genuine newspaper
men tired. They couldn't keep away
from 1t If they tried If Robinson Cru
500 had been a newspaper man, he
would have printed daily edition of
tho Juan Fernandez Castaway in blunt
stick type OH the sand in front of his
hut every morning and got out an extra
when no captured Friday
And it must DO that age and rank and
station don't serve to benumb this feel
ing. When Sir Edwin Arnold happened
10 he III st. Louis q few years ago,
sudden crisis in India-Russians and
Englishmen glaring at each other across
the rugged crests of the Pamirs, the
Roof of tho World'-made an inter
view with him of especially timely
value. 1t camo into my days work to
SEQ him, and at tho close of tho inter-
view he fell to talking about the Incl
dental phases of possible Russo Eng
lish war.
Should such war be declared"
said Sir Edwin, II would instantly go
to the front for my paper the Lon
don Telegraph-' and servo as a special
correspondent. 1t is tho most fascinat-
ing work i'll the profession, and there is
mono more fascinating outside"
And moment later the English poet
and newspaper editor was telling me
that he considered james Whitcomb
Riley the most distnctively national of
living American poets, and that to his
mind Riley owed much of this to tho
fact that he was n newspaper poet"
instead of n magazine poet
If l only had DR.. Chauncey M. De-
pew hero to join in this talk about
newspaper men, then you'd begin to
realize what fine follows they really
arc. DIR. Depew couldn't live without
newspaper men. They visit him in his
private office i'll tho New York head
quarters of the New York Central rail
road, and they laugh mt the jokes in his
after dinner speeches and boom him for
fl,n s6 &c ~
for anything else no may desire simply
because they like him and he likes
them. The first and only time ever
saw DIR Depew was at tho Republican
national convention of 1892 in Mime
apolis, whittier Dr.. Depew repaired Us
ono of the big Four" of that very
lively convention. He was surrounded
six deep by newspaper correspondents
facing them, tall and irreproachably
groomed, looking for MI tho world like
the swell old heavy father in "Tho
Bankers Daughter" and giving out all
tho news no consistently could, / sup
pose. And when he had exhausted his
budget for the time being he turned i'll
and gavo them "Depew jolly" of the
press which was really a daisy in its
line. OF course I'm not going to tell
you what he said, because honestly, it
was bit steep, but just want to give
You an idea that would be greatly re-
enforced i'll this talk if could have DIR.
Depew here to take hand in it.
Talking of conventions and bearing
III mind my already expressed disbelief
III the possibility of newspaper mans
ever getting tired of newspaper work,
l want to make a kind of execution.
Tho tircdest lot of newspaper men I
ever saw was ut tho close of the famous
all night session of tho Democratic ma
tional convention of that same year
lo92-ln Chicago. 1t was the night of
the great anti Cleveland fight mado by
Iammany III the last ditch; the night
when Bourko Cochran made the great
est speech of his life; the night when
such an orator rs Daniel of Virginia
was hooted from the platform because
the convention was actually too en-
hausted to listen; the night when Cleve-
land was nominated With one recess.
II am not mistaken, the convention
remained i'll session from 10 O'Clock one
morning until 4 O'Clock tho next. 1t
was a crucial session, too and kept
correspondents on the alert every mo-
ment. Bourke Cockrans speech against
Cleveland was made about $3.50 in the
morning and dying man would havo
been forced TO listen and thrill at its
eloquent invectiye and mastery sar-
casni. But after that came the awful
slump Of utter WEAKNESS When tho
convention adjourned, day had broken
over Chicago and the streets were gray
III its early light. White faced and
limp, tho CORDS of snncial cnrrnSnnnd