El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-08-17
J Stories Of Editors

81 Stories Of Editors I
| The personality OF Charles A. Dana
is not to be ignored in considering the
great editors of the period OF the wa,
and after. His power of satire and
ridicule brought him in it's own way
a certain power, not SO great as Mr..
| Greeley's but none the less noted dur.
ing its existence. Mr.. Greeley in many
ways was not q broad man, but he IL
held to have been q broader mao than
Mr.. Dana. 1t was popularity OF The
SUMS editor that he always strove
to have his men, from the humblest
reporter to the highest editor, of lit
erary tastes. He wanted his reporters
to care for books and the best kind of
knowledge, and his editors had to be OF
the same stripe. This practice result
cd in Sun stories, during his life,
having literary. high toned, finished
character-bester than any appearing
in other journals of the day. 1t ts told
of Mr. Dana that one day he seriously
obi ,cted to the ''style" of Q certain
local article and sent for the reporter
who wrote it. When the reporter was
before him he abruptly asked:
Where did you receive your educa-
tion?"
The reporter confessed that be was
graduate from the printers ''case"
TO the writer's desk.
That's not so bad, :" said Mr.. Dana
but you need more education than
that before you can write for The Sun
Go TO school,"
The reporter objected on the grounds
of poverty.
mo matter" said Mr.. Dana, "you
go to school and your salary here goes
on. When you Can write English with
out committing murder every other
sentence come back and I'll give you
another chance.
Henry J. Raymond was another
writer of the old school whose influence
was tremendous not alone in the
east but throughout the then young
and struggling west. Some of his
work on the New York Tribune was
cherished in western homes with
ABOUT the same reverence as the first
four books OF the New Testament.
Mr.. Raymond wrote several ex-
tensive reviews of the early works Of
the elder Justin McCarthy's. These sp-
peared prior TO Mr.. McCsrthy's visit
to America on a lecturing tour. They
were not altogether favorable to the
author, and aroused come sense of re-
In this country. Nevertheless, after
Mr.. Mccarthy had appeared before the
American public and lectured the JUS
tice of the Raymond criticism was
quickly recognized and acknowledged.
Henry Watterson. still living and
master of The Courier-Journal, was q
young man when the infiueoce of the
GreeIev-Dsna class of editors was
beginning to wane. Still Mr.. Waiter
ION came into fame long before the
Header editorial ceased to be the
factor in public affairs that is had
been. II was Mr.. Wstterson who paid
TO JAMES Gordon Bennett this tribute:
I'VE know of few men OF equal
accomplish snts or a graver or more
serious and enlightened purpose. U nder
his direction the Hersl! ia an honor TO
the country and tojournalism.' To Mr..
Watterson is ascriped tue authorship
of the high sentiment: Journalism Is
the art of joining principle to the news
sense and keeping both always to the
foreground. The quality or character
of an EDITORS religion or politics or
question, but his sense of justice and
fair play should never be open to even
a suspicion" An anecdote related of
Mr.. Wattersou is to the
effect that the trueDess of his
Democracy was once brought under a
searchlight. When the process of in
vestigation was going on he turned on
his inquisftors with the exclamation:
"By heavens, this ia too much. l
could stand investigation of my ancestry
or an enoe avor to demostr ate that | am
OF PaIagonian origin. but to suspect
my democrscy-w good God, gentle
men. am all that is left of the Demo
cratic party South of the Mason aud
Dixon line."
The inquisi,ion ceased then and
there.
George William Curtis was probab-
ly the most polished of the editors and
publishers named in this article. He
possessed a gentleness of nature and
command at ornate English that m sde
him believe and admired by all who
enjoyed intimacy W tn him. When Mr..
Curtis found that Mr.. Blaine could not
be supported In 1884 he was asked for
an exclamation IS to his shift
y onfo