Yerington times. [volume] (Yerington, Nev.) 1907-1932, 1914-01-31
LETTER FROM AN OLDTIME
PRINTER FRIEND.
Some Interesting Sidelights on Why
He Was Not a Success.

show why some good hearts become
callous in the newspaper business
and others are Scratched" until they
bleed to death
Dear Old Friend:
The last time we met you made me
promise to write and tell you some
thing of my past life and how | have
lived since those happy days, nearly
forty years ago. when you and work
ed together at the case on the Chey-
enne Sun and the Laramie Boomer
ang. But particularly you wanted to
know how ! became such a splendid
failure as newspaper man.
| will tell you some of the expert
ences that contributed to my journal
istic delinquency, hoping you never
may know any such yourself. and hop
ing mine may be light to warn you
off the rocks.
First let me tell you, my paper will
be composite picture OF the thous-
and newspapers in the five hundred
towns in which have lived since we
were boys together. When | first
directed the course of my sheet |
steered toward lofty ideal and placed
the honor OF the paper above every
other consideration, and, sad to say,
this seems to have been my first seri-
Gus mistake. | am convinced that no
unless directed by some political pol
icy, so believing in myself as a states
man inspired | entered the liSts-the
champion OF great party. And even
now, looking back over the vista of
years, | am proud-that ! lost For
found (as every honest editor wild
that my political gods had feet of
clay. | will not detail the experience
as it might involve people prominent
in the Nations council today, as we'll
as names of some who have gone over
the range, and vindictiveness was
never part of my paper. But you
know it is not the broken bones-nor
hearts for that matter-that prove
fatal to person or a paper. In each
instance il is the scratches that kill.
So | will recount some OF the
scratches: One of the most poison
Gus was the letters that came U am
now ashamed of I'D in a feminine
hand, slandering and defaming some
good woman of the town, and filled
with obscenity These, of course, |
refused to print, but noted and com
mented on them editorially, and very
warmly. Now, unreasonable as it may
seem, this brought many requests to
stop the paper, and not only that, but
relinquishing of advertising space
Then, in my town was Woman's
Club This was before the crop of
suffragettes grew and ripened-and
TINS Club was very prone to devoting
time to gossip. The President, a very
worthy woman, was very insistent that
print more home news" until |
became convinced that was neglect
ing this branch OF journalism. Then a
sensation was whispered around the
shop, young girl and a married man
were found to be meeting clandestinely
IN a sequestered spot, and one of the
reporters was detailed to get proofs,
lie got them, And a story was writ
ten that would have pleased the most
exciting gossip. But the names of the
parties were hard to learn. Still the
story was put in type and space left
to insert them and orders given to
shadow some more. Then, just before
press time, the names were brought
IN, and as the press was about to be
turned loose on the edition came into
the office, and. Parbleul the girl was
the daughter of the Club President
ana the man the husband of one of
the ofhcers. | Immediately ordered
the story KILLED" and supplied the
space with piece of plate matter"
and poem out of the Fourth Reader.
Next day, when our estimable Presi-
dent read the paper she declared,
learnedly, that person who would
print that ancient stuff in a newspaper
and charge for it, should be sent to
Jail for obtaining money under false
pretenses, and the poem deserved the
most severe form of capital punish
ment, The married man, no doubt, re-
marked emphatically on the deterio-
ration of journalism, and how much
better he could do if given chance
-edItorially. Both ordered their pa
pers stopped, but in ordering hers
stopped the President came to my
once and IN very motherly way de
plored my lack of editorial sagacity,
and suggested that l must give my
columns more local color"-more
"neighborhood news" even If il had