The Forrest City times., 1912-03-08
How Statesmen Arc Divided by
 Newspaper Men.
GOOD COPY" HIGHEST RANK
White House Best Place to Judge Pub lie Man's News Value-No Cen- sorship Of Prsss During tho
 Taft Administration.
By GEORGE CLINTON.


 ed by newspaper correspondents Into three elasses-"good ccpy.' flair copy and poor copy" 1t is not al. together right classification, for 1t is based solely on the readiness or the unreadiness Of the statesmen to talk There are scores of senators and rep resentatives who will say practically nothing and yet they are good copy because their characteristics are such that it is worth while to write Of them If one can't write from them.
 The outer office of the White House Is better place than the Capitol it- self to learn into which class the con- gressmen fall, according to the news paper mems views The president 5 visitors every day are in number among the hundreds, and most of the visitors have seats after 12 o'clock noon under the dome of the Capitol. When the members of congress have finished their talks with the president they leave him and pass through q room where ordinarily are gathered ten or q dozen newspaper men ready enough to learn and 10 write what the great ones of earth have said to the greater one of earth.
 There are some members, notably some senators. who can come from the presidential presence with the promise of q friends appointment to the great court of St James in their possession, and yet never betray by so much as q sparkle of the eye or smile of the lip that they have re- ceived anything better than the prom ise of postmastership at the tenth rate office of Adams Crossroads. There are others who can no more conceal the that they have pick cd an appointment plum than they can conceal the fact that they are on earth
 No Censorship of Press.
 During the Taft administration there has been no censorship of the press. This does not mean that under former administrations press dispatches were censored. but 1t means simply that President Taft is much more likely than bis predecessors in office 10 al- low newspaper men with whom he talks to draw their own conclusions without any specific direction from him CT without any sharp warnings that this must not be said and that must not be said MT Taft seems to take it for granted that the man 70 whom he talks will exercise good Judgment in matters of publicity and v.'f not get wrong impressions from vat he tells them or draw conclu- se~s not iustlfable
 his makes II somewhat easier for The newspaper men who f warnings and requests 10 be "on your guard" are frequent get so afraid that they are going to overstep the line that they do not tell half the story and so lose many a good yarn. Of course. the president of the United States IS nev- CT to be quoted directly, but most of what he says to the newspaper men gets into the papers with some such advance words as Tt can be said on high authority" or Friends of the president let t be known today" or something of this nature When q Washington correspondent prefaees story with some such statement of au- thority as one of those given. t can be taken for granted that he has been talking 10 the president Of the United States. When the country generally learns this fact there will bs fuller ap- preciation peraap. that what Is being read comes directly from the White House
 To Honor Maine Victims.
 When the collier I,eonidas tied up at the navy yard dock after a hard fight with the ice fin Chesapeake hay and in the Potomac river. a big crowd had ass emhled to welcome the vessel Cold as the water was. most of the sightseers removed their hats when the ship put in 10 the shore. for on board were many of he relics saved from the battIashIB Maine which was surk in the harbor of Havana Just fourteen ears ago.
 The steel mainmast of the Maine was q part Of the cargo Of the Leon. idas- What !a known as the fighting top which vas for the accommoda. tion Of six gunners. used Tn rapid fire guns. was Intact The weight of the malnmast with lts fighting top Is something Ike four tons
 Next month the mast will be taken 70 Arlington cemetery. where t will be erected over the graves of tae men who lost their lives on the Maine. and whose bones will be brought to Wash tngton on battleship in a few weeks Already there Is in Arlington cemetery beautiful memorial to the men who lost their lives in Havana harbor as the result of an explosion the cause of which even yet never has been fully explained
 The collier Leonidas will go 10 An. napolis after leaving Washington and there will unload other relics of the Maine which will be distributed 10 various cities. patriotic societies. 10 personal survivors of the disaster in Havana harbor and to relatives of the