The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-12-23
WHY MISTER rs ABSENT.
His Disappearance from Newspaper
Office is Accounted For-Old King
STYLE is to Blame Again.

There is a potentate who has mys-
ferrous way of working, who hobs Up
in most unexpected ways and places,
and who holds sway the world over.
His influence is felt by the cannibal
in the Fiji Islands who eats his mis-
sionary with fingers instead of fork or
account of it and by the president of
the United States who marries in a
white satin waistcoat, conventional
black evening clothes, etc., because Of
it. Also it is felt by the intermediates,
including the newspaper Offices.
The despotic old ruler with his usu-
ally plenipotentiary powers, is "style. "
And old King Style wears jolly smile
as he drags his followers on.
! He has hard time in the newspaper
Office, for the people there are inclined
to be largely Independent Of him and
he never is quite able to put his edicts
| In force as to whether a man shall wear
four-in-hand or bow cravat, pink
| or a green shirt, or smoke this or that
brand of cigarette. They are usually
much too busy to pay much attention
| to what he does say in this regard.
| But he is as despotic here as in the
| parlor of a debutante when it comes
to what the newspapers themselves call
their "style."
| The "style of the paper is as i'm
mutable as the laws Of the Modes and
the Persians, despite the fact that it
varies in every office.
| To say this is the style' Of the
paper ends all arguments on the point.
Although the newly arrived reporter
may be an ex-college professor, al
though he may have worked on one Of
New York s biggest sheets and drifted
to Milwaukee daily, although he may
I know that the "styleo given him is
far from thai of his professor in Eng
lish literature, he would never question
the propriety Of following the "style. "
! If the city editor presents him with
! the .style sheet and he finds in the
| list of words he may not use, "very,''
| flocated, = Voiced and others, he
will not use them. IF he finds that
street, avenue sboulevard =
and the like are written in lower case
| when following the name of the high
way, he will not capitalize them. He
may frd that program or pro-
grammeo is the Style and he will
follow it, and his preference for
! Hhumor'' or humour' = will not all
| low him to write it other than as the
"styleo dictates.
| Now it so happens that it is the style
of the News, as it is Of most other daily
| papers, to write a mans name with
| out the title, Mr.. when his initials
! or Christian name are used. The rea-
| sou that this usage is different from
1 that affecting the writing of woman s
name, is that the prefix of Mr.. adds
nothing informatory while that of Miss
or Mrs. tells whether woman has
| been married.
We explain this because news items
| sent to this paper often use the pre-
fixing title, "Mr.' and the ''Mr.'' is
cut out when it is printed. The sender
should not feel aggrieved nor think
| that it is disrespectful, it is merely the
Interchangeable "style" of the paper.
The only time when a newspaper
whose "style'' prohibits the use of
| Mr. Except where it proceeds a
sirname without initials or Christian
name), would consent to use the pre-
| fixing title would be in paid matter.
and according to the state law it IS
now necessary for paid matter to be
followed by the cabalistic "adv."
which marks it as paid.