The Saint Paul globe., 1897-09-20
RIVER AT 8 A. M.
THE SUBSTITUTE EDITORS WORK.

1t may not be known outside the
newspaper world that, in these sum-
merry days, it is the custom in all well
regulated offices for the members of
the staff to take a vacation from their
brain wearying work; drop pencils and
scissors, cease scanning their contem-
poraries to see what the other fellow
had said so as to pick flaws in his rea-
soning; stop running over the news
columns for topics; let the fires
smolder in the ovens where rich,
brown roasts" are prepared; suspend
viewing with alarm the actions of the
opposition and defending with spirit
those of their own side; dropping the
helm and letting the old world drift
where it may, while they HE them
selves off to sequestered places where
daily papers come not and the talk is
of fish and bait and catches, of camps
and mosquitoes and remedies for their
stings. In such times the vacant chair
is filled by some other member of the
staff drafted into unaccustomed work
and bringing to it the habits, ideas
and views of his own especial branch
of the multifarious work of making a
daily paper.
This accounts for those start
ling changes of opinion the unin-
formed reader sometimes finds in his
morning paper that cause him to rub
his eyes or, if he wear them, to clean
his glasses and read again to assure
his beWIldered understanding that
what he sees is SO. Such an expert
ence befell the readers of the New
York Tribune the other morning when
they unfolded it at their breakfast Ia
bles to learn what they should think
for the day, and read the leader that
accounted for "The Causes OF I'M
provement." They had been reading
day after day assurances that the in
dustrial revival was but the effect of
one single cause and that the Ding
ley act, the ripe, luscious fruitage Of
the restoration of the Great Apostle Of
Protection to the Direction of Human
Energies. With delight they had read
the Withering editorials in when the
writer had slashed those impudent fel-
lows who had presumed to question it
and had with amazing effrontery. at
tributed it to an abundant crop in this
country coincident with scant ones
abroad
So they began the reading of this edi-
torial with the expectation of a fur
ther demonstration of the ubtquity o1
the Dingley act They chuciled as they
read the deft refutation of some as
sertion that the revival was due to the
fact that Western farmers mad sold d
great crop at high prices, by showing
that only 4O,OOO00O bushels had been
sold But when they entered upon the
elucidation Of the actual cause theil
eyebrows began to curve. "Fhe sim
pie fact said the Tribune, lis that
there is a certainty of very large re-
turns from crops for the farmers, anc
the dealers in farming regions are re.
son. The farmers have not done very
much buying yet, in part because
much too busy in their fields, although
retail business throughout the couu
try has considerably improved. Bu
the change in primary markets anC
with manufacturers has been due t.
the replenishment of stocks by deal
ers. This general replenish
ment of stocks by dealers, counting
from a third to half of a years sup
ply for consumers, and as much more
as stocks were short at it's beginning
after many months Of extraordinary
caution in buying, is the one grea
force which moves markets, starts thu
wheels and gets half million more
hands at work. It would be trif1in:
to attempt to distribute this gain
among different causes"
The explanation of this variance il
simple. The political editor was off OF
his vacation, and the market or -stocl
editor had been detailed to take hi.
desk. He knows nothing of parties ant
. politics. His work is to gather facti
and draw from them accurate conclu
sions. He did this in this case; did i
excellently well, but he played smasl
with column after column of learned
disquisition on causes that the politi
cal editor had racEed his brain-ant
conscience-in preparing. Thus it cam'
about that. for once. the readers o