The Washington herald., 1920-01-22
Folks and Things
Around Washington
Labert St. Clair.
Labert ST. Clair

Now that the campaign Is coming
on there is a young reporter in wash
ington whose work is attracting a
great deal of attention and the old
timers declare that n he keen, up
the lick he has started some day he
Is going to make a right capable
newspaper man
This young fellows name IN william
Howard Taft He writes for Mr.. Cur
It's paper up in Philadelphia and
several other papers around the eoun-
try.
A lot Of working newspaper men
around town would like to know
Taft's secret for getting news. No
body ever sees him around
political headquarters. or buzzing
politicians when they come into
town. yet several times a week
he breaks right out on the
1ont pages and seems 10 have the
inside story of current political hap
penings. If Mr.. Taft will advise some
of the older reporters how he man
ages to do this work without dig
ging they certainly will be much
obliged to him.
II may not be fair to discourage a
young writer who is trying to get
along. but authoritative Information
Is to the effect that Mr.. Taft turns
out what is known in newspaper
ofices as dirty copy" That is to
say. that his copy comes into the
office Of the newspaper for which
he works frightfulIy lacerated by a
large black lead pencil. or course,
nobody ever changes Mr.. Taft's COPY
after IL reaches the newspaper Of
ice and II isn't necessary because
ne makes such a powerful lot Of
changes himself before he turns the
copy in.
Before going on his present job
as reporter. this same Mr.. Taft
held a repetorial job on a Cincinnati
paper some thirty years ago. Since
that time, of course, he has had
Jobs at one thing or another such
as being President. etc. but he now
Is back on the old job because he
can have more fun at II than any
thing else that he ever did.
Sam Gray, who has been one of
the expert reporters of House de-
bate for almost twenty years and
who probably makes more good
grammar out of bad than any man
alive, is about to turn author. Sam
has been studying the history OF
debates of great legislative bodies
for all time and he now plans to
put in narrative form the story OF
these debates.
things that Gray has discovered Is
that in the old days of Ben Jon.
son. debates in the house of COM
mons were not reported by any ex-
cept the memory method" Jon
son used to drop around and lister
to the debates IL he had time bu;
if he chanced to be detained at a
coffee house or some other similar
place he would pick up the debate
from hearsay and then put II or
paper as best he could. Sometimes
Jonson was two or three days be.
hind the house on his report. bu,
eventually he always brought il ur
10 date. Gray says that his inves-
LEGATIONS have convinced him that
many OF the most famous speeches
with which English statesmen OF
the eighteenth century are credited
with having delivered never were
delivered by them at all. but were
the product OF the brains OF the
man who reported debate as Jonson
did.
1t is no secret that IL some OF the
debates in the American Congress
were not made readable by sucf
men as Gray that many statesmen
would find themselves greatly en-.
barrassed upon reading the Record