The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1917-07-19
A TRIBUTE TO THE N. E. A.
Which Held it's SIND Annual Convention in the
City of Minneapolis Last Week
''Ham'

By Ham

The National Editorial Associa-
ton of the United States held its
thirty second convention in Min
neapolis this week. The members
of this influential organization will
spend part of Saturday at the
prison as guests of Warden Reed.
That they will find the visit both
enjoyable and profitable and pos
sibly enlightening-we know.
There has been, and still is,-even
among editors-a feeling that
gloom and despair pervade the
abode of those who have erred, and
have been discovered. Just a cas-
ual visit to our Silent City will
convince the most sceptical, edit
Ors included-that perfect SANTA
ton. plenty of fresh air, and sun
shine; modern buildings, and scien-
tifc management all combine to
dispel the horrors of the Old-style
Bastile. Men are realizing that
their kind cannot be reformed
mentally and physically amid filth
and darkness.
Now that we have more or less
polntedly drawn the attention of
the editors to our (?) institutional
perfection we propose setting forth
some pleasant truths about the
scribes. An editor may not eulo-
gize himself-except perhaps,
when in the presence of his better
half; and she knows what quantity
of salt to use with each tale. No
matter which way the editor turns
he faces more or less trouble. If
he supports the suffragettes the
ants are after him, and nine times
out of ten the suffragettes themselves
accuse him of misrepresentation,
occasionally they use an even
stronger term. The business man
blames his local editor for not de-
voting more space to other than
local news yet if the scribe propos-
es to increase his wire service--at
the same time advancing his dis
play advertising rate a few cents
an inch-he is accused of trying to
corner the dollars; worse, he is in
formed that the town is big enough
for another paper! Or perhaps the
local advertisers grow weary of the
same old type faces; one of them
will be an expert ON display LAY
outs";; (there is at least one expert
to each thousand of population)
with the assistance of an old type
foundry style book he will compile
list of faces ranging from 5 1-2
point Roman to y point Gothic,
and suggest a liberal purchase; and
every time the linotype casts a
poor slug for one of his ADVERTISE
ments he will telephone and sug-
gest free run
1t is an actual fact that all live
editors must eat-be the intervals
ever so irregular. But a large
number of subscribers to small To-
cal papers do not entertain this be-
lief. Many of them seem to think
that the smaller the papers circu-
lation, the less need the editor has
to exist: the deduction may be a
logical one in way but it doesn't
appeal to the scribe. But just let
a charity affair loom over the hori-
zon; the first claim for assistance is
made on the editor, and to his hon
or be it said that a we'll merited
appeal is but seldom ignored.
There is bigness of heart about the
average editor, a sublime tolerance
of the selfshness of the many that
perhaps is unequalled in any other
profession, possibly excepting that
of the physician. Complete un-
derstanding of human nature was
vested in but one human being and
his knowledge led Him to the cross.
Tolerance of the weaknesses OF
men and women come only after
contact with both sides of life-the
rough and the smooth. The editor
is daily brought into touch with