The Wilmington daily Republican., 1901-10-09
HE HAD HIS REVENGE

the absence of the sordid proprietor and
editor to bring out a red-hot republican edi.
ton Of the sheet, reminds me Of similar
dsdge that was worked on the owner Of q
paper in q stable town in southern Ore
gon by man who is now way up in the
newspaper business in San Francisco" said
one of the Pacific coast correspondents.
1T was during the hottest period Of
Bryan's first campaign that this man I'm
speaking Of fell into the Oregon town. He
was just drifting about at the time waiting
for the tide to switch in his direction. He
had been holding down a responsible posi-
ton on Denver newspaper for number OF
years, but change Of proprietors and
policy threw him out, and SO lie struck out
farther west for an opening. He got it in
this town in southern Oregon. The pro-
prietor Of the county paper gave him
billet as soon a. he presented himself and
asked tor it,. The proprietor wanted a man
10 attend to the editorial section of the
paper; to cover local and state and ma
tioual politics, and write authoritatively
about en- all to take care Of the ex-
changes handle tine miscellany, see to the
making up and assume general direction,
in fact, OF every department Of the paper
except the local, which the proprietor at.
tended to himself. The Denver newspaper
man named pretty stiff figure as the
least amount of wages he would accept for
performing the duties of a managing edit
or and to be the whole works=-he had no
editorial assistance and Was prepared to
have the figure scaled down bit. 10 his sur.
prise, however, the proprietor agreed to his
terms without the slightest delnur, and the
itinerant newspaper man unshipped his
corncob pipe and tobacco and went to
work. He was personally a rampant sill
verite AND, Bryan man, and the paper he
had attached himself to was just as ram.
PANTY republican, but he didn't let his
individual views stand in the way OF his
newspaper prosperity, but wrote the
screechngest kind S republican stuff for
the editorial page under his charge. The
boss would pick ont subjects for him to
tackle and he'd grind out republican copy
so fierce and uncomprom'>ing that it
seemed to have come straight from tine
headquarters OF the republican national
committee. lie performed all Of his duties
in ln,stlne, satisfactory manner, and in.
side OF less than a week the folks in the
county and in the state had begun TO talk
about the way the paper had picked up aod
the snap and ginger that had been put into
it, The new managing editor put in about
l6 hours work Il day, and, like all good news
paper men, took an interest in his work.
His Interest. however, wasn't quite so
acute when he found. upon applying to Tie
proprietor for his first weeks wages, that
the money wasn't forthcoming. Tae pro.
prletor explained that he had had num-
ber Of big notes to meet, that advertising
collections were slow, that all Of his per-
sonal funds had been exhausted on account
of illness in his family, that he surely would
have his new mans salary ready for him
inside OF few days and so on; and wound
up by handing three silver dollars to the
man who had already made his paper boom.
The new man took the three, for he needed
it in his business for such little things as
laundry, shavcs. smokes, and SO on. but he
wasn't Ielated any. lie knew perfectly well
that the paper was prosperous and that
there was no good reason why he saouldn
have received his money. But he didn't
say anything, bnt went on working with
slightly slackened vim. but perfect satisfac-
tion until the next pay day came around.
''He got the sa' e kind of Il story from
the proprietor on that occlsion as he had
received when his first weeks wages were
due He kicked and kicked hard, but the
proprietor WAS a pretty smooth converse
and he succeeded, or thought he
succeeded, in partially soothing the news !
paper man from Denver bnt again letting !
him have d few metal dollars.
81 don't exactly see this bisncss. hGT-
ever, said the new man tu-ine boss, and |
! We Arrived at the determination that it |
wouldn't greve me very much to vacate
this community. Just you get mea Through
pass down the line to San Frapcsco, and
III call my arrangement with you off.
"IhiS proposition the boss deprecated t
with great eIolueuce. and the upshot Of the
talk was that the new man was to wait
'whir longer for whr was coming to him.
rhe man from Delver instituted IA few little
private inquiries, and he found ouct hat two
ni three Wandering newspaper men bad been
handled pretty mach the same way by the
proprietor of this shee, in the southern Ore
gon town. So he was considerably delight
ed when, in the middle or the third week
II his ineumbency, the boss told him that
10 WAS about to start for Portland for
ew days visit. and that during his alb
,ence The managing editor was TO have
:omplete and absolute control of the paper.
'.lt was on the second day after the own
RS departure that the sore newspaper man
rom Denver lighted his fuse First, as the
ctual representative Of the paper, he Sc
ured transportation to San Francisco for
inlsel. and then he went to work to give
hat Oregon county a jolt from which it
litln't recover for months.
"lle ground out the direst Bryan copy !
hat he could think of. in which he went
ven farther than the 'B6 lemscratir plat.
otm and advocated every old thing that the
aiddle-of-the road pops stood for: he
Tipped stuff from the most iabd OF the sill
er> publications and had It set up; he |
,cked it to the republican party both ends
rom the middle. coming and going. no
My as concerned the national campaign, |
Ut us related to politics of the county and
f the state; he lambasted the local and
tate polit icans by names and addresses and
icked flaws in their personal records.
"Tfen he slapped at the head of the first
Dumn OF the editorial page formal an.
that the policy of the paper
ad been completely switched. and that
enceforth and forever it was last.ditch
ryan outfit, first, last and all the time.
at was colossal sensation, not only
the county, but over the entire
ate, and wires OF congratulation from
editors poured in. while the re.
nblican editors OF the state telegraphed
lcir strong belief that the owner of the
ipeF should immedivtly be put under
sstraint for insanity. The owner came
ustling down from Portland on the first
ain he could get, having received several
lndred frenzied kilograms from his friends,
1t his managing editor had departed for