Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-08-15
KEEPING AN EDITOR OUT OF
MISCHIEF.

Aside from the performance of the
routine duties incident to his share of
getting the paper out" there is prac-
tically nothing for him to do The
itedium of the long hours when he is
not engaged in mastering the contents
Of a few score of exchanges, in read
ing, writing and revising copy" in
assuring himself that what appears in
type bears a resemblance to what has
been written, and in handling his cor
Irespondence is it is true, occasional
ly relieved by interviews with visi-
tors having important missions. There
is, for instance, the president of the
Association for the Administration or
Dental Relief to Toothless vagrant
Cats, who calls to outline in a half
way disquisition the intimate connec-
tion between the society's work and
the general welfare of the commun
ity and to point out the urgent need
for strong editorial in its support,
to be accompanied by a two-column
news article, preferably to be run on
the front page. Follows a stoker from
the tramp steamer Mohican, just ar
rived in port, who has written, on
greasy wrapping paper, apparently
with lump of coal, patriotic poem,
the immediate publication of which
will greatly stimulate the raising of
the new national forces The poem
begins:
In all the worlds countries through
and through
There is no flag equal to ours, the red,
white and blue,
and the author insists upon its instant
examination, vaguely intimating that
delay will result not only in the with
drawal of his patronage from The Re-
cord" but in negotiation with rival
publishers eager to acquire the COW
eted copyright
The stoker's visit is interrupted by
& telephone call from subscriber in
Flourtown who wishes the editor to de-
eide bet as to how many lives were
lost in the Temple Theatre fire. This
matter settled, the editor is just about
to compose himself for another long
nap when determined woman from
Green River. Miss, whose husband de-
serted her three years ago, drops in to
invoke the aid of the newspaper in To-
eating him and dragging him back to
his marital duties, and seedy stranger
who has been 40 years in the newspa-
per business appears to communicate
confidential information that a loan of
10 cents will greatly assist him in
procuring a nights lodging.
The editor may while away an hour
or so of the rest of his spare time in
searching the files at the behest of a
carious correspondent who wants to
know what night it was in the fall of
some year between 1892 and 1907 that
several wild geese in fight struck the
city hall tower and were killed, and
in locating poem which another cor
respondent read in the Memphis Scim-
itar during the Spanish war days and
would like to have reprinted, but
ennui still threatens to get his goat.
He therefore welcomes a diverting task
to which he has just been appointed by
two contributors to The Editors
Mail Bag"
One Of these contributors conceiy.
ed the idea that the cost of living might
be reduced by organizing the house
holders of the city into groups of 20
to 100 for the wholesale purchase OF
foods. The other retorted that the
scheme was good, but the task of or
galization is difficult The first admit
ted the reasonableness of this criti-
cism, and forwarded 10 cents in stamps i
to the editor of "The Record" as con-
trihution toward defraying the costs (
of organization. The second promptly I
fen into line and intrusted to this