The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-24
TOLD OF TOM.HANNUM.
One of the Brightest Men of His Time
on the Row.

A number of years ago William
Hawkins launched a magazine here
called the Analostan. He got up a
symposium on What is News?" To
every newspaper man and corresponds
ent in Washington ne sent out request
to send him, briefly the definition of
News" Among the answers was one
from the late Tom Hannums one OF the
brightest fellows who ever worked on
the Row. At that time Hannum was
doing work on a local paper and he and
the city editor didn't get along as
smoothly as Tom thought they ought.
He was chafing under the too free use
of the blue pencil when he received the
letter asking him to tell what news was.
His answer was this:
News is that article or portion of an
article. written by a painstaking and lr-
telligent correspondent or reporter, and
which has the blue pencil run through
it by the man at the desk
Hannum and the city editor drifted
further apart than ever after his an
swer was published.
Hannum WAS not only good news
paper man, but one of the swiftest
printers in America. When he first cana
to Washington from Pittsburg he Oh
tanned a job in the government printins,
Office While there he found out one
night while loaffng on the Row that
there was a big piece Of news touching
some foreign matter which the news
paper boys could not get hold of The
White House had been worked to no
purpose, as none of the correspondence
would be given out. Strange to say, the
very next day when Hannum returned
to work his slug" was called for hur-
ried COPY. He took OUT and had set
but line or two before he discovered
that TIE very copy he had in hand was
the paragraph the newspaper men were.
tearing their shirts to get Not being
very particular whether he kept his job
or not, he determined that he would
abstract that piece of news.
There was no chance to crib the copy,
and ne knew if he attempted to copy it the
foreman would suspect something. He
studied over the sdtua ton and by the time
the take was up he had decided what
to do. He walked around by the proof
press, rolled the roller over the stick Of
type. and going back to his case he took an
He worked until noon, got excused for the
balance of the day, and going down on the
mat ne had what they We're al aIter- Roll
ing up his sleeve Hannum let his friends
copy the paragraph and the afternoon pa
several hours before the printed matter
left the hands of the public printer
Hannum's newspaper friends sent him
to California. hoping that a stay there
would cure him of consumption. a disease
which was fast taking him to the grave
a few nights before his departure a dir
ner was given him al the home Of Mr.
George Gilleiald, where the boys tried tc
cheer him up One of the corresponds nts
in making an address said that he felt thai
their friend would return from California
in perfect health and stated that ne had
a friend who went to that state a few
years before when he was almost a shadow
but came back Weighing one hundred anG
seventy-five pounds
When it came Hannu1n's time to say Z
word he referred to what his friend had
said about someone coming back from
California more than doubled in weight
Il had a friend, TOO. who went out there.
continued Mr.. Hannum. He stayed sew
eral months and came back weighing two
hundred and twenty-five pounds but. my
friends, he came back in box-'-Wash-
Ington Star.