The Watertown news. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1917-1919, 1917-12-31
WHAT'S In A NAME
BY VINCENT G. PERRY,

The village of Wattsville was hard
ly large enough to support one news
paper, and here it was with two. Fred
Burnett, proprietor, managing editor,
pressman and compositor of the
Wattsville Advance, walked I'D and
down the little room in front of his
plant which he called the office, and
bit at match furiously. Wattsville
nad been without paper for long
tl1ne, and the idea of starting up a
weekly again was originally his. He
was sure Of that. He had come from
the city and looked over the plant of
the Echo, paper that had not been
published for ten years, and had de-
cided it wasn't in good enough shape
to put in working order. Not to be
beaten in his effort to make himself a
recluse from his friends, he bought
out the plant of the Wainwright Ad-
vance and moved it to Wattsville to
the little building it now occupied. In
the meantime the Echo office had been
sold by real estate broker in the city,
and the purchaser, who had bought the
plant was woman, the niece of the
Widow Spur, of the village.
The idea of the thing was prepos-
ferrous, he thought. Nobody could
make the Echo plant work, let alone
woman.
Poor thing-if she does know any
thing about newspaper work she will
get shock when she sees the Echo
plant he muttered.
He was right. Margaret Spur did
get severe shock when she saw the
Echo plant. The real estate broker
had told her it was in splendid work
ing order, and her aunt had verified
MS statement. She was foolish to
take the word of either she thought
If Margaret had belonged to another
profession she would have wept but
her newspaper training had fortified
her for just such disappOintments as
this one. Perhaps the plant wasn't
as bad as it appeared, she thought as
she started to get things in better
shape. AS she worked over the type
cases her mind went back to the CITY
and the life she had left.
1t was to find an occupation to take
her mind off the biggest disappoint
ment of her life that made her give
up her position ON the Times in the
city and invest her savings in the coun-
try newspaper that proved to be so
unpromiSing. The winter before she
had been introduced to Tommy Mckay
at the lrOnWOrkers' convention. He
was representing the Tribune and she
was reporting the convention for the
Times. Tommy had a pleasant and
attractive way, and as they sat side
by side, chatting gaily, she couldn't
help thinking that perhaps all the girls
that wrote to her advice to the Fair
Sex column were not as silly as she
had thought. The next day she missed
her car and was late. Tommy lent
her his notes, so that she would not
miss the important points of the
mayors speech. After that kindness
she couldn't very well have refused his
invitation to the theater that evening,
After the theater they went to a
cabaret. He was the brightest boy she
mad ever known, and his sense of hu.
NOR appealed to her.
The next summer they had their va.
cation at the same time. They met
again at seaside resort The moon
light nights helped a lot, and before
they had been there a fortnight they
had decided that they couldn't very
we'll get along without one another.
Their happiness was brought to an
abrupt ending when Tommy was sent
for to take a position he had applied
for in the North.
Margaret couldn't help running this
all over in her mind as she worked.
The editor of the Advance stopped
in front Of the Echo office. 1t wouldn't
be out of place to call on this Miss
Spur. He could find out what she
thought Of the Echo plant.
Margaret heard the step in the door
way and turned around. AS her eyes
met the visitors, she uttered a little
scream and her handful of type fell
to the floor.
'Tommyw she gasped. Tommy
McKay!'
Norma, what are you doing here?"
he cried in surprise.
why, I'm the owner of this plant
Margaret Spur"
"You, Margaret Spur? Isn't Norma
Cousins your right name? Why didn't
you answer my letters?"
Your letters, Tommy? I never re-
ceived them" Norma was excited
Tell me did you address them to
Norma Cousins?''
Eyes; I thought chat was your real
name"
1T is only my pen name, the name
under which I wrote for the Times.
To think. [ never told you my right
name! But didn't you get my letters,
Tommy"
mo, not letter." Then it dawned
upon him. did you know my right
name isn't Tommy Mckay; that that
is only pen name, too? My right
name is Fred Burnett"
So that there would be no more mix