The Washington bee., 1911-05-20
Public Men And ThinDs
(By the Sage of the Potomac.)
(By the Sage of the Potomac.)

Lana was asked to dehne the differ
ence between a newspaper man and (
Journalist, he replied: "A newspaper
man writes news, and journalist just
writes. 1t is also said that Ma1
U Reil, IN speaking about newspaper
correspondents once, said, There are
correspondents and compilers. A cor
respondent sends his newspaper the
news a compiler takes news from
other newspapers and adds oS pei
/ cent. OF his personal opinion, labels il
news and mails it to his newspaper
l nave often thought that Freeman
Murray must have been living and
writing about the time that Charles
Dana and Max O'Rell got off this
stuff. Murray sends but little news;
IN fact, you have to use a microscope
TO ind his news, but of personal oDin-
ion, Freeman hustles a column or two
down East every week. He comes
within an ace of being a journalist
according to Dana's definition. and
comes dangerously ly near being a COM
piler, according to Max O'Rel. If
Murray don't like fellow, OF if he
dlsagrees with a fellow, he can COM
pile lot OF virile rot, and sandwich
in lot of personal opinion about that
fellow. OF course, Murray don't hear
all the things that he writes The
fact IS, Murray don't hear much OF
anything. But that's not his fault.
! The Niagarites have poured so much
into his oriices that it made him Just
little deaf. They'd make anybody
deafer than a milepost Now Muir
ray was really planned for a real
| live, dOWn-tO-the-minu newspaper
man, but he got spoilt in the making
and then got bent III growing. He
| likes to write, and that's the first in
diCatlon of newspaper genius, and he
| handles grammar in good fashion
| Few newspaper men do, for with a
real newspaper man grammar is
| something for which no bonus is paid
A real, live, airship newspaper man
puts a premium on facts, and facts
with Murray are something about
which there is no use to make much
ado over. Really, Murray has no time
| for facts. If he used facts he would
have no space for his private opinion,
and if he abstained from dishing up
about two columns of his private, per-
sonal opinion of an unsuspecting pub
| lie, he would not be able to send his
| favOrite newspaper more than two or
three lines of matter per week. Free
man Murray combs his billOWy locks
| back in a sort of Gideon Wells style.
| It's awfully hard to manage them any
other way, for, like the fretted porcu-
| pines bristles, about which old Bill
/ Shakespeare edited a line or two, his
hair persists III standing on each par
tiCular end, and he just won't use the
straightener Had dear Freeman laid
in the kiln another minute, his hair
would have been red, and as it is, it
comes frightfully near being red.
That's why he's so pugnaciOus. He
wears his hat back, and to one side,
slouch hat OF the style in fashion
about the time of the Spanish Inquisi-
| ton This is to give him individual
itv and make people say he's eCCen-
trio. And he is eccentric. About as
I eccentric as the hind legs OF a Vicks-
| burg mule-Just eccentric enough to
kick upon the least prOvOcatiOn. He
walks rapid with the air of a fellow
| who has been sent for to advise the
President the proper time to play golt
takes short, quick steps, indicating
! irritability. Outside of managing the
| War Department, giving orders to the
| President, handing out red-pepperec
| lbouduets to Booker Washington
i whether he does or does not, dlctat-
ling Washington school affairs from
Iacross the river, regulating the uni
verse, and compiling hot stuff about
| the ms" Murray hasn't a thing to dc
! -. II. -, .ba ;;v,cro,r- cars tyE-1CR 2
| dav between Washington and AleXan
/ dria without a single compliant vi
| course. like all these OhiOans, Muir
| raw lust naturally feels that the uni
verse rests upon his shoulders, and
| the world wont move, and the sun
will not shine till he proudly and ar
| bitrarily peeps: Its time you two
lesser bodies get busy" He's ar
amusing cuss though, and a darned
| bright cuss. Fact IS, that great big
head of his is filled with more than
saWdust He's got brains, lots OF
gray matter, and some mighty handy
| knowledge. If he could only hear
other people whisper, and analyze ms
own imagination, he would be ppm
It's a pity that Murray never mad a
chance TO be on a real news
paper. for really he has the instinct
and attributes of a real newspaper
man. He was just spoiled IN making
and bent in training. If he had an
Ionoortunitv on a real newspaper, with
his genius for writing he would to-
dav be managing editor OF some New
York paper, or some paper IN a VII
Iage nearly as large. But he's Just
critic now. like the rest OF us cOlored
oencil-pushers, and critic IS a tel-
| low who IS jealous of the other tel-
lows success. Murray is more than
an ordinary writer. He, now and then
gets up some mighty interesting and
3irile matter. I secretly like the
goat. even if he does butt, and
really have kindly, sympathetic
feeling for the mule, if he does kick
Outside of a few vagaries, Murray IS
a swell writer, and real credit to the
colored Fourth Estate
This vacancy in the Haitian mission
has simply upset many of the noble
sons OF Ham who are willing to OF
fer themselves up as sacrlhce toT
the place I dropped in certain col
ored lawyers office the other day. and
he had two typewriters at work max
! ing copies of letters of endorsements
| he was about to file for the place. /
met colored physician, and he was
1 = ;rdorsere for the