The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-04-29
ORTIZ HARPER STEIN.
Tribute To tits Abilities from pa
per ~ which lie Was Employed.


New Orleans Timep. Democrat. April ~.
In tho death OF q, ~. stein the Times.
Democrat has suffered an absolutely TIRE.
parable loss, and every member ~ the ataff
aud every person In any way connected
with this newspaper viii regard his demise
In tho light OF "a deep personal bereaye-
ment.
In the Newspaper world generally he will
he sadly missed, a. there was no journalist
Ia this country whose writings were ~
widely copied IN his. ~ "A writer he was
not only brilliant, but as versatile as ne
was brilliant, There was no work devolvinE
upon an accomplished journalist that ho
ceuld not perform with the facility and ao-
curacy OF a specialist.
Coupled with a quick and broadly eompre-
hensive grasp OF everyday newspaper rec
quiremontv, he possessed the delicate fancy
OF the poet and accuracy OF the scientist.
Apart from his fine culture ana wide and
wcll-judged reading. which made him one of
the most scholarly writer's OF the present
day, he seemed To have the literary instinct
developed to an extent that was altogether
abnormal. 10 the treatment OF any subject
which foil In his way he brought a thor.
ough mastery OF detail that would astonirh
NAl' ~ W. fNNf' ~
seemed TO know instlnc,ively the wheat
from the chan ami to make the very best
selections with the View To future utility.
lie would rarely read anything not we'll
worth %perural, aud yet In the books that
were disappointing he would Invariably dis
cover some suggestion, some line of Thought
that was worth treaauring. Accustomed To
literary work from his boyhood, and inner
finn UtapapN tnaftngtn ipnm lia immaIinIa
ancestors, hia tastes aud pursuits aided Ia
the cutting and polishing of the gem OF
mentality with which nature had endowed
him. IL seemed an A. lac never wasted an
effort. Ills mind was like "a delicately nm
Inhed piece of machinery, 80 nicely attuned
to ita work that nothing was wasted
through friction or lost motion,
OF his ability as u joufhhlist, hln work
e etmfr of the Times pemocret alone viii
speak with incomparably more elolleneo
tnan could any words OF comin.ndhtan
and learn something of the wisdom OF the
craft. Ills by the by column was not only
read by everybody who CHANGED TO pick
up this newspaper, but furnished more
material for clippings by owners of scrap
books, and for the leading journals. OF this
and other countries where the English IAN
guage h spoken. than a like space To be
found In any newspaper OF the present day,
For this work alone. the Times Democrat
H. under obligations TO him which no
monetary consideration could discharge.
No one could ever foresee the end from the
beginning OF one OF those sprightly spark
ling paragraphs. Sometimes pathetic,
sometimes humorous, often profoundly IN
structiye, but invariably delightfully."- enter
tanning. they were never other than fresh,
crisp, concise and brimful OF originality.
Experienced workers In the field OF jour
nalism have often remarked that the work
done on the by the by column appeared 10
be a formidable task for even the most In
1.Aa A.tu raAAlt I"s a~..A - a -
marvellous facility with which Mr.. stein
worked can be CLEANED from the assurance
that he generally had his work on the by
the BY column completed before breakfast,
and that after breaking his fast he was
accustomed 10 consider himself ready for
the serious tasks or the day. When the
too apparent, and when the management
positively demanded that he should do
nothing but his BY the Bys. he would stroll
out OF the office after having been per-
emptorily refused an assignment. and then
quietly drop In about dinner time with "A
special STORY" so valuable from "A news
paper point OF view, and so delightfully."-
readable, that his disregard OF the strenu-
Gus instructions of the management were
sure to be forgotten. In this respect alone
was he ever known TO be guilty of a breach
OF discipline, for although his standing on
the stan was such that he was not expected
10 take instruction from anybody save the
managing editor. he was a courteous and
scrupulous disciplinarian. setting an ex-
ample OF respect for office authority that
"a a. WtDltSOUat effect III MAINTAINING de-
partmental organization.
In emergencies Mr.. Stein lowered above
his fellows just as he did when everything
was running smoothly along the lines of
daily routine. No task was too arduous
or too perilous for him 10 cheerfully under
axe. Should the whole local staff be
turned out 10 cover some important hap
pening close TO the hour for going TO press
Mr.. STEMS section of IL was sure To be
turned I'm pruned and polished and i'm all
respects ready for the hands OF the printer
in ample time. and all this without anv
hustling or show OF especial effort. In cases
OF this kind his unerring journalistic in
stinct was invaluable. He could always
recognize news at a glance. he invariably
knew just where IL was TO be found and he
would go and get IL without wasting time
I'm asking questions. Exceptional conditions
which the average mar would overlook I'm
the excitement OF the moment would never
escape him. and this faculty would give a
picturesqueneSs to his sections OF a hur-
riedly prepared story that was OF immense
value from a journalistic point of view.
For writing special articles he was al
ways apt and available. no matter what the
subject might be. IL was never necessary
to spend time I'm giving him Instructions
as to the merits of the case or as to the
line which the Times-Democrat desired 10
take. He would write as n man full of the
subject and wholly In sympathy with the
views of his newspaper.
OF Mr.. Stein personally II Is not easy for
one who knew him 10 write ere his funeral
flowers have withered. Seemingly i'm
passive and self-contained, absolutely fear
less and 10 all but his intimate acquaint-
ances comparatively uncommunicative. he
had the gentleness and exquisite sensitive
ness OF a daintily bred woman. Reared i'm
an atmosphere of culture and refinement.
his early training and home influences gave
an exquisitely delicate coloring TO his whole