Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-06
NEWSPAPER SCOOP

The average mans idea of the value OF
news Is curiously nebulous and out of line,
A Washington correspondent was walking
toward his Office the other afternoon. try
ing to fix something up In his mind where
with to lead off his story of the day in
Washington. when wildly-excited man OF
his acquaintance grabbed him by the sleeve
and whirled him around.
Say. I've got the greatest piece of news
ever!" exclaimed the wiIdly-excited man,
pantingiy. Its sensations right! I'm the
only man In town that knows about it ex-
cept the Navy Department people, and they
won't peach! I've got blamed good no.
ton to give 1t to you exclusively, although
I certainly ought to give it to the Asso-
ciated Press-its SO big, you know
The correspondent had heard this kind of
preamble before, but nevertheless he
thought that, after all, the excited man
might really have run into piece Of news
of moderate worth by accident.
What is it?" he inquired, without, how
ever, permitting the trapped perspiration
to break out on his forehead. Lets have
it.
"Oh. it's corkerw went on the man
with the stupendous sensation up his sleeve.
Cant give it to you here-Somebody might
overhear me. and you'd lose the scoop OF
your life. Come over to my office and I'll
tell it to you"
So they repaired to the Office Of the man
with the paralyzing bit of news.
You mentioned the Navy Department
people, said the correspondent on the way
court-martialed and what for? Who's"
''Oh. it's nothing like that" hoarseiy
whispered the man with the colossal scoop
hid away on his person. Different kind OF
thing altogether But III tell you what.
it'll be big thing for you. and you want
to be duly grateful to me henceforth and
forever for passing it along to you ex-
clusively! 1t 'ud be the making Of some
poor struggling young correspondent. but
it's SO important that l don't feel like in
trusting 1t to"
Say. ignite up-you're being extin-
guished." suggested the correspondent.
Come to taw. Is this"
well. I'll tell you what it is said the
excited man, bending his head over close
to the correspondents and looking around
furtively to that nobody was rubbering.
It's .atrti'
"Paint?" repeated the correspondent. with
mystified expression. Paint? Who's been
painting? Is it red? Where is
IT'S paint" said the agitated man, SOL
EMMY, pitching his voice still lower and
glancing about like an italian opera con-
spirator. "a Yankee genius up in Con-
necticut has invented new kind of paint
to paint the bottoms of ships of war, and
I've been commissioned to bring this paint
to the attention of the Navy Department.
Y'see, the kind O. paint they use now on
the bottoms of warships makes it neces-
sary to dock the boats and scrape them
every couple o. months while they're cruis-
ing in tropical waters on account or the
barnacles and so on understand Well,
the barnacles and things won't stick to
this new kind O. paint. and so when 1t
comes into use men-o'-war down In trOpf-
cal watersll only have to go into dry dock
and be scraped about every year or so.
See? Amt that a wonder? Wouldn't that
scrape you? Won't that just make the Jap
war news look like zinc money when you
write four columns about this paint for the
first page of your paper? Won't they just
wire you an increase in salary. and
And then the agitated man became real
huffy when the correspondent told him that
he was making a noise something like a
brick.