Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1911-03-25

lieves Children Should Read What Is
Going on In World and Proposes TO
See If New York Will Support Prof.
ect to Improve Juvenile Tastes.
Mrs. Ida Clyde Clarke of Nashville,
Tenn, writer and newspaper woman,
Is In New York with the announced
intention of starting the first daily
newspaper to be published exclusively
for children. Her idea is to conduct
the daily the same as any other news
paper except that such reading mat
ter as is sensational or otherwise OBJ
jectionable for little readers will be
publication soon.
~ believe the idea will be a success"
Mrs. Clarke asserts. What probably
pointed out the necessity of such a
daily paper more than anything else
is the interest my ten-year-old son
takes in the newspapers. Coming from
IA family of newspaper people. there
is no item of the day that this small
boy cannot discuss with his father
and mother.
Daily News Expurgated.
MY plan is to give the children the
latest news of the day presented in
way that can be easily understood and
will be both interesting and instruc-
tive. Children are inclined to read the
newspapers, and they should not be
denied the knowledge of what is going
on in the world in the way of inven-
ton, science. education and the like,
while such happenings as murders. sui
cides and the other sensational things
unfit for childish eyes and minds
should be omitted. These items are
always published in large type on the
front pages of our daily newspapers
and are about the first thing 20 attract
the attention of the small re- aers and
occupy their minds. Anything Of this
kind would not find space In my paper.
but everything else of current interest
would be included, as In other news
papers.
Il know something of the complica-
tons incident to publishing a daily
work for years myself, and therefore
have the experience that will be of
value TO me. Next to that my interest
In children has been the strongest in
centive toward starting the newspa-
per. Those of us who are parents Of
ten discuss the inadvisability of al
lowing our children to read the daily
papers. but while keeping them from
reading about murder trials and di-
vorces we are denying them of much
that is of an instructive nature.
Parents Support Pre- ct.
AFTER announcing my il tention In
the south of starting such a paper
came encouragement from parents.
schools and the like wanting to sub
scribe at once. l received telephone
messages all day long asking me
when ! was going to begin publication.
But an enterprise like this. of high
class nature, cannot be started in a
day. There are thousand things to
be thought of that are undreamed of
by people who have not had expert
ence in newspaper office.
-'The next step was TO choose a city
In which to start publication Being
a southerner and knowing that we
have all manner of incident and mate
rial in the south, | none the less ap-
preciated the fact that a large city
was the only field for the children's
newspaper. Washington, Chicago, st.
Louis and other cities have presented
attractive features TO me, but New
York with it's bigness seems to me TO
be the place to lay my foundations for
the children's daily.
Thinks Daily Is Needed.
81 want TO be able to give the paper
TO the children at n penny or less. GER
tainly not more There will be news.
funny pages. children's stories and
only such advertisements as are of in
terest TO them and clean and fit to
publish At the same time ! should
want to make the children feel that
they were getting the news just the
same as big people and that it was
not a cut and dried affair. with you
must not read this and that headlines,
10 excite their curiosity.
1--WE have all kinds of children's
magazines and weeklies, but daily
exclusively printed for children is,
believe, form of publication mostly
in need of all. For the next few weeks
! shall work ahead formulating my
plans"
Mrs Clarke is enthusiastic in her
venture. She is n young woman of
soft speech and gentle manner, a typ
icai southern girl, but resourceful. and
with "A determination behind quiet per-
sOnaity that has shown those who
know her that she always carries out
what she plans.