The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-04-29
JOLLIES PRESS BOYS.
contlnued From Page one.

IL had not been played up. The A.
P. bears the same relation to the mod
ern American newspaper that the solid
business man does to the modern
American family. 1t stands in the
background, provides the wiaerewithal,
keeps out Of the spotlight, takes all
OF the blame and gets mighty little
glory. Respected but not featured on
the front page. When there is a grand
jubilee, father and the A. r. are be-
mind the potted palms with the orches-
ira checking up the expenses.
I'm glad to be here for several rea-
sons. Now that you may have for
gotten what you paid for it, / am
wiling to meet the gentlemen who
bought my merchandise. / sold you
an assortment of capital letters and a
JOB lot of Chicago vernacuIar, and you
thought you were getting a new brand
or humor. Very often would weaken
when 1t came time to sign the vouch-
ers. Then I would read some OF the
other syndicate stuff and take courage.
Every man who has not tried 1t
thinks that he can edit a newspaper.
write comic opera and manage a
MOTEL l still believe that I know a
lot about hotel business.
when / went to Chicago to help
Victor Lawson uplift a community
that did not want to be uplifted,
noticed every day in going to the roof
garden, large and well Lighted apart
ment In which a number of nobby
gentlemen were seated at RON top
desks talking about circulation. I
learned that these aristocrats OF onr
profession were what is known as the
business end of the paper. About the
time we began to diagram the daily
murder they would put on their top
coats and dogskin gloves and saunter
over to the Auditorium hotel. In
those days If a young man from some-
where out in the corn belt came to
the office and applied for a Job he
was asked If he had attended a first
class western college. If he replied
yes and could produce letter from
the professor OF English showing that
he had written articles for the college
paper, he was put into the editorial
department at SIS week. If he could
prove absolutely that he had not at
tended any college, he was assigned
to the business department at $40 a
week
Il learned upon investigation that I
had made mistake in taking up the
literary end of the game so 1 resolved
to go in for advertising. Therefore
| became an author and playwright.
After ten years in the rarefied at
mosphere of dramatic art as practiced
today at 50 a seat of 81 on the side
walk, feel I am peculiarly qualified
to discuss American newspapers. II
can proceed with safety because if
I say anything uncomplimentary, I
have scrap book to prove that they
began it,
Everybody wants to help the edi-
tor. Not as regards cheaper wood
pulp or keeping down the payroll.
but with suggestion for filling up the
paper. Most people still believe that
every newspaper must hustle every
night to get enough copy to separate
the advertisements. Being a post grad
uate / know that you are compelled to
throw columns and columns of stuff on
the floor. Very often, in glancing
over long tariff editorial wonder
what was thrown on the floor, how
ever, I am not here to upset any ira
ditions-merely to offer a few helpful
hints.
TN the first place the city news
paper of today as compared with the
Indiana newspaper Of the seven
ties is tame, invertebrate, colorless and
apologize. The first newspaper with
which [ was associated came out ev-
cry Thursday from a room over the
hardware store. The fires of civil war
were still smoldering. Indiana's chief
occupation was politics. Nearly every
man was voting as he shot, and some
of them a good deal oftener. Our
Office equipment consisted of Wash
ington hand press, a foot-power job
press, a perennial towel and a few