Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-16

plete depaf tElent by itself, and its business
office requires the constant attention of
very large force.
1t is the news, its collection, it's prepara-
ton for the composing room and its ar
rangement that l shall particularly deal
with. Fifty years ago it required but two
or three men to secure the news, edit it,
write the editorials and prepare the copy
for tyLe Now it requires the force of
thirty men, with the assistance of the AS
ISOLATED Press and special correspondence
from the principal cities of the country, to
furnish the paper with each days news.
This growth of the news service has been
gradual but always certain. The newspaper
of today is a complete photograph of the
happenings and incidents throughout the
entire world. A half a century ago news
paper could only give some of the happen
ings of the locality in which it was printed
and a brief account of that which trans
pired in its immediate vicinity. The tele-
graph was then in it's infancy, and but few
wires were strung over which the electric
fluid could pass. Even had there been a de-
sire for the extensive employment Of this
vehicle for the transmission of news, it
could only have been used to limited ex-
tent.
The Reporter.
The primary newsgatherer is a reporter,
and this unit of the newspaper world has
greatly changed in character and the
method of his work during the last half
century. The requisites of good reporter
are that he shall be able to see and under
stand events as they happen, and to state
them accurately in good, readable English.
In former days 1t was considered that
boy must first be a printers devil, then
become a typesetter and then graduate
into a reporter. In fact, the late Horace
Greeley said that the best reporter was
one who had slept on newspapers and ate
ink. While his definition may have been
considered fairly correct fifty years ago,
the reporter of today cannot have too much
education and cannot be too well read.
There is hardly a phase of knowledge that
will not at some time or other come into
play in his reportorial duties. I know in
my own reporting days the fact that / had
studied medicine of decided value to
me many a time in cases of murder acct
dent or inquiries into the sanity of per-
sons brought up before the court The fact
that a reporter has had college educa-
ton will aid him greatly in his work, be-
cause it enables him to express himself
more clearly and in better English than
would otherwise be possible.
In the Early Days.
In the early days of The Star one man
used to come down to little room which
he occupied in the building on the other
side of the avenue, take his scissors go
through the exchanges and make such clip
pings as were desired for that days paper;
then go up to the White House, the War
and Navy Departments and the treasury,
cleaning from them such news as was OBJ
tainable; stop at the office and leave his
copy, and then, when Congress was in ses-
sion. get up to the Capitol by about half
past II o'clock, and send from there such
matter as was Of particular interest to
Washington readers, as late as he could
get anything in for that issue. The report
ing of congressional proceedings was not
in any degree what it is now. and, in fact,
no paper in this country could have under
taken to print anywhere near as full and
complete a record Of what was done in
single day as is now found in any issue of
The Star during the congressional season.
There was an attempt, made first in the
fall of 1865, by Mr.. Frank Richardson and
Mr.. George w. Adams, to give the Wash
ington and Baltimore papers a synopsis of
the proceedings Of Congress, particularly
in reference to the states of Maryland and
Virginia and the District of Columbia. They
reported the proceedings this line for
one year, sending manifold copies to the
papers of the two cities. At the commence
ment Of Congress in 1866 Mr.. Adams drop
ped out of the firm and Mr. Richardson as
sociated with himself Mr.. Oscar K. Har-
ris and continued the work which had been
begun the year previous. They continued
their bureau for about ten years. or until
1876, when about that time the Associated
Press had developed it's work to greater eff
ficiency, as compared with it's previous con-
densed reports. and since then the main
report has been from the Associated Press
supplemented, of course, by special report
erS.
In those early days the Associated Press
was not in any sense of the word the ex-
tensive organization that it has since be-
come. 1t was primarily for furnishing the
news to the great New York papers, and
it paid very little attention to the legisla.
tive news affecting other parts of the coun-
| try. Its development, however, has been
steady, SO now it is the most extensive
| news purveyor in the world. To show the
| difference in the attention to congressional
| news now, 1t may be stated that The Star
mas three VI IT'S Iiien, ShlliSu anu competent,
| constantly in the galleries of the House and
| Senate during the session Of Congress.
A Broadened News Field.
| Formerly the reporter did all sorts of
work, from police work up to political con-
| ventions. Now there are specialties in re-
porting, the same as there are spetdalties in
every other profession. The highest type
Of a reporter on metropolitan newspaper
| is that OF political reporter. He must
| keep In touch with national affairs, must
| be upon terms Of acquaintanceship with
| cabinet officers, senators and representa-
| tives In Congress, and must be SO familiar