The Arizona daily orb., 1900-03-29
O|IICd P1pa d COG1ISe Co.
THURSDAY. MARCH 29.
Editing Without Knowledge.

l in all professions except that ot editing | newspaper. A large number of edu- cated men, not to say the majority Have an idea that they could take the helm
 in daily journal and greatly improve its interest to the public and it's moral character. They are not aware that ths past is Alled with the wreckage of newa- papers, and that where one has survived
 ten or more have psrishtd. In spite of this well-known fact, thousands of men of all professions would be ready to take the chair of an editor -in-chiet at an hour's notice, and would rejoice ip the opportunity to test their air drawn ideals and original conceptions. They would not expect nor ask to be phSsi- cians, lawyers builders or railroad mau- aRers without long preparation. The religious world takes care that no ,e ,is admitted to alnplPit without meeting certain fixed requirements, and beyond that an exr erimental sermon or two are not amiss. A man may not work pas ssnges elevator without an examina- ton. But anybody, 90 tradition runs, can be an edilor. And every one of the multitude willing to try IS sure that he can improve on existing standards.
 As a matter of fact the duties -ot q re-
 sponsible editor are more difficnlt to master than those connected with any other profession and none demand Q wider range of ,experiencs. Every state in the union can give the names of eminent lawyers and doctors, but how many can furnish the name of evca cne eminent editor? A capacity to write can never, taken alone, constitute an editor. The main responsibilities of an editor in charge relate to a judgment oi men and affairs, to the tides of public opinion as they change direction and force, to the power of the unspoken word, to the nicest apprehens,on of the value of time, to an ability to render the decision that must often be formed ou the instant, to the best adaptive use oi the staff. to give the paper honorable influence and extend it, to keep it grow ing as the country itself grows, and to see that nothing is missing in the earli- est authentic presentation of tthe news of the world. What an editor of the first Clasamust have is just sense ol proportion in an extremely compiler business, and this comes only by expe= risnce, though marked aptitude is . good ioundatibn iQrlit. sB
 Efforts to teach newspaper work in colleges have failed. The tasks set are the merest shadows of realty. The true pressure and strain are lacking. A tor nado sweeps across the city late in the day and reporters must h ve it's history written up in few honrs. They can sst theiredatai only by going out into .darkened streets, filled with debris and . dangerous tangle of wires. A wal correspondent will ride fifty miles tc save i've minutes. The editors hand ii
 on the lever. All these and hundred
 of others are his eubordinates, anu timed to count the seconds. When, therefore some one not trained in newspaper worl steps in to 6ll the place at the head may beFsgirdsd as fanatic pIeasantr if 1t lasts only one week, but calamit
 if 1t should take more serious shape The Topeka newspaper has been inul shop of crudiiiss for several days, a exhibit of amstenrish fads n sentiment aancying itself to be something nor than display of the stale, the slopp and the inexpert. The best newspaper in the world are governed by 6 ia broader and higher morality than ths revealed th tho Topeka frealish revel one who knew % much of the professio he broke into as Dogberry did of letter and the law.-6iobe Democrat. 4