The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1909-04-08
THE COUNTRY EDITORS DAY.
Many Varied Calls on his Time, but
he Meets them All.

Many Varied Calls on his Time, but
he Meets them All.
The duties of the editor of live
country weekly with circulation OF
5000 and working force OF fifteen
or eighteen are as the sand swept by
the tides. There is no end to 'em.
At 1880 a. N. Saturday morning
such an editor was seated on his high
stool at the long desk in the front
part of his print shop slicing open
his mail. He checked off the renew
ais on the mailing list to his right,
handed the foreman the complaints
from patent medicine advertisers and
their changes, and with pen and ink
attended to the letters that required
answer. Then he rolled up $50 pa
pers in single wraps, marked each
one sample copy" with a rubber
stamp and addressed them to possi-
BILE subscribers and advertisers.
Between and he refereed con-
troversy between his foreman and
one of the job printers, helped a
printer girl to decipher ten pages
of badly written penmanship by "Old
Subscriber" and entertained COM
mittee of women seeking assistance
for church enterprise.
It was 10 when the editor began
making out some bills for the collec-
tor who stood by waiting. A small
gentleman wearing spectacles came
in, deferentially removing a rusty
stiff hat.
II have some poetry he said, pro-
ducing paper. ....
The editor looked up apprehensive-
~.
81 would like to read it to you if
you could spare the time," the Vls1-
tor went on, getting closer.
There's a man in the front room
who likes poetry" said the editor.
Read it to him" :,
But you're the editor, aren't
you?
"Well-yes-but-"
Then you are the proper party.
It won't take long"
'This is Saturday and I'm awful
busy; couldn't you come round Mon
day?"
IT will not be in town Monday.
live in Iowa, and I'm here visiting
my nephew, Tom Jones. Mr.. Jones
takes your paper"
"Oh, he does? Well, go ahead and
read it,
The editor settled wearily back in
q chair, and the collector left, saying
she would return in the afternoon for
the bills. The poet got out in the
middle of the big room and read IN a
tragic voice. The printers, thinking
it a free entertainment, quit WORK
and gathered around. There were
ten pages of the poem and 1t TOOK an
hour to get rid of the poet.
Then the editor began again on his
bills, finished them, and, the collec-
tor having gone, he started to go out
with them himself, when another
caller was ushered in. He had a
frown on his face and the editor saw
trouble in his suppressed manner. He
wanted to know if the paper meant
to ridicule him and his family about
a cat and a parrot story it had print
ed in that issue. He said the parrot
was worth $3.50 and that he couldn' t
see anything to joke about when the
cat killed it. -,
The editor manfully assumed all
blame for the story which had been
written by a reporter, insisted no
harm had been intended, and that ne
would be more careful in the future.
When the visitor left the frown was
gone and the editor had another dol
lar for renewal.
Directly after dinner the editor
$o Y,riu nP1f1nQ
of the county's lawyers and rev
citizens to consider a threatened
move by certain persons who neld
large number of bonds against the
county and whom the county had
been litigating for thirty years. 1t
was a serious and important meetlng
and lasted until late in the AFTER
noon. -
When the editor got back to his
Office he found the collector had been
there. waited an hour and left In dis
pust. Then he took the bills ana
went out to collect from the mer-
chants during the rush hour or the
busiest day in the week.
He hated to do it, but he knew at
5 O'Clock the breadline would form
by that long desk and that the ghost
had to dance whether it felt in a
frolicky mood or not. AS the clock
was striking the hour the editor, a
bit tired, but with light of victory in
his eyes, was on hand with the
goods. -.
When the last toiler had passed by
the long desk the telephone rang. IL
was a call from the superinteno.e7nt
of the public school, twelve miles
hack in the country. The superln-
tendent said there was to be a de-
clamatory contest at his school that
evening and that the board had de-
cided to have the editor act as Judge;
he knew the editor would be delight,
ed with the honor and they Woulu
look for him by 1880 sharp. AS the
naper has a large subscription list
at that point the editor had to 60
and umpire the proceedings which
lasted until nearly midnight: