The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-09-01

the CLASS IN Journalism Oh Cn0 UH
! yersity of Missouri:
: Around the editorial page are er
!, twined all the great names in on
journalistic hall of fame. 1t is as ed
t tor-as the responsible controlle
= primarily of the editorial page-tha
our most famous journalists hav,
earned whatever of reputation eacl
has achieved. If we want to knov
what are papers political princi
pies, if we want to know whether it
ideals are high or low, whether it:
hue is yellow or only saffron. VIZ
turn to the editorial page And We
when we try to turn to the editoria
page, to what page shall we turn? BY
:. what token shall we recognize the
= editorial page when we see it? viii
we find it labeled with that name
with formula OF the ingredients and
pure food registry number, or will
4 we have to identify it ourselves by
its taste. or smell or feeling? When
the editorial page constituted one
page out of four, there was, at any
rate, less chance to go astray than
now when it constitutes only one
page out of 16, or "a, or So pages.
In the earlier specimens of news
paper art we used to locate the edi-
! torial page by finding the flagstaff
the publishers announcement tell
/ ing us that the periodical had passed
muster with the postmaster as en-
titled to be carried in the mails at
deficit-producing rates of postage,
that while the subscription was in
variably payable in advance, no pa
per would be stopped until arrears
were fully liquidated; and that COM
lmunications would be welcomed but
would be relegated to the waste bas-
ket unless accompanied by stamps
for return. But in these progressive
days, the flagstaff is no longer a de-
pendable budapest to the editorial
page-in fact, in many papers the
flagstaff has been made footnote
instead of headpiece, and in some
T 1t no longer appears as such in any
form. Big print. capital letters. full
faced type, wide measure-an anything
to attract attention away from the
flarirlg headlines-may be notice of
the sacred presence OF the editorial
page through which the papers en-
tity itself addresses the readers.
THESE, however, are the exceptions,
rather than the rule generally speak
ing, the editorial page may be discov-
cred midway between the pole and
the equator and identified without the
use of a sextant by the aroma of the
contents and the absence of objec-
tionable advertisements.
What then distinguishes the editor
ial page? The natural answer is that
it is the style and tone of what is
printed on 1t. 1t is the paper speaking
to and for the readers. 1t is the edi-
tors Interpretation of and comment
on the current events reflected in
the mirror of world happenings held
up by the modern newspaper. The edi-
torial page is the page where opin-
ions. conclusions and differences are
freely INDUCED, where advice is Of
fered and warning signals given,
where instruction and guidance are
permissible, where public sentiment
is voiced and nodded. Reporters are
strictly enjoined to omit differences,
conclusions and opinions and let the
plain unvarnished facts speak for
themselves, but this prohibition does
not apply to writer's who contribute
to the editorial page.
Another distinguishing feature of
editorial composition is presumed to
be the license that permits the use of
the editorial we" According to the
dictionaries, the plural pronoun is
used in the singular by reigning roy
atty and editors in order to express
themselves impersonally and avoid
repetition of the egotistical a." The
editorial I'VE" therefore is the insig-
MIA of equality with kings and en-
perors and Of retiring modesty DOS
sessed by every editor that shrinks
from intruding ones own personality
upon others.
But not even an editor, in his SOW
ereign capacity would dare to lay
down any but mere general rules to
govern in editorial writing. It is an
axiom, however, that for English
speaking readers, only plain, simple
English should be used. Writing
letter to a young man who had asked
his advice on an article submitted,
William Cullen Bryant, then editor of
the New York Evening Post. said:
i observe that you. have used sew
eral French expressions In your let
ter. think If you will study the Eng
lish language, that you will find 1t
capable of expressing all the ideas
you may have. have always found it
so, and in all that / have written /
do not recair single instance where
was tempted to use foreign word,
but that, on searching, have found a
better one in my own language.
Be simple, unaffected: be honest in
your speaking and writing. Never use
a long word where a short one will
do as well.
Call a spade by its name. not a
well-known oblong instrument of
manual ahor. 1nf N bo,,,,, \ =, . l.