, 1921-08-20

before Christmas. and very colo.
Christmas Eve Is q vey-mueh-oe-
eupIed evening everywhere. in a news
paper once especially 30. and ali OF the
twenty odd reporters were out that
night on assignments. and Conway anil
Bronson were the only two remaining
IN the local room. They were the very
best or<riends. in the once and out of
81: but as the city editor had given
Conway the Christmas Eve story TO
write instead OF Bronson. the latter
was Jealous. and their relations were
strained I use the word STORY IN the
newspaper sense. where everything
written for the paper Is a story,
whether Il "A an obituary. or a reading
notice. or n 1rzmatic criticism. OF a
descriptive account OF the crowded
streets n the lighted shop windows
Of q Chr.stmse Eve Conway had m
ished his story quite half an hour be-
fore. and should nave rent Il out to be
mutilated by the blue pencil OF n copy
editor; but as the city editor had twice
appeared a. the door OF the local room.
o@b1 Oa oaa o18 ~
send out on another assignment. both
Conway and Bronson kept on steadily
writing against time. TO keep him on
until sone n else camo IN Conway
had written his concluding paragraph
a dozen times. and bronson had con-
scientiousiy polished and repoilshed a
three-iins personal he was writing.
concerning 4 gentleman unknown to
fame. and who would remain unknown
10 fame until that paragraph appeared
in print.
the third time. and looked a. Epson
with a faint smile of sceptical appre-
citation.
rs that e r Important he asked.
Bronson said. mot very" doubtfuiiy.
as though he did not thlnk his opinion
should be trusted on such a matter. and
eyed the paragraph with critical inter
est Conway rusned his pencil over
his paper, with the tip of his tongue
showing between his teeth. and became
suddenly absorbed.
Well. then. IL you are not very
busy said the city editor. II wish you
would go down TO Moyamensing. They
release that b~ank-robber Quinn to-
night. and II ought q make a good
story. He was sentenced for six years,
! think. but he has been committed for
good conduct and bad health. There
was a preliminary story about 1t in the
ape this morning. n you can get
all the facts from that. It's Christmas
Eve. and all that sort of thins. and you
ought to be able to make something of
It"
There are certain stories written for
a Philadelphia that circle
into print with the regularity of the
seasons. There is the First Sunday
in the Park" for example. which comes
on the FIRST warm Sunday in the spring,
and which is made up OF a talk with a
park policeman who guesses at the
number OF people who have passed
through the gates that day. and an
nouncements of the re-painting of the
boat-houses and the near approach of
the open-air concerts. You end this
story with an allusion to the presence
in the park of the war faced children
of the tenement and the worthy work
ingmen (f II Is a one-cent paper which
the workingmen are likely to read),
and tell how they worshlpped nature IN
the open air. instead OF saying hat in
place of going properly TO church. they
sat around in their shirt-sleeves and
scattered egg-sheils and empty beer
bottles and greasy Sunday newspapers
v No bictu bA1oH AoE NhlCh luc
worthy men who do not work pay
taxes, Then there is the Hottest Sun
day in the Park" which comes up a
month later. when you Increase the
park policeman's former guess by If
teen thousand. and give II q news value
by adding a list of the small boys
drowned in bathing.
The First Haul of Shad- in the
Delaware is another reliable story, as
is also the nrst ice Mt for skating in
the park and hen there IS always the
Thanksgiving story, when you ask the
theatrical managers what they have 10
be thankful for. an4 have them tell
you. For the best season that this the
atre has ever known, sir. and -ffer you
q pass for two; and there is the New
Years story. when you interview the
local celebrities as TO what they most
want for the new ear and turn their
commonplace replies into something
clever. There is also a story on Christ
mas Day. and the one Conway had jug.
written on the street scenes of Christ
mas Eve. After you have written one
of these stories two or three times, you
find IT just as cas- to write It in she
office as anywhere else. One gentle
man OF my acquaintance did his most
unsuccessfully. He wrote his Christ
Ahao-aaN bAOty Will tnt III Vi o2IGC-
tory and the file of a last years paper.
From the year-old nle he obtained the
names of all the charitable institutions
which made a practice of giving their
charges presents and Christmas trees,
and from the directory he drew the
names of their presidents and boards
Of directors. but as he was unfortu-
nately lacking in religious knowledge
and a sense Of humor. he included all
the Jewish institutions on the list. and
they wrote TO the paper and rather OBJ
1ected TO being represented rs decorat-
ing Christmas trees. or in any way
celebrating that particular day. But OF
all stale. fiat. and Improbable stories.
this releasing OF prisoners from Moy-
amensing was the worst. II seemed to
Bronson that they were always re-
leasing prisoners: he wondered how
they possibly left themselves enough TO
make a county prison worth while. And
the city editor for some reason always
chose him to 20 down and see them