The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1922-09-16
Will lrwin---Ace Among
Writers of Fact and Fiction


VINO knew more about the haunts ~
oan francisco than the police de-
teetiVes oil the Golden Gate CITY:
knew the people Of the mining camps
anu the life in the melting pot ia
miiiar on the Pacific Coast. For a
m he was on the staff of the New
YORK Sun. Then came the offer of
the managing editorship OF the Nc
Clure's Magazine.
1t was a hot. sultry day in Sum-
mer. Sixteen years had passed since
that editorship was offered him and
we sat In a stuffy little Office ecount-
ing newspaper experiences. The
man was on his way to the West.
This time he was going back to gath
er threads and weave in fiction
form the story of a once great mining
camp on the Continental Divide.
What was your most interesting
newspaper assignment" asked, ex-
pecting to get some story of the
World War where he served as a
special writer and chief of the for
eign department on public informa-
tion. He paused for a moment try
ing to remember a date. II was April
Is, 1906.
MY most interesting newspaper
e~xperience?" he repeated my ques-
ton. as II his mind were shifting the
scenery hack into the past.
1T consisted in sitting at a desk
and writing all the time for eight
days." he continued. II had been for
two years as a sort of star por
of the New York Sun and had Just
resigned to become editor of Nc
Clure's Magazine. l was in the Office
OF McClure's, giving the job a pre-
liminary overlook when the news
came that San Francisco had been
shaken down by an earthquake. |
knew San Francisco. | rushed down
to the Office of the Sun and found
that for the first time in 20 years they
were holding an editorial council in
the morning. The situation was des-
perate. The Sun was conducting a
press bureau Independent of the AS
ISOLATED Press. They had only one
correspondent in San Francisco. II
anything happened to him, Ii seemed
likely that they would be scooped on
the biggest news story since the Civil
War. AS II turned out later, the cor
respondent, the late George Hamlin
Fitch, did no come to time through
no fault of his own. He had on his
hands his W burning newspaper
and he had turned our job over to
an assistant who faithfully filed copy
for eight days, but neglected to in
form the telegraph office that the Sun
was press bureau" The operators
had established the rule Of throwing
all copy on the floor except press
bureau stuff.
II wanted to go to San Francisco
but they decided l was needed in
New York. On the suggestion Of Mr..
Lord, the famous old managing edi-
tor OF the Sun, / telegraphed to
friends and acquaintance and news
papermen whom / knew all over the
Pacific Coast, offering them any price
to send us such news as they could
pick up. From then on, l sat there
for eight days and did the running
story of the disaster.
The first night | turned out by
typewriter and dictation IA columns
and on no night did do less than
eight columns. This is said to be a
record for production of copy. On
about the third afternoon when the
story had died down a little the city
editor suggested that / put in the af-
ternoon writing an account of San
Francisco. At that moment, the city
was still being troubled with settling
| shocks. and Ii was uncertain whether
1t would all be destroyed. Moreover.
the fire was not yet checked. I wrote,
l remember, with considerable emo
ton, the copy boy taking away the
sheets as / finished. The late Frank
lin Mathews, then a copy reader on
the Sun. took a phrase from the
story and headed 1t. THE City That
Was" It was not until after the
smoke OF the disaster cleared away
that | realized that this copy had
made a hit. 1t was afterward pub
lished in book form and is selling
yet.
However, the most interesting
thing to men about this adventure
was its mental effect. / was work
ing not only under a nervous strain
but under an emotional strain for
was uncertain until late in the day
about the fate of my friends n
family in San Francisco. l probably
averaged no more than two hours
Sl6tD d hight uutih Sh0
At the end of the second day. ! was
so tired that | thought l could not
go on. Then suddenly l seemed to
get my second wind. felt no IA
tigue at all. I felt capable OF going
on forever.
"It was long years after that read
in William James paper Powers OF
Men, of that reserve of conscious
ness upon which men draw when un-
der exceptional strain. am sure l
had drawn on that. Mr.. James said
that when this happens n feels no
reaction after he has finished. That
was exactly my experience. On the
ninth day, l took a day on, went to a
large party with friends and sat out
half the night talking and listening
to the music.
Another curious mental phenom-
enon manifested itself and have
never heard anyone record a similar
-16AnIU 0rnQa |