The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1920-01-30
PRINTING A PAPER

A real newspaper comes in for
more criticism than any other bust
ness in the world. The finest indoor
sport is making criticism of a news
paper be it either good, bad or indif-
ferent and these criticisms extend
from pointing out the mistakes in
print to pointing out mistakes of the
editor no matter what his stand may
be upon any subject. The editor
from years of criticism has grown
more or less case hardened to these
shafts but he has never grown so old
or so tough that word of cheer or
praise does not warm the cookies of
his heart and he probably receives
less praise than criticism while he Is
living. We are reminded of this fact
by noting an article in trade paper
about the way to run a newspaper in
which the following clipping stood
out above the rest:
Some papers announce that they
print all news, let the chips fall
where they may, This sounds nigh
|ty fine, In our Office we skip many
items and fail to see others. II no
good can come from the publication
of an item which will wiring moth
er's heart bring sorrow to an inno-
cent child or wreck the peace of
suffering wife, we don't print that
item. Call it suppression If you
please, we decide these matters for
ourselves, each on its own merits"
| Since this has always been the pol
icy of the editor of The Herald we
were glad that others of the craft
had the same ideas and policies and
it only served to remind us that there
have been times without number
when we would forget to print an
item that would cause sorrow and
suffering to the family of man or
woman who had gone wrong and had
come into the limelight of publicity.
We could have printed the whole
story and caused fresh suffering or
1--we could forget it and hurry on to
the local news. 1t has always been
forgotten and yet many Of these
same people who we kept from going
to Jail or being forced to leave town,
these same people after their little
episode was forgotten would come
around to jump on the editor for
l some trivial offense or would want us
dump on their neighbor for some
: fancied wrong. But nevertheless We
0 have adhered to the rule not to print
. everything.
VI All is grist that comes to the mil
(. and everything is news that comes t
the ears eyes of an editor but Their,
are times when a country newspape
man has too big heart and feels to'
L kindly toward mankind in general Il
print everything. We have no fea
sr from the angry official who hates Il
If be criticised or the malefactor VIII
N has outraged society or the man with
H. out a conscience who wants to roug
in ride over his fellow man. We wi
IS speak our thoughts at all times wit
G, the sole idea of lettering condition
Of everywhere but personal matters tina
enter into the very sanctuary of tn
Ii homes and tears the hearts of tn
err family are not chronicled and neve
M will be.
,k Some day when the editor is lai
IN away for good there will be man
il people who will remember that
er saved their family from humiliatio
and sorrow when by a scratch of tn
Dy pen he could have ruined the chara
n ter of all of them COR life but tn
eh words were never written. Man
ne men will recall that they steppe
to from the straight and narrow path fl
lie an instant and publicity of their a,
n would have sent them to suicide p
an litically and socially. They are no
tn respected people Of their communal
,e. while the editor-well, he continue
". to grind out copy day by day viii
ed waiting for the millennium when al
is-edIt0rs viii get the glad hand from