The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-05-27
Keeping the News Going.

1t has long been a subject of discus
sion and controversy among the corps
OF newspaper correspondents at Wash
ington. whether they accurately Judge
the nature of the appetite of the peo-
pie outside of the Capital for news
matter; that is, whether they write
about the things in which the people
are most interested, or whether they
have not fallen into the rut of report
ing too freely what is said and done
with regard to some men and measures
and ignoring others that might be of
more popular interest.
A few evenings ago, at a dinner, at
which Frank G. Carpenter, the globe
trotting syndicate letter-writer, was
host, and some of the older members
the veterans, those whom the kiddos
of the business recently come to town
are in the habit of speaking of as "old
man so-and-so''-were arguing this
matter. when the conversation got
around to the subject of writing
och estnuts."
Some of those present contended
that every story renewed its youth
once or twice year, and that the
proper thing for an up-to-date cores
pendent is to write q good story every
time it appears new to him, no matter
whether he knows that it has already
appeared in print or not.
Thereupon Mr.. Carpenter, who has
made both fame and fortune in his
business, and who was called Chest
nuts" when he first came to Washing
ton quarter of century ago to do
newspaper work. told story that went
far toward getting a verdict in favor of
the contention that everything that
interests a large portion of the people
is new enough to be started on the
rounds again.
Mr.. Carpenter originated in Mans
field, Ohio, and came to Washington
by way of Toledo, Ohio. as the cores
pendent of paper there. but made his
reputation on the Cleveland Leader.
He says that when he first came to
town he was so green that the cows on
Pennsylvania avenue took him for a
bale of hay, and followed him accord
ingly. He lCarpenter) brought letters
of introduction to some of the Nestors
of the press at that time. including E.
G. Dunnell. of the New York Times,
and Gen. Boynton, of the Cincinnati
Commercial Gazette, but found that
every time he got hold Of story that
looked good to him and asked their
advice about it, they would say; on.
don't print that; it's chestnut Get
something new"
But the more he legged it about
town and nosed his way here and
there, the older, We're the stories that
he got hold Of and finally he despaired
OF HHuinR aQyLnlnS SOOu SAoQSu "
send to his paper. One evening he en-
countercd on newspaper row Charlie"
Towle, of the Boston Advertiser, and
Perry S. Heath, then tho correspond
ent of a string of Western papers, and,
telling them that he was on the look
out for a story, they agreed to give
him one.
So they told him in circumstantial
and detailed language how 1t happened
that uncle Sam" came to be the ac-
cepted cognomen of the entity repre-
senting the power of the United States
governmen t Word for word, Carpen-
ter took down the narrative, and word
for word he telegraphed 1t to his pa
per- To his astonishment it was copied
more widely than anything he ever
wrote, after having been printed over
his signature and under black head
lines. Practically every newspaper of
the country that came under his eye.
and he took look at nearly all OF
them at that time, reprinted the story,
giving credit to him or to the paper.
Going down to "tf1e row. to thank
his benefactors for his lucky strike,
they chuckled and winked. and, taking
him into the rear Office, showed him
the story word for word. as he had
printed it, in the back Of a standard
dictionary, whence they had taken 1t.
David S. Barry. In the Providence
Journal