The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1903-12-12
The EDITOR DRAMATICALLY CONSIDERED

I have sometimes thought that
there is striking similitude between
what grammarians call "parts of
speech" and the several stages of an
editor existence between the cases,
moods, lenses and other variations of
these parts of speech and the different
phases of character at corresponding
periods of life, said J. Bivins in pa
per read before the Georgia Weekly
Press Association.
In infancy, an editor is an article
an indefinite article :" what he is or
may become is very difficult to de-
termine. Even, in many cases, when
he has outgrown the age of bib and
tucker and begins to write
"squibs," he preserves the indefinite
ness of the infantile period, and even
after heavy editorial upon "How
the Government Should be Run" may
be considered a very unfinished arti-
cle-as cloth only half woven, as
garment only half made, a chrysalis,
in short, with unknown possibilities
and potentialities of development, or
destined to stop at this indefinite and
unfinished stage.
Now, young ladies are definite ar
ticles-defnite in their wits, defn-
ite to the indefinite young editor, and
definite in their adornments for beau-
ty. And, if a young editor should
aspire to nothing beyond an article,
by all means he should aspire at least
to definite article. Let him point
to something great, though he should
never reach it. Let him aim high,
even though he should shoot low, for
by SO doing he may cripple sparrow
while he may fail to kill an eagle.
From an article the young editor
advances to the dignity of an adjec-
tive, with qualifying and describing
powers, and with the capacity of
rising to the superlative degree of ex-
cellence. AS an adjective an editor
should avoid the comparative de-
gree" since comparisons frequently
prove very odious. Let an editor
begin with the positive degree /;
though, to be sure, this last advice
seems rather superhuous, for the
young editor, just at this stage, is
naturally prone to be positive-posi
tive in his opinions, positive in his
convictions of his own knowledge,
positive in selt-importance, and oft
times positively ridiculous and posi-
lively absurd. But let him strive on
and aim at the superlative degree !;
and if he cannot succeed in getting
"est" attached to his name, he may
by little effort get ESD" which
answers his purpose quite as well.
AS young editor rises he advances
to the dignity of a noun-a name of
any person, place or thing; in his
case, the name of person, who ex-
lists in a place, and makes not thing.
Person" comes from the Latin per
soma "the mask worn by actors,
through the mouthpiece of which
voice gave forth sound" Applied to
an editor, it implies to blow his own
horn and blow it loudly and long, for
nowadays this is the only way of as.
serting himself and demonstrating
his own personality.
Doubtless all are aware of the fact
that some editors are common nouns,
and sometimes very common indeed.
1t is fare thing to find proper noun
among them-even when they be-
come the absolute proprietor, editor
and publisher. It is only now and
then that perfectly proper one can
be encountered. But they naturally
incline to collective collecting
around at the annual meetings and
other meetings; collecting news here
and there collecting what some peo-
pie wish to see in the paper and what
others do not wish to ee-collecting
everything, except from his subscrib-
ers, but makes up for this in collect
ing blackberries. He is as gregar-
ious creature as the English spar
row, and some people think equally
as mischievous. His face is expect
ed to be seen everywhere, and just as
sure as he is seen, just so sure does
everybody expect nice write-up.
Just here the editor insenibly gra-
date into "case," and we pause to
remark that we are unable to classify
him as to cases. We know that when
it comes to an Office he is not averse
to being nominated, and hence in the
"nominative" case. He rarely likes
to be in the ''vocative" case, but il
made to assume this form and cor.
rect answer is demanded as to where
he got certain information detrimen.
tai to the character of 'Bill Jones" OF
"John Smith," he Immediately, fol
nronrietv's sake. assumes the lob.