Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-03-14
in the way Of rep%orters1 would more
than pay for considerable expense,

Izt
Suppose It is going to build a new
bridge. Instead Of waiting for the
newspaper men to discover that fact.
the railroad officials might do well to
make an effort to tell them Of 1t.
Along with it there could probably be
secured %judicious remarks about how
the increasing business calls for a
new and larger and stronger structure
in order to carry the new and fast
and heavy trains which the road now
sends over its rails. A history Of the
old bridge, illustrated with photo
graphs, and along with it description
Of the changes in abutments, and all
the news pertaining to the new, would
make matter which many papers
would be glad to edit and use. It
might even pay to furnish free {
or matrices OF cuts IN place OF the
pictures. The same applies to new
locomotives. new cars. new branches,
sidings, etc and also to new officers.
When the road cuts down a grade
er lays lev iron, or hauls a special
train, or builds q new depot or
changes a time table. It would pay { Q
get the facts before the public as
much as possible. Tell them every
thing that will give anybody q hint
that the road is good and safe and
comfortable, and on time, and every
thing else which makes people like to
use a line.
II there is a change Of trainmen on
a little branch line, it would get the
road before the public if the station
agents were instructed to tell the re-
porters of their local papers about It.
Very likely the reporters might be
induced to put III a few words to say
what an everlasting good fellow is the
newcomer. The same thing will work
up along the lines Of both the railroads
and the newspapers.
In doing reporting on both city and
country papers, have many stimes
been Obliged to work hard for news
which 1t would have been advantage
eous for railroads TO tell without be-
ing asked. / have taken a 2S-mile ride
to get the picture of a new official,
and the railroad would have at least
won a feeling Of good nature alike
from editors and reporters If it had
saved the newspaper that expense. On
a country weekly | have been obliged
to write to headquarters for news
which d station agent refused to give
out.
| have sometimes thought that 1t
would pay a railroad to hire a bright
newspaper man to g to placing the
news about itself.
These remarks apply with equal
force to many other lines Of bust
ness. Yours truly,
D. CROMETT CLARK.
Any newspaper man who has had
experience in getting railroad news
will probably agree with what Mr..
Clark says. As a general proposition,
railroad men are the hardest people
there are to get news out Of. There ia
only one regular exception to this
rule, and that is the advertising man
in the passenger department, who is
always anxious TO load UP the reporter
with announcements OF new excur-
sion rates.
Railroads claim that newspapers are
responsible for this condition. They
say that newspapers announce things
prematurely, and are not accurate.
They accuse newspapers Of printing
reports which are not founded on
fact, and which tend to injure the
railroads. There is no doubt truth
In these charges. but 1t may be that
the railroads themselves are response
BILE, in part at least, for this condi-
tion.
Every reputable newspaper is only
after the truth. 1t has no desire to
print false reports about a railroad.
But railroad officials have wilfully
deceived the newspapers many times
about the true conditions Of things.
and newspapers have grown accust.
omed to distrust railroad officials.
When On official tells . newspaper
man that the wreck, didn't amount to
anything; only one car OF the track
and II turns out later that forty PEG
Die were killed and d, hundred thou.
sand dollass' worth OF equipment de-
stroyed, that newspaper reporter is
likely to set the official down as a
liar, and write up the next wreck
which comes along accordingly. i Is
the railroad which gets the worst OF
n f. Ax @9#@g