The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-05-19
BIRD FLEW AWAY
And the Little Boys Stone
Crashed Through a Window.
Office Man Thought It Was
Meteor and Called Reporters.
OUT OF TOWN PAPERS.
Yellow Journals Became Excited
and Published Scary Articles.
Correspondent Makes Topeka
Famous in One Day.
OUT OF TOWN PAPERS

There was a little English sparrow
sitting on a telephone wire near the
Shawnee building Wednesday after
noon.
This was the bird that sat on the
telephone wire.
A dark brown stone lay in the gut
ter just under the telephone wire.
This is the stone that lay in the
gutter under the bird on the telephone
wire.
A small boy wandered aimlessly
down the street and he spied first the
bird and then the rock. He snatched
the little brown stone and hurled it
at the bird.
This was the boy that threw the
stone that lay in the gutter under the
bird on the wire.
The mysterious rock missed the bird
and went crashing through a window
in the office of the Shawnee Fire In
surance company and fell on the floor
at the feet of one of the employees
This was the window that was brok
en- by the boy that threw the stone
that lay in the gutter under the bird
on the wire.
But that isn't all.
Topeka is famous today-famous all
over the United States-just because
head of the office in the Shawee
building saw that stone coming
through his window Wednesday after
noon and the first thought was that
the stone was a meteor. The comet
scare had been eating up so much
newspaper space that there was moth
ing else for the office men to think.
Creeping cautiously to the stone he
touched it. 1t was hot!
That was enough to satisfy Mr.. ].
w. Going. secretary OF the company,
that the stone was meteor and grab
bling a telephone he called for the re-
porters 1t is always customary for
anyone to call a reporter when any
thing unusual happens-it is much
better than telling your wife-and
that is going some.
Reporters on the Scene.
Hot foot, stepping on each others
heels and riding bicycles. the reporters
ran for the Shawnee building. Mean
while the city editor arose from his
corner and waited anXiously for the
verdict-and this is extremely unusual
because this city editor seldom gets
excited and very seldom calls for
After the newspaper gang had
surrounded the innocent meteorite and
it was thoroughly examined, one re-
porter nudged his mate. Its a fake,
amt it ?" he whispered. This reporter
nudged his mate and repeated the
question Finally one of the anxious
news gatherers took the little stone
and placed it in his pocket. No one
nous opinion that the meteor was not
a meteor-and the city editor went
back to his corner with sigh OF re-
lief.
But the fame of Topeka hung on
this one newspaperman who placed
that stone in his pocket. He was a
correspondent for out of town papers
papers all over the United States
which are always ready and willing
to eat up freak doings in Kansas
This correspondent saw visions of
beautifully colored cheques coming in
from all corners of the United states
he saw fiaring headlines fiashed IN
the faces of the eager multitudes by
CRYING newsboys-he saw ''wuXtra
editions torn from the presses and
dished out to the mobs-well he
saw lots of other things that VIII come
out later
Starts the Excitement.
Rushing to the nearest telegraph Of
fee our heavyset correspondent called
for paper, grabbed his pencil and
scratched out the following words to
the operator:
Kissing meteor falls through sky
light in Topeka Office desk crushed.
Intense excitement. How much?"
This was addressed to every yellow
native mind of the live wire cores
pondent and leaving his temporary ad-
dress with the operator he rushed to-
d nearby photograph gallery.
this rock, quick he cried.
The photographer looked over the
small specimen and shook his head.
1T is not large enough he said.
But this did not danpen the enthusi-
asm of our L. c. Leaping down the
stairs he ran for the pile of refuse at
Eighth and Kansas avenue, and dig
cling frantically among the rock piles
he picked out a large brown stone
one that would give every appearance
of a meteorite-and he Mastered back
to the waiting photographer.
Then came the deluge. Every tele-
graph office in town was rushing boys
to the address given by the correspon-
dent Telegram after telegram came
piliDg in.
Rush thousand words on meteorite,''
they said.
Did he rush those words? Well, of
course he did.
A proof of the answer is portrayed
in the yellow newspapers at the news
stands. Massive red headlines, dSz-
zling pictures of huge stones falling
into skylights and sending into a panic
hundreds o. employees. the streets of
Topeka filled with horror stricken null
titudes-all these things are going into
every home in the United States to-
day.
And the papers are asking for more
Wire after wire flashed messages call
ing for more stuff on the falling me-
teor-aud our heroic correspondent has
exhausted his vocabulary. His book of
synonyms is useless and all he can
think of is horror" terrible" "siz-
zling," crashing" and "panicy mobs.'
He has ordered more photographs nf
the rock he picked up and as fast as
their machines will turn them out the
papers are printing them in colors on
their extras.
One of the Stones.
Here is the story as it appeared in
double column black type in one of
the outside papers:
Topeka, Kan. May 1S.-(SpeciaD-A
meteorite fell through the Shawnee
building. occupied by the Shawnee Fire
Insurance company at Seventh and
Jackson streets, in the heart of the