The Robesonian., 1918-03-25
HAVE TO BEWARE
OF FAKERS

There are people who try to put one
over on the editor now and lnen.
There are others who want to USE a
newspaper to perpetrate what trey
consider a joke. There are some who
maliciously and purposely endeavor to
palm off a gold brick on the newspa-
per, and even in this enlightened age
there are innocent folk who send COM
nunications unaccompanied by their
name-"not necessarily for publice :inr
but as a matter of good faith" There
are some good people who send the
news pers good things but withhold
their name They keep the editors
busy explaining that they do not pub
lish communications from anonymous
sources and, still there reaches all
newspaper shops the kinds of articles
that necessarily find their way into
the waste basket. Here is a case in
point furnished by the Lumberton
Robesonian:
''The Robesonian received last week
two news items, one from Wilmington
and one from Sismons Chats what it
looks ike), Fla, both of\which we
should have been glad to use had the
names of the writer's been given To
insure publication of any item you
may send to the paper it is necessary
to give your name, not necessarily for
publication, but for the information of
the editor This is about the 'steen
millionth time this has been stated,
but once in while somebody forgets. y
The Robesonian and other papers
have made such announcements 'steen
billion times, but it's no use. Perhaps
correspondents who are really rep1ca-
BILE would quit if they knew why
the editor has to dump their commu-
nication into the waste basket. The
reason he has to do it is to head off
takers and keep himself from being
imposed on. Nine out of ten unsigned
communications attempt to deceive the
editor and break into print by means
of fake, pure and simple. Othe1 S
are the work of those too coWardly
to come out in the open. Yet there
are communications coming from peo-
pie who are modest and we'll inten-
toned, but as the editor does not
know it he is compelled to class them
with the takers and towards who are
trying to work the newspapers.
Honest, we'll intentioned people
ought to quit the anonymous bust
ness because they lay themselves liza
BILE to suspicion. Every unsigned com
munication that newspaper recelv-
es arouses suspicion and no careful
editor will run suspicious or suspected
matter in his paper. He has to pro-
tect the public from being imposed on
by takers. He has to protect the pa
per from buttinskies and libelous mat
ter. He is necessarily bound to keep
somebody unknown to the jury from
pulling the wool over his eyes. In
doing that some good, worthy comrnu-
nications have to be thrown on the
junk heap with those from takers and
towards.
OF course, Editor Sharpe can't be
blamed for junk-heaping unsigned
stuff. He does not know but what it
comes from some alien spy. How is
he to know genuine stuff from fake
stuff when the writer sends in his dope
without the least bit of responsibility
and good faith attached to it in the
shape of a name-"not for publica-
tion"-but for the assurance Of the
editor that the communication is not
loaded but is all wool and a yard wide
entirely too good and fit for publice-
ton to be marked with suspicion and
cremated along with condemned junk
Those who do not send along nam =
with communications are to blame
themselves for the measly class into
which editors put their anonymous
articles.