The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-04-16
STORY OF AN EDITOR.
w. c BRAIN MADE ENGLISH "cRAck
LIKE A WHIP"


Hit with q story OF "Egypt's Apple
Crop"-Remarkabie Hotel interviewer.
w. @. Brann, the fighting editor,
who was killed at Waco, Tex, in a
duel the other day, practically started
his newspaper career In st. Louis, on
The Globe Democrat, under Joseph b.
McCullagh. That was six years ago,
aud those who knew Brann then knew
man who was as mild and gentle as
could be. His friends little dreamed
that he would become the editor of such
fiery publication as The Iconoclast
In fact, Brann made his first hit ON The
Globe Democrat with big Sunday arti-
Gle on the apple crop of southern ILL
nois.
"Brann had been on the paper few
weeks, said western newspaper man
yesterday, in discussing this eccentric
character, land hadn't succeeded in
turning in much copy. One day MoCul-
lagh suggested that Brann take an art.
list. so over into Egypt-as lower Hi.
nois is called-and write up the apple
industry. which is source of great rev.
enue to that part of the state. Brann
started out. and the rest of us were
more or less curious to see how he
would come out His article appeared
the next Sunday, and it is needless to
say that it was a first rate surprise.
Brann had made rhetorical flower
garden out of the page that had been
assigned to him. A five column article
on the apple industry would have been,
In the hands Of the average reporter,
pretty dry reading, but under the pen
Of Brann apples seemed almost to grow
from the type. As tot .cts, there was
nothing much to the aYticle, and some
Of the members of the staff had doubts
If the new man, as Brann was then
called, had gone any farther into Egypt
than East St Louis The strength of
the story was its phrases 1t read like
classic almost, and some of the boys un-
dertook to speak to Brann and compli.
ment him upon this feature Of It,
'Pshaw, that's nothing. was the
reply. / can do anything that please
with the English language. ! can make
II wave as prettily as q field Of ripe
wheat or I can seize 1t by its handle
and make 1t snap like bull whip in
the hands of COW puncher.
$50 it will be seen that he was not
without his share of egotism. We learn
ed that he had been sort of travelling
preacher and lecturer and that his
home had been in Dallas or Waco be.
fore he appeared in st. Louis. Soon
after the episode Brann went up to
Chicago to the national Democratic con.
vention as one Of quite large staff un-
der Walter B. Stevens. I have heard
that Brann's especial assignment ON the
Chicago trip was to pay no attention to
the big political gathering, but to ex-
pose Chicago with q sharp pen. And
Brann did so, to the great delight of all
st. Louis
"When Brann returned to st. Louis,
he was placed in charge of the column
called Hotel Corridors This column
had been one of McCullagh's hobbies.
and the rest of us had taken turns in
extracting interviews from tourists and
travelling men until we were black in
the face. But under the hand OF Brann
the hotel column fourished like green
bay tree. The widest and most improb-
able stories in the choicest English, dis
sertations OH religion and on literature,
essays on ethics and culture-in fact,
everything 1t was useless to pretend
that the interviews were true. The
average run of hotel guests did not talk
AS The Globe-Democrat' column made
them talk, and every one knew it. But
the work pleased McCullagh, and q lit
tie later, when Bra9n resigned and re-
turned to Texas to start newspaper, the
editor made contract with him to send
a bunch of hotel interviews daily by
mail.
lin starting daily newspaper in
Texas Brann had a partner, and the
struggle was hard for them. Their daily
attracted attention, but Brann was
crowded out finally by the stockholders.
Then he started his Ioonoclast at Dallas
and proceeded to break the popular idols
Of that community. Among other things
he assaulted Baylor institute. His arti-
cles against this college resulted in sew
eral duels, in each of which two per.
sons were killed, and in the last one,
the other night, Brann and his adver-
sary, T. e. Davis, each met death.
"In appearance Brann was tall, slen-
der and Of dark complexion. His hair
was inky black and as straight as that
of an Indian. His eyes were widely set
and were mean. He always wore q
SLOUGH hat and long Prince Albert
coat, and I've heard him wish hun
dred times that he could get out of the