The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-01-06

Robinson had worked his way
through Cornell university, and had
been graduated with honor. Having in
herited a taste for literature he de-
cided to go to New York and win fame
and fortune with his pen. To a young
and arcent man this prospect is a very
peasant one. In the effort a few men
nave succeeded, but many more have
failed, for the reason that the road is
more stony than she famed rocky road
to Dublin But Robiuson's heart beat
nigh and strong. He knew he would
have to work. but he was willing. His
ambition was TO become an editorial
writer ike Horace Greeley or Henri
ROchefort
When Robinson arrived in New York
city IN November, Is, he had one suit
of clothes and two $40 notes. Having
passed through an apprenticeship in
economy at college, he knew the value
Of a dollar, and so he decided to make
his cash capital go as far as he could.
1t was the first time he had ever Wis
tied great city, and a feeling Of in
expressible loneliness came over him
as he looked into the faces of thousands
of men and women and wondered why
he did not recognize any of them. Rob
insOn had been reared in an environ
ment Of green trees and running
brooks, where nature smiles upon man.
But to the country boys perception
the tall buildings seemed to frown for
biddingly upon him, and the noise of
innumerable vehicles sounded discord-
antiy in his ears.
Tugging his old carpet sack, contain
ing his clio hing. a copy of Shakespeare,
a Bible and a thesaurus, he walked up
Il & tQsy4r4 hi
He was amazed at the hustle and ac-
tivity, the indifference of every man
for his neighbor, and at the indications
on every hand of wealth and prosperity.
Up the great thOrOuglfare he wander
ed, looking for a home, but finding no
renting place until ne arrived in Har-
lem. Here, in a quiet side street, he Sc
cured o hall bedroom on the top floor
Of a tenement house by paying $3.50 in
advance. This little room, Derched up
on the eighth floor, just under the
caves Of the building, contained a small
bed, a washstand and one chair. Thor
OUghly exhausted by his long walk,
Robinson lay down and fell asleep
His first impulse on arising in the
morning was 20 examine this great city
of which he had heard so much-tO visit
the public buildings and other objects
of interest. But he Tepressed this IN
-
cIination and began to work As Is
the case with many young men Of ike
inclination. Robinson was an ideallSt, a
dreamer. He delighted in writing little
prOss. and pOetical etchingS of scenery
and of human emotions. The publishers
Of newspapers have learned by eXper-
fence that their readers do not care Tor
this kind of writing. They prefer stories
of crime-murder, burglary, arson, IN
I f1,c.r of l.
tionalism. Robinson, unfortunately for
his pocket, did not take notice Of the
direction of public taste. Day after day
! he worked away along ideal lines, until
at the end of the week he had a dozen
| sketches and poems ready. Then he dis
covered that half of his money was
| gone. and ne must sell some of his work
/ in order to reDlenish his pocket book
] Filling his pockets with his stories anu
| poems, he started to walk the seven
miles intervening between his lodging
! house and that Mecca of Journalistic
] genius-Park Row. This lis the street
] where all the great metropolitan papers
/ are IOcated-the street which never
! sleeps. Under its sidewalks mammoth
/ presses are always in motion, day anO
night. There gaping crowds conSregate
/ to read the bulletins of news from al
over the world. IT'S the spot where
/ more American history has been re
1 corded than any other in the country
IT'S a cruel place for a stranger with
out friends or money to be found, ano
! here it was that Robinson took ms mrs
/ lessC~. in the sale IF manuscript
Robinson was of refined and sensl-
tive nature By the time he had met
three office boys who were hired tC
/ keep Just such men as he away from
the editors he was very much dlscour-
/ aged. and vet he felt that his WORK
! was good. And so, as he trudged bach
! to his room in Harlem with his pre-
! cious manuscripts still in his pocket
he took heart of grace and resolved
to start out again on the morrow. Inc
resolution was strengthened by hand
organ grinder who came under his
window and played Wait Till the
Clouds Roll By" But it was u9hil
work. In after years Robinson could
not remember the various incidents Of
that eventful week, so crushed anC
disappointed was he. It was not be
cause the editors were unkind to him
But they had no time to be sympa
thetic. Bring US news" they SAT-
to him. "and we will print 1t and pa!
you literally. We have no space To-
literature.
In the course Of a week Robinson
ever. newspaper office in New Yorl
Citv. but he did not dispose of a line o
his work His nearest approach TO al
acceptance came from an editor Wh'
offered to print some of his stories pro
vided he did not ask for pay. With un
/ conscious irony Robinson said he need
ed money to buy bread, but when h
became famOus-which was certaint!
he would be glad to furnish lev
specimens of his genius. By TINS tim
/ RobinsOn's money was becoming scare
and he decided to take the advice Of tn
editors and hunt for news. 1t is fac
peculiar to the newspaper business tina
news is seldom got by searching. Al
able reporter might start out tomorrow
to hunt ainlessly for news, and no
run across an item in a week. But lie
him visit police headquarters, Wher
all the crime of a great city IS enron
icled. or the courts of justice, or snip
ming offices, or the headquarters Of an,
3rraat Industry. and his search is likel
to be rewarded. But Robinson did no
know this. Besides. being unframed
he did not know what the word news
meant IN the vernacular. If he ha
run across an item CT international I'm
Dortance he would not have recognize
. its value Two days work alone thi
line convinced him Of the uselessnee
of his efforts, and he became despair
? ing.
Whv was it. he. reasoned to himself
as he sat on the humble bed under tn
: roof. that he could not get a chance
show what he could do? And the mex
r dav ras New Years. What hallowe
memories were cOnjured up by tina
namei They would miss him at <h
old farmhouse in Cayuga county on tn
; morrow. He could not write home fo