The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1908-12-18

many years. wrote for the Lincoln
Journal and the Beatrice Express, and
for year or two was editor OF the
latter paper | was so interested in
my Grimes Golden pigs and Early
Ohio chickens, and cows and calves
and other wild beasts that | lost In
terest in my newspaper work, and
did poor execution. But my agricul'
tuIal triumphs were noteworthy. !
built hog house four stories high
and people used to travel for miles 20
see the pigs shining up ladders and
shooting the chutes and otherwise
divcrunI themselves. About three
ye"rs AGO | started a weekly paper
at Beatrice, and it achieved state
circulation, but | was 80 busy rust
I ling subscriptions and advertising for
/ 1t that | turned over the editorial
/ HorE to a man who wrote long essays
on Swedenborg. and people seemed to
/ lose interest in It. Bad luck of var
. ious kinds came along and the paper
failed and ! went broke. In October,
! 1907. discouraged and out of funds,
came to EmpOria to work temporarily
until something should turn up, as 1t
were. Mr.. White and | got along so
well together that | have been with
the Gazette ever since, and 1t looks
like a life sentence now. If my
work has improved since coming
here, it is because it is an inspira-
ton to work with or for w. A. White
AS a man who has accomplished high
things in. literature, his encourage
ment is worth something, and he is al
ways giving it. | have had most en-
couraging success contributing recent
ly to New York papers and have had
letters from the editors praising my
stuff"
Interesting to read is what William
Allen White told the Journal writer
about Mason. White said:
I'm many ways" replied White,
quick as a flash, "he is the most re.
markable newspaper man ever
knew. He can get bigger days
work. a bigger months work or a
bigger years work done than any
man | ever worked with. He writes
the poetry on the first page-and
some of it is poetry. and all of it is
interesting. He writes it as quickly
as he writes prose. He also edits the
Associated Press telegraph report; he
does all of the editorial twenty days
III lllb lllOulU, NutH wv lOt NOuNl lD'ilC
line; he gets up the Kansas com
ment; he slips out the Shots at En-
pOria and he writes an every other
day feature, In Other Words All Of
this is good stuff He is never cross,
never grouchy and never moody.
Everyone in the office likes him. He
and | are about the same age, and
most of the people are younger; so
they call me father and him uncle
And everybody works but father
He is a most remarkable man
aside from his wonderful capacity for
good copy. He has read more than
the average college professor. And
he remembers accurately what he
reads. A lot of people know many
important things that are not so; but
Mason's knowledge is accurate. He
never gets things mixed up. He puts
his stuff on the hook without having
it go through anyone's hands, and
while he writes some things that | do
not agree with they are generally
, based on common sense, and we never
had a word about policy" 1t has no
, blacklist, no favOrite sons, and no
forbidden territory. Two friends can
. get on, running a newspaper, just as
they can keeping house, if they are
willing to put up with each other.
, So far we have had no jawing,' and
we have had lot of fun all the time.