Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-02-15
IA WOMAN REPORTER.


paper had gono to press:
"The Times bought The Tribune and
!, consolidated the two and called 1t The
Times Tribune, and, like many hyphen
ated papers, there were morning and
evening editions" said the city editor.
s'lt was a question most Of the time
whether we were working for morn
ing or an evening paper. That was the
case with those of US who were on tho
evening edition.
lit was about month after the con-
Solidation that the woman reporter
came to work on the paper. Her COM
Ing was like the opening Of the win
dows in midsummer to the breezes OF
June. She was about as innocent OF
newspaper work as catnip tea is Of
champagne. She paralyzed us all few
weeks after her arrival by clapping her
hands when the city editor asked her
TO come down and work one evening.
She thought it would be such lark.
Then again, at election time, when she
worked all night, she was almost tic
kled to death and considered it quite u
glorious achievement.
'This girl was quite hustler,
though, and she WASH t kept at society
stuff all the time, but was given little
assignments, such as justice shops and
undertallers' joints. Once tho city edi-
tor sent her out to hunt up a lost child,
and she found it, and she was the hap
piest girl in Town. The kid was the per-
,eemni property Of the richest man there
bout.
''Instead Of paying her the reward he
mt her al invitation to come up to his
puse and eat Sunday dinner. She did
pt seem 70 mind this ut all and took it
q matter of course, though the police
reporter wanted to thrash the man, but
then he'd have done any thing she might
suggest. But, as far as this was con-
cerned, so would any other member Of
the staff or Of the business office or OF
the composing room or even the press
room. On, she could have anything or
anybody she wanted about The Times
Tribune Office.
"She used to have the inside run on
all the theater passes, while the rest Of
Us didn't have time to get acquainted
with any one but our creditors or to g,
anywhere except out on our runs and t.
bed. But this didn't trouble us, because
9he was the woman reporter, you see.
"Well, she had been with The Times
Tribune about year when she left in
disgrace, and it was this that caused sew
eral of the boys to lose their jobs.
You know, hero arc q great many mon
who always want to drown their sor.
rows, and there's no newspaper on earth
that's goins to stand this. Some of you
may let this drift through your heads.
It may do you good and save your mutt
ton.
II beg sou to excuse these side re-
marks. As was saying, then came her
disgrace. 1t was q terrible shock to
those of US who had worked with her
every day for year and had had every
opportunity of studying her and know
ing just what she was. l didn't blame
some of the boys for falling by the way
side I'd have done the same. guess, if
I hadn't been married.
cit was surprise to US all, too and
the managing editor was so put out that
he had the dumps for days and went
about the office scowling and 70 cross
that even the Office boy was still and
moved about like ghost.
lit was just about this time, too,
that the other papers of the town be-
gan abiding to kindergarten journal.
ism and 'skirted reporters and other
obnoxious phrases known only to the
profession. and in other ways kept be-
fore us what we had suffered. 1t was
then, too, that these same papers began
ending to The Times Tribune all the
female applicants for places and noised
Il around town that we wanted fe
nnale reporter to take the place Of the
de we had lost. Oh, it was awful"
The city editor bowed his head, and
We thought he was about to weep, but
he braced up and went on:
eve didn't employ any more women
reporters don't believe the old man
would have hired one if she had been
the best in the country. One had thrown
him down, and he was chary Of the Sex.
he was an old bachelor himself and
had always been quite ladies' man,
but after this disgrace he became con-
1rlned woman hater and went SO fur as
to discontinue the woman's page on
Sundays and swore that he'd discon-
time the society notes if the propri-
etors would let him. We all guessed
that lie was pretty badly cut up, for he
had always thought the woman reporter
was all right He had even gone so far
~ to take her to the theater, and he
used to loaf around the city room when
die was there and hang on to her words.
eyes, it was frightful shock, and
her disgrace was keenly felt.
The papers had come up from the
pressroom, and we had each got one.
We stood around waiting for the city
editor to come out Of his room. When
10 appeared, one Of the younger report
Is approached him.
"You forgot to tell u.s." he said,
'Show she disgraoed the staff"
The city editor stopped with his hand
n the doorknob and answered:
"She married the head proofreader.