Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-12-14
PUSH.

1t is not often that moral can be
drawn from the life OF the habits Of a
newspaper reporter. To the public
the reporter is a sharp.featured young
fellow, prone to pry into other peo-
pies business and not backward about
doing any of the things that are not
looked upon as especially moral. He
is not specially blamed for his habits
as they are supposed to be a part of
his occupation = newspaper men
themselves call It a profession"
the reporter would not be chosen by
the average FOND father as a moral
pattern for a son of whom great things
were expected.
However. a recent issue Of Success
contains story Of New York report
er, Reginald Foster by name, and it is
a story that is capable CT teaching
some young men lesson. Foster, who
was employed a few years ago by one
among newspaper men, the "luckiest"
reporter in New York. He was alert,
energetic and capable of writing a
good readable article when he got
STORY Apparently, he always had a
"hunch" as to where the next big story
would be found and was there just a
little ahead of the story. He CHANGED
to be reporting St. Patrick's day pa
rade and went into the Windsor hotel
to telephone his office, when the fate
full fire started in that hostelry, result
ing in the horrible deaths of several
hundred persons. Foster abandoned
the parade and helped rescue the i'm
prisoned patrons of the burning hotel
and that night wrote graphic ac-
count of the fire from start to finish
He was the most available reporter
in New York when the great Hoboken
fire started and hiring steamer in
the name of his newspaper, he saved
many lives before the firemen could
render aid. When President McKin-
ley was assassinated at Buffalo, the
first news came to all the papers in
New York in the shape of very brief
sulletin. A group of newspaper men
simultaneously asked of each other,
Where is Foster?" Somebody explain
ed that he was then on his vacation
at Narragansett Pier; but even while
he was speaking a telegram to the city
editor was received and torn open 1t
read thus: Il was right beside the
President when he was shot. having
come to the Buffalo exposition to close
my vacation. Will send full descrip-
tive story tonight" 1t was Foster
While to the uninitiated this young
mans success might look like it was
inspired luck" it was in reality the
result of the hardest kind of work. In
stead of doing just what was told him,
he used his head. At the Windsor fire
ne had enough good judgment to know
1t was better for him to drop his par
ade assignment and go to work on the
fire story, because the latter was the
Digger one. Anyone could handle the
parade, but it took man on the
scene to handle the fire in readable
manner. His quick judgment enabled
him to save lives at the Hoboken fire
and In the meantime to get the mate
rial for the best account of the con-
fagration. Perhaps it was accidental
that he went to Buffalo to finish his
vacation, but it is just as probable
that his trained sense. his nose for
news" taught him that the biggest
man in the nation would attract big
crowd to the fair at that very time
and that If any news of a peculiar
character was liable to be available, it
would be at Buffalo that day.
So many young men who begin work
as newspaper reporters and find it dis
tasteful say that they were not
lucky but they omit to say that they
We're not alive tc their opportunities
1t is the same. to some extent. in
nearly every line of business where
success depends upon mans indi-
vidual actions and his readiness to as
sumo responsibility for an act thatl
must be done at once or not at all.
Good Judgment is as necessary in al
reporter, much more SO in fact, than
the ability to get up story in good
English. Not only reporters but young
men in general. can see something
more than luck in Fosters success. He
doubtless could.