Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1917-12-08
THE CHICAGO EAGLE
WHAT'S IN A NAME.
BY VINCENT G. PERRY.

Wnttsville Advance. walked M and
down the little room i'm front of his
plant which he called the office, and
bit at u match furously. Wattsville
had been without n paper for long
time, and the idea of starting up n
weekly again was originally his. He
was sure of that. He had come from
the city and looked over the plant of
the Echo, Il paper that had not been
published for ten years, and had de-
cided 1t wasn't i'm good enough shape
to put In working order. Not to be
beaten In his effort to make himself
recluse from his friends. he bought
out the plant of the Wainwright Adj
vance and moved 1t to Wattsvlle to
the little building IL now occupied. In
the meantime the Echo office had been
sold by real estate broker I'm the city,
ana 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
u 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 1t was In splendid work
Ing order. and her aunt had verified
his 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
tins one. Perhaps the plant wasn't
as pad as 1t 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.
II 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-
unpromlsing. The winter before she
had been introduced to Tommy Mckay
mt the 1rOnwOrkers' 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
hep 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 thenter that evening.
After the theater they went to a
cabaret. He was the brightest boy she
had ever known, and his sense of hu.
NOR appealed to her.
The next summer they had their va
cation mt the same time. They met
again mt a seaside resort. The moon.
light nights helped n lot, and before
they had been there a fortnight they
had decided that they couldn't very
well 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
he 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.
"Tommy" 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 lettersT"
"Your letters, Tommy? I never re.
celved them" Norma was excited.
"Tell me did you address them to
Norma COusins?"
Eyes; thought that was your real
name"
ut Is only my pen name, the name
under which ! wrote for the Times
To think ] never told you my right
name! But didn't you get my letters.
Tommy"
mo, not Il letter" Then 1t 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
ups In names, the first issue of the
EchO-Advance had printed at the top
of the editorial column In bold type,
Erred Burnett, managing editor; Mrs.
Fred Burnett, news editor"
Copyright 1917, by the Mcclure Newspa-
per Syndcate)
Little Habits Count.