The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1908-05-28


likely to hold his job for life.
Forty years ago those entitled to ad-
mission to the gallery numbered about
50, and today there are about $50. nile
] cannot speak adyisedly ON this point,
I am inclined to think that the incomes
of the lesser number aggregated as
much as those of the greater number
now. 1t was easy to make 500 % S15O
week. Most of the large dailies paid
at least $40 column, and some OF
them twice that. The Chicago Tribune
paid George Alfred Townsend $4,000
| for one thousand columns to be con
tributed within three years at the rate
| of 800 columns year. 1t was custom
airy when correspondent went away
| for long or short outing to turn over
his whole salary to the man who dld
the work during his absence: ana in the
summer time. O. X Harris, VINO was
associated with Frank A. Richardson
in reporting the proceedings OF Con-
gress for the Baltimore newspapers,
derived princely income from this
source. For some time the leading
dailies paid VIM. B. Shaw a weekly
salary for getting committee news, and
| am not sure but that included the
proceedings of the executive sessions
of the Senate. The story is told that at
dinner party after one of these execu-
tive sessions a Senator said, 'Well,
Shaw, what was done in executive seS-
sion today" Shaw shook his head and
replied: 81 can't tell you, you Senators
are too leaky" 1t was not very diff
| cult, however, to get at what was done
| in executive sessions despite the pre-
cautions taken by the Senate to pre-
serve secrecy. Some Senators. felt, no
doubt, that the public had right to this
information; and l have one Senator
in mind who was VIGOROUSLY '1eaky, -
but | believe unconsciously SO; and on
one occasion he began to discuss the
executive proceedings in open Senate
and was shut off by colleague. A
chapter might be written on this phase
of Congressional reporting.
1t does not seem as though the Asso-
ciated Press of those days was as strong
a competitor of the specials as 1t
NAV be today. Father" Gobright, its
head, was very conservative and the
matter he sent out was mainly OF a
known to the specials what was going
over the wires to the Associated Press
so that they need not duplicate. Under
President johnson, W. w. Worden,
then the Washington correspondent of
the Baltimore Sun, had a practlca'
monopoly of the White House news
and dealt it out as he saw fit Now the
news appears to be bulletined largely,
so that cheats" must be more difficult
than formerly, and most of the depart
ments and bureaus send out type-Wrlt-
ten matter to newspapers all over the
country-such matter as used to make
stories that were profitable to the
special correspondents.
Perhaps should not have been sur
prised at finding so many young men IN
the press gallery. Come to think OF 1t
| was once young myself. One to whom
| was introduced was born the year
came to Washington, and the majority
were not born when l began writing
for the press 81 years ago. l often
think that had | remained at the Ma
tional Capital l should, like all save
one or two of my associates, have long
since Joined the silent majority.
In looking down upon the House in
session there was not in evidence a
single familiar face outside OF the
Maine delegation. Think of the men
who have gone. | shall not attempt to
name them in chronological order or to
give complete list, but simply men,
ton those who happen to come to mind
Naturally James G. Blaine comes first.
. not only because in ability he ranked
above his contemporaries but because
he was the best friend the newspaper
men in Washington had in my day. He
had been newspaper man himself, and
. a good one, and was always helpful in
!. imparting information, in suggestions
and in words of encouragement. Then
, always a conspicuous figure-there
was Ben Butler with his unlighted
cigar; Gen. Banks, whose hair was OBJ
, served to change gradually from Goa
black to snow white, when he gave w
: the use of dye; Alexander H. Stephens
/, of Georgia in his wheel chair, frail ir
body-in fact, living skeleton-but
whose coal black eyes blazed like fire
when he was aroused; Sunset" Cox
, everybody's friend, with newspaper
men a speciality; Mungen of Ohio
whose speech on Senator Sumner was
expunged from the record; Proctor
Knott, whose famous, Duluth speech
and his no less witty speech on the Dis
!. | of Col,pobio opnronrio ki0n hill