The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-04-23
The Reward
of
Slug Eighteen


ing the big fire or a meeting of the
Legislatures the annual shaking
up In the Methodist Episcopal
Church. The followers of John Wes-
ley have the biggest hold on religion
in the Monumental City, and that
fact is~always kept before the edi-
torial rooms by the circulation de-
partment. Every year there is
meeting of thea conference, and at
the end of it the presiding bishop
gets to work and moves all the
preachers around, and this is real
excitement for all their congrega-
tions. This assignment on the part
of the bishop makes a much-wanted
story, and there is always a fight
for it between the afternoon and the
morning newspaper men.
Some years ago the conference
was meeting in Hagerstown, up on
the edge of the Blue Ridge. The
four representatives of the morning
papers who had been sent up from
Baltimore had put up combination
on the one reporter that had the
afternoon paper. There was going
to be a big shake-up that year and
the papers were hungry for the facts.
The bishop was sought out by the
morning men and he gave his SOL
emn promise that his list wouldn't
be made public until 4 in the after
noon. The evening paper man had
sheet going to press at and he was
desperate.
The day of the story arrived. The
afternoon man was coming up the
main street when he saw the bishops
secretary coming out of a job print
ing Office. He knew that meant that
the list he wanted was being put into
type in that rural printery. Then
he thought a while. He knew that
IL o'clock the force would knock
of for dinner He had learned to
set type down in Virginia town and
he knew that part of it was easy.
The courthouse clock struck IL.
A lot of printers came out and
went away for the meal. The re-
porter went around to the side door
and, sneaking quietly into the Office,
hung his coat on the wall, rolled up
his sleeves and daubed some ink on
his arms. Then he looked for the
bank" Here he found three gal
leys of that precious list. He was
looking it over when he heard
noise. The only thing to do was to
keep busy, so he began sticking
leads in between the lines of type.
Presently he looked up and by his
side was a dirty-faced, coatless boy.
1t was not necessary to ask who he
was, for he looked the ideal picture
of a printers devil. The boy scowled
at the reporter. The latter sized up
the. situation at a glance. 1t would
only take the boy a moment to go
across the street to the saloon where
there was a MONDAY lunch for the
printers and give the alarm. The
boy said nothing. but somehow or
other the reporter felt that the kid
kew what he was up to.
Hello, kid" said the reporter.
still working on the type.
what do you want here?" asked
the boy with the sternness of a
grown man.
The reporter hesitated a moment
to get a good answer. and then re-
marked:
"Oh, I'm the bishops secretary.
used to be a printer, so I thought
I'd correct this myself"
The boy simply looked at him.
Then a bright idea hit the reporter
and with came serious thought
This list would make three columns
solid, and it would be wise to get
the wire open and hold it. But he
hadn't line of copy written. From
the floor he picked up an old paper
and tearing out some reprint stuck
half column of 1t on sheet of pa
per. and headed 1t with the name of
the paper he was working for.
Take this to the telegraph office
and tell them to send it."
He handed the copy to the boy.
and with it a bright five-dollar bill.
The boy was all right. for he opened
not his mouth and made for the
door. When the wire began sending
in a story about the best way to take
care of chickens in winter the news
paper editor Immediately jumped to
the conclusion that the man on the
conference story was either drunk
or gone mad. But this opinion lat
er changed to little raise in sal
airy.
With the printing Office empty
the job was easy. The reporter tore
up q sheet of paper into proof slips.
wet them, and laying them over the
type beat of with the proof planer
three nice proofs of the bishops list.
Then. rolling them quickly, he
made for his coat and rushed for
the telegraph Office. The operator
was still sending the stun he had
4 sent over and the wire was his. He
broke In at once, and the man at
the key began on the three-column
list.
Then the reporter went out and
took a long drink of liquor on which
no revenue tax had ever been paid
and with which the scheming of tne
Aculterator had never dallied. Then