The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-09-21

/ met a newspaper man tother day,
and he confessed that he had been
reading Pilgrims Progress. l did not
see anything remarkable in that, but
he went on to say that he was himself
Pilgrim and wanted to unburden his
mind to me In regard to his Progress.
There are always people coming to me
to confess and ask advice and a dollar
or two, so | told him to unwind and
this is what he said:
I'm my daily pilgrimage for news 1
encounter many snags, even as Bun
yon's pilgrim did, but I'm not always
as successful as he was in the book.
run up against men and bodies of
men, women and hosts of women band
ed together for the suppression of
news. My sole object is to get news
and print it and there is more than
the mere printing, to me, in publica-
ton, for l like to believe that mine is
the most exalted of callings, a pro-
fession that exposes wrong and en-
courages good; that holds up to scorn
and punishment the wrongdoer and
lauds the hero and the worker of good.
Very frequently in Honolulu l find
myself confronted by something not
unlike stone wall, in other words l
find that 1 have to lay siege to an
organization Of suppressors of fact. A
political party is one illustration in
very mild way, but while the workers
of such party may agree to keep quiet
their secret moves there are always
plenty Of leaks. Fortunately, more or
less, this applies to all bodies. The
police department is another and
stronger example for leaks are less
likely. 1t would seem that the police
are afraid that as soon as a criminals
! name is mentioned in a newspaper
there is no chance of experimenting
him. Nothing is more absurd. What
the police can't find out after the pub
LEGATION of the details of crime they
could never find out and frequently
they would find nothing except for
| publication. Even the churches are
sometimes organizations for the sup
preston of truth. because some dis
agreeable fact in regard to a member
is wrongly felt to reflect on the church.
1t is the suppression of the truth that
reflects on the church. not the truth
itself. There are rotten apples in every
barrel.
so it is that the progress of the
| pilgrim penman is often sought to be
barred and, after all, the real spice OF
newsgathering is the overcoming of
such obstacles.
"One day child of a certain Sun
day school swallowed a plug of to-
bacco under the impression that it
was candy. got on to the fact and
was going to make a slight mention
of it, when 10 and behold, it seemed
that half the congregation swooped
down on the newspaper office and pray
ed that the fact be suppressed for the
reason that it might lead people to
suppose that chewing tobacco was
handed around to the Sunday school
children in class.
Yesterday, so epidemic is the sup
pressing habit, man telephoned the
office and stated that he had COM
mitted suicide and would we please
keep it out of the paper. Another
time man who had previously COM
planned of an automobile killing his
dog, came to ask that an accident, in
which he killed a COW, be kept from
print. When somebody has a baby or
medal or appendicitis they are quick
enough to rush to the papers with
the news.
We'll, l must leave you now; I've
got to report a secret session of the
Aunts and Uncles Club which is con-
sidering the expulsion of one of the
uncles for calling one of the aunts oy
her first name. Then I've got an exc
cutive session of the Booze Commits
sion, a star-chamber meeting of the In
nocents Institute, a closed-door gather.
ing of the Plumbers League, a mystic
meeting of Lionel Lodge No. %, of the
| mra