Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1902-08-21
Following Orders.
BY HAROLD HUME.


Copyright 1902. Dany Story Pub. Coz
Dick had finally all the sentiment
knocked out of him SO far as the bust
ness was concerned. He had come to
the great city and taken position as
reporter on the Screamer full of en-
thusiasm in the work and a determina-
tion to succeed, and he had spared
neither time or energy to make good.
He had been the first man down to
report and last to go home, staying
about long after he could have gone
in the hope of catching late emer-
gency assignment. He had sought
hard assignments which the older re-
porters lodged.
He had not minded the sneers of
his colleagues, but it had jolted his
faith when the powers that REUTER-
ly ignored his faithfulness and placed
1t not to his credit at all.
Dick felt the injustice of II keep
ly, but the first real blow came when
he had spent four days and nights on
an elopement story and had fallen
down while the Thunderer had all
the details on the first page-secured,
he afterward ascertained, by wire
from the Kansas City correspondent
and rewritten in the office to make it
appear a local story. He attempted
to explain to the city editor. but was
cut short.
81 don't care q rap why you didn't
get it. The fact remains that you
didn't. You fell down and that's all
there Is to 1t. Results are what
count, and what want is stories, not
explanations"
This made Dick blind with fury, in
asmuch as he would have willingly
given up his day off to work on the
story. The final crash came when
he was sent out on a big
financial story and found a
lead which seriously reflected
upon a concern in which the chief
hacker Of the paper was the dominant
personality. He worked out his story
IN another theory and ingeniously
covered the connection. When the
storm broke loose the next day and he
attempted to justify upon he was told
with more emphasis than courtesy
that he was not responsible for the
editorial policy of the paper.
What dye suppose we have copy
readers and city editors and night edt-
togs and managing editors here for?'
@uted the city editor. What you
ID hired for is to go out and get
Jets. Then il we want 'em sup
pressed Wen let you know. And
when we get so we are not competent
to run the sheet wen turn it over to
a batch of cub reporters. ! ought to
fire you-that's what | ought to do,
and I've a blamed good mind to do it,
too But I'll just lay you off for a
week so you can have a chance to
study over the question of your duties
and limitations, and then I'll give you
one more chance" Then the other
fellows guyed him numerically as the
man who had appointed himself the
censor of the paper.
So 1t was that Dick became hard
ened like the others and worked for
his salary, and not for glory. and took
as little responsibility as possible and
did as little work as was compati-
BILE with the holding Of his job. And
he became blase and lost most of his
old-time enthusiasm and interest. He
never lost his pride in getting a scoop
nor in turning in a good story-no
corn reporter does that, but he be-
came as the others, stolid. Indifferent
and more or less hopeless.
Z This was the frame of mind in
which he found himself one fine after
noon when, as he sat chewing cigar