The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1905-10-26
A NEWSPAPER SCOOP"
Example of tho Average Mans Idea .
the Value OF News.

Example of tho Average Mans Idea
the Value ct News.
The average mans idea of the value
of news is curiously Eebulous and cut
of line.
A Washington correspondent was
walking toward his Office the other
afternoon, trying to fix something in
his mind wherewith to lead off his
story of the day in Washington, when
wildly excited man of his acquaint-
ance grabbed him by the sleeve and
whirled him around.
"Say, I've got the greatest piece Of
news everw exclaimed the wildly.eX.
cited man. pantingly. cts sensation
right! I'm the only man in town that
knows about it except the Navy De-
partment people, and they won't
peach! I've got blamed good notion
to give it to you exclusively, although
I certainly ought to give it to the AS
sociated Press-it's so big, you know"
The correspondent had heard this
kind of a preamble before. but never
theless he thought that, after all, the
excited man might really have run
into a piece of news Of moderate worth
by accident.
what is it," he inquired, without,
however, permitting the trapped pers-
piration to break out on his forehead.
Lets have it,"
"Oh, it's corkerr' went on the man
with the stupendous sensation up his
sleeve. "Can't 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 paraiyzing bit Of news.
"You mentioned the Navy Depart
ment people," said the correspondent
on the way to the mans Office. who's
going to get court-martialed, and what
for? Who's"
ooh, it's nothing like that" hoarsely
whispered the man with the colossal
scoop hid away on his person. DIFF
ferent kind of thing altogether. But
I'll tell you what. it'll be big thing
for you, and you want to be duly CRATE
full to me henceforth and forever for
passing it along to you exclusively!
It 'ud be the making of some poor
struggling young correspondent, but
it's so important that I dor't feel like
intrusting it 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 look
ing around furtively to see that nobody
was rubbering. ''It's paint"
"Paint?' repeated the correspondent,
with mystified expression. Paint?
Who's been painting: Is it red?
Where is"
'It's paint" said the agitated man,
solemnly. pitching his voice still lower
and glancing about like an Italian
opera conspirator. "a Yankee genius
up III SOuuSSllSuI Ids LII q AS"
kind of paint to paint the bottoms OF
ships Of war, and I've been commits
stoned to bring this paint to the atten.
ton of the Navy Department. Y'see,
the kind O. paint they use now on the
bottom of warships makes it necessary
to dock the boats and scrape them
every couple O. months while they're
cruising in tropical waters on account
of the barnacles and so on, y'under-
stand. Well, the barnacles and things
won't stick to this new kind O. paint,
and so when it comes into use memo
war down in tropical waters'll only
have to go into dry dock and be scraped
about every year or so. See? Amt
that q 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 noise some
thing like q brick.-Washington Star.