The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-10-28
Before The Topeka Press Club.

evident feelings of joy on a distorted
woodcut which Harve Parsons assert
ed bore resemblance to the man whose
name appeared below it. I have seen
them read Harves f1attering predic-
lions of their future careers of distinc-
ton with such confidence in their
truth, they were certainly led to be-
| lieve that the doors of the Hall of
Fame would eventually swing open in
their direction and the inches therein
yawn for their statues
Useless Pictures"
Since then 1 have reflected on the
extent to which the individual picture
business has been overdone by the
! newspapers, and how we are forced
every day, to look at the faces of all
kinds and conditions of men, in nine
tenthS of whom we have no interest,
direct or remote. l have come to the
conclusion that there is no justifica-
ton for printing any mans picture in
a newspaper unless he is runnin for
office or has been arrested for assault
1t will be generally observed that
| the newspaper reporter is not engaged
in a business which promises large
! profits or leads to the accumulation
] of great wealth. He is cordially re-
ceived by millionaires and captains of
! industry, yet his powers of absorbing
their methods of money-getting seem
to be impaired. While his work has
| been known to result in much gain
! vantage is overlooked or neglected
We see no reporters starting banks or
buying a dozen newspapers out of
their earnings.
| A Reporters Loss.
| Some time ago there was a wreck
| of a railroad train, in which a news
| paper reporter was a passenger. The
cars were derailed, turned over and
piled one on top of the other. The
reporter emerged from the debris with
his clothes torn, his face skinned and
disfigured, but without any serious in
jury. In giving an account of the
disaster to a party of friends the next
day. he said that in his efforts to
escape from the wreckage he lost
| $500 in bills from his vest pocket, and
the sad thing about it was that two of
! them were receipted.
The woman reporter who conducts
| the social side of the paper deals al
most entirely in personal items, of lit
| tie interest except to those whose
movements are recorded. These So
ciety notes are often expanded, ad
+ nauseum, into extended descriptions
of gowns, hats and jewelry, which, in
! the language of Shakespeare, "can not
| but make the judicious grieve."
You will note that the Topeka Cap
1tal, with fine sarcasm, prints a
whole broadside of society items every
/ Sunday morning in the comic supple
ment.
Ethel May Snort.
OF what Importance is it to know
that Ethel May Snort, widow of the
late Colonel Snort, a leading woman
politician and uplifter, spent three
days in Kansas City, Missouri, last
week? 1t requires no mental effort
to make a trip of that kind, and the
physical exertion is too slight for COM
ment.
Now, if Ethel May Snort had not re-
turned, but had gone to Kansas City
and stayed there permanently, a pub
| LEGATION of the fact would be a graf
flying announcement, appreciated by
many readers.
| Most of us remember when we were
| boys it was the custom for the pupils
in the district schools to read essays
or speak pieces every Friday after
noon.
| With vehement gestures, the youth
full Demosthenes would pronounce the
words he had committed to memory
from books on elocution or the school
! readers.
There was famous grafton of Will