The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-07-06
NEWSPAPER SCOOPS.
TIE BANE AND THE NIGHTMARE OF
A JOURNALISTS LIFE.

With n Nose For News"-Thc Pc
cuIinritics of Securing Inside News
by Washington Correspondents.
They were all newspaper men, and
they We're all SO united on the PROPOSE.
ton under consideration that they did
lot interrupt the man who was doing
the talking
"Seoops,' said the sharp noSed re-
porter TO the others. "arc the bane and
the nightmare of Il newspaper mans
life, from the proprietor and managing
editor down TO the Maltese office cat.
Many a man occupies a desk today
because Of a good beat and many an
other man is engaged in more humble
occupation because -hc failed to see
one. Scoops constitute the sccsaw of
journalistic life.
'A newspaper man is as t0uchy ON
this subject rs woman ON her hacl,
hair; justly so, because u standard is
formed by which his journalistic tall
entS are largely rated and his salary
in accordance. If the city editor asks
finally gets it. where the fowl gets the
AK, ana new man appears on his for
mer assignment
"Editors. however. are usually CON
siderate with a good man, for the lat
ter will scoop his rival as often as he
himself is scooped perhaps oftcucr
and it thus evons itself up. Sometimes,
however, the wieldcr of the blue pen
ell has nm attack Of acute indigestion.
like the rest of us. and things are apt
to he unpleasant
"A good, big beat fills the entire of
fee with hilarious joy, and particular
ly the lucky reporter rcioiccs 1t oft
times means m increase in salary. The
Office Of the chief rival contemporary is
thrown into corresponding gloom
"The city editor is the adiutant gen.
eral Of the force. Usually he is as
consdcratc rs his duty to the propric-
tor permits, Nearly all are graduates
from the ranks, Where the magazine
newspaper story writer finds the city
editor he usually portrayS has always
been deep. duh mystery to me He
may treat outsiders TO be kind to the
magazine story writcr) as their stories
sopetimcs relate, but to his force he
does not carry a drawn sword in bis
left hand and pen dipped in rcdhot
caustic in his right He knows that
OF the men under him many are his
peers, capable Of taking his desk at a
moments notice and running it as well
as he
"The now you have 1t and now you
/ haven't 1t in our profession is well Il.
( lustratcd by a little occurrence that
happened in Washington a few years
ago, and it proves the element of luck
In the matter of securing news.
at was undecided whether congress
would pass as read a certain very i'm
portant national measure. The New
York papers were especially anxious
about it, The drift of opinion among
the correspondents was that it would
not so pass. On Monday night. say.
the correspondent of one of the metro
poltan morning dailies wired his paper
that it positively would not go through.
This paper had been talking that end
of the bill all along.
THE correspondent of n rival morn.
Ing paper had drawn the same conclu-
sionS from his days Investigations Mt
the capitol He was on his way down
the west marble steps when he met a
member to whose opinion on the prob
able fate of the bill he attached great
weight The member declared that the
Dill would positively be passed. I'M
amended and unchanged, ut the open.
ing of the session the following day
THE correspondent cast his own con
trary opinions and those of the mem.
bers he had interviewed to the winds.
He wired that night that the bill would
certainly pass the following day. 1t
did. Its passage was n surprise to the
country.
Before night the other correspond.
ent was relieved of his position by
telegraph. one made bold hazard
against his own judgment, took that
of another and won. The other con.
scicntiously obeyed the dictates of his
conclusions, based largely upon the
opinions of men who were in a position
to advise him correctly, and lost.
This case also illustrates the pecul.
larity of securing news by Washing.
ton correspondents. 1t is sui generis.
Rules which obtain in other cities are
impIacticable here. Most of the CORE.
spondents are picked men, who earn
ana command good salaries But one
OF their most important functions is to |
make acquaintances with men in of. |
hcial and congressional life Ii Is an
Important element in his profession to
know who to see about a piece of
news. and the little interview in dues.
ton between the correspondent and the A.,
on the west steps is but
an example Of everyday episodes In
the life Of a Washington correspond.
ent. t."-Washington Star.
Echoes of Fashion.
For summer gowns the straight Nut
loose upper sleeve and the puffed un-
dersleeve will most decidedly be the
mode.
Sashes will be worn extensively this
summer on gowns of all materials. On
stout figures = sash worn from the
waist Mt the side reduces the apparent
breadth of the figure.
Square hat crowns are one of the new