The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-05-11

ndI l40S%WO6A anu OAC-A6OA[0S eAS
| ing about poets being born and not
made. which has generally been APP
piled to writer's Of all kinds, is be-
ing vigorously controverted by mod
ern colleges. II they are not liter
ally making poets, they certainly are
making dramatisrs, short story writ
ers and numerous competent jour
nalists, from whose numbers the
great majority of writer's of all sorts
are drawn.
OF course, the old saying remains
| true TO the extent that il takes born
aptitude to make a writer of any
sort. but this is no more true of a
good newspaper man or magazine
writer, or even a popular fictioneer.
than 1t is of almost any other pro
fession. All of the really successful
politicians, for example. are obvi-
ously born ones. ss1d this is still more
| BIZ and baseball players In
Z. !e is prerequisite of
ess in life. No doubt
4. IN. only inspired genius
ON to keep It Give, But
.st quarter OF a century,
VI. ) become a profession in
America with as wide a field ana as
| many opportunities as any other
Our tremendous output of near
=
magazines and trade journals de-
mands an army of writer's and ed
itors: and. needless to say, genius is
not what il calls for. A modicum OF
talent, combined with common sense
and hard work, win the highest re-
wards in modern Journalism Yet,
the old belief that writing IS proht-
less. visionary occupation. and that
] literary talent is a sort OF afhiction.
still gains a remarkably wide ac-
iceptance. The young man who
| shows a tendency to sit up late at
night and scribble is advised by his
| friends, who pride themselves upon
their common sense, TO cut IT out and
get job on a farm As matter or
! fact. the boys Unborn tendency to
| write is a guarantee that If he has 1t
in the newspaper game IN year than
he could on the farm IN i've.
Turt hermore this boy now has at
command the means to develop his
talent and to discover its real worth
/ Beginning with the Pulitzer Founda-
! ton at Columbia University, schools
| of journalism have spread all over
! the country with the rapidly OF a
contagfon, while all of the larger
| universities are Offering courses in
drama and fiction that are designed
4 to fit men to write.
| The desire TO write seems to spare
no one The short story contests.
which have become popular OF recent
years, have brought forth startling
| proof of the fact. Whenever a big
prize has been offered, manuscripts
have poured in by the thousands
and they have come from every con-
| ceivable class of occupation A farm
hand working for six dollars a week
sent 10 a recent competition man
uscript which. according to the ed1-
i tor. lacked only finish TO make II a
powerful piece of work. "A boy OF M
teen sent a cloak and sword TO-
nance so full of glow and color that
| the judges had to harden their
hearts TO send it back. But these are
! among the enlightened There are
thousands of manuscripts bearing
| every mark of ignorance and unpre-
raredness. The great majority of
| literary aspirants seem to sit and toll
! in darkness. It is to these hopeless
| ones that the spread of literary edu-
cation should mean most With
schools of Journalism springing up
! all over the country, they can de-
velop their abilities, If they have any.
and il not they can quickly and final
! ly learn the fact
Only a year ago, practical journal
lists were scofing at the newborn
Pulitzer school; today, even the
smallest colleges are adding courses
| in Journalism to their curriculums-
| a few months ago, Knox College at
GaIesburg. ILL.,, introduced a course IN
| Journalism in answer to a strenuous
demand from the student body. Most
. typical of American schools Of jour
| nalfsm is the fact that Max Goodsill,
the city editor of the Galesburs
/ Evening Mail, was made professor OF
/ the school The University of MIN
1 nesota has also established course
/ in Journalism within the last few
! months, and William p. kirkwood
( LEFT the Afinnea polls Journal to teach
4 his profession in the new school.
! Industrial Journalism is a new course
recently installed in New York Un1-
! versity. The oregon state legtsia-
4 ture recently authorized its newly
I established department of Journalism
to operate a printing plant as Jour
nalism laboratory The desire for
/ journalistic training has penetra.eo
/ even into the wilderness, and tho
4 school board of Saskatoon, Sas-
katchewan. has established pubic
night classes in Journalism.
I These are only few instances
which might be multiplied by the
! column The spread of the school OF
/ Journalism idea IN this country mas
been almost Unprecedented II u
I striking proof of the widespread
need for train in expression
! Joseph Pulitzer must be given
/ credit for having originated the idea
I The school of Journalism that he en-
lowed at Columbia was the first, and
/ il set the standard of absolutely
! practical. instruction which charac-
! terizes all American schools of jour
naIism. Robert E. MacAIarney. for
merlr of the New York Evening Post,
was made Instructor in the Pulitzer
I school. and he proceeded to teach
/ the newspaper game as he knew IT.
! TN. d.v,s news was auaIvzed ON the