Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1917-12-20
HIS FIRST EXPERIENCE
AS AN EDITOR

There are few boys who at
some stage in their lives have
not been filled with the ambition
to edit a paper. Some boys get
over it like they get over the
measles. With other boys, how
ever, it stays through life.
Here is a story of a boy who
was fired with zeal to be a
"moulder of public opinion"
That was long time ago, when
dollars were scarce and before
tn lowpriced printing press for
boys had made its appearance.
But our young friend was not
disheartened because he did not
have the money with which to
buy his outfit, and so he did like
other boys had done before and
as other boys will do again. He
proceeded to build a printing
press out of thematerials athand
It wasn't much of a press, so far
as its appearance went, but it
would print after a fashion.
His next need was type. This
the youthful editor made by
cutting cigar boxes up into one
half-inch squares and cutting out
the letters of the letters of the
alphabet with a jack knife. His
next need-ink-was supplied
out of his fathers backing box.
For paper-he cut paper flour
sacks into sheets of the right
length and width.
He was now ready for bust
ness SO he sailed forth onto the
main street of the village in
search Of news items. He wasn't
a seasoned reporter, but he soon
was to gain lot of valuable ex-
perience as you will discover by
reading the balance of thisstory.
His keen eyes caught sight Of
Bill Shinn, the village anti-pro-
hibitionist, staggering down the
street. He sharpened his pencil
and made a note Of the incident.
Back to his Office he scurried,
and, with painstaking labor, he
put into type the following item:
bill Shinn is in town today
or his usual weekly spree"
This was printed under the
general heading Of Items About
Town" The form" being
duly "locked up" and mixed with
dads best shoe backing, was
printed on a sheet cut from a
paper flour sack.
The young editor was proudly
looking over the first copy Of the
first edition Of his paper when
it SO happened that Bill, Jr.,
stepped into the Office. Being
curious as what was going on,
he looked over the editors
shoulder. There he read in big
black type what the editor had
to say about his father. Bill,
Jr., instantly resented the sland-
er on Bill, Sr., and proceeded
promptly to suppress the first
edition, broke up the Office furni-
ture and put the editor in first
class condition for the city
hospital. He then marched de-
family out of the office.
The young editor ruefully
picked himself up out of the
ruins Of the shop and meditated
long and seriously on the sub
ject of journalism as life pro-
fession. He stuck to it, how
ever, but he never forgot the
lesson he learned there in the
wood-shed-a lesson that many
another aspiring journalist has
had to learn by sad experience,
and that lesson was this:
"It isn't always wise to tell
all the truth"
1t isn't wise to tell all the
truth, when the telling does no
good and only brings pain and
heartache to others. Perhaps,
if some Of our esteemed daily
contemporaries would remember
this, it might save muchanguish,
even though a good sensation
and scoop" would be spoiled.
No nOc4yoo a cfo1.,c now will 10