Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-04

observations Of q Senator Some Of the
finest newspaper men in Washington
devote themselves almost exclusively
to this so-called local or regional news.
They are not advertised as widely as
their colleagues who write powerful
pieces on general news. but they PR
form an intensely valuable duty to the
reading public. Theirs is the hard
part OF Washington news-gathering.
They pound the. marble corridors of
the House and Senate office buildings,
gathering paragraph here and another
there, and wearing out a lot of shoe
leather. The greatest of these In his
DAY was Louis Ludlow. Lou Ludlow
represented newspapers in Indianapolis,
Ind; Louisville. KY; Columbus, OHIO;
Jacksonville, Fla; papers in Colorado,
Oregon. Washington and Alaska. We
used to say that Ludlow had all the
newspapers no one else had. Long of
limb and indefatigable, he covered more
ground per minute than Col Lindbergh,
Man-o'-War or a Maj. Segrave ever
dreamed of.
Politics Got Ludlow.
It is a matter Of legend that Lou
Ludlow met Senator in the Office of
Secretary Of War Garrison during the
Wilson administration. The Senator
was leaving Mr.. Garrison's ONCE as
Ludlow was entering The Senator had
his car waiting out in front of the
building to drive him direct to the
Capitol. Ludlow roamed about the war
Office, and on foot visited the Inter-
state Commerce Commission, the Post
ONCE Department and the Federal
Trade Commission and was walking out
OF the Senate Office Building when his
friend the Senator arrived there in his
high-Speed automobile. Ludlow came
to bad end. He is a member of
Congress now from the Indianapolis
district.
The duties of the press association
correspondent are very eXacting. He
must get all the news and get it ahead
of his press association rivals. To be
five minutes late on any important
news development in Washington is
to merit a severe call-down from
end of a wire The job of the
special correspondent in Washington
is quite easy. After the pres associa-
lions have corralled all the news
that is fit to print the special cor
respondent must dig up something the
press associations have missed; some
thing big and important and exclusive.
Try and do 1t and see how you like It,
There Is a definite and fundamental
difference between the two types of
Washington correspondents, and any
one of them capable of thinking two
thoughts in row is alert to an ele-
mental principle Of journalism. Here
is the reason:
Suppose there is an exciting debate
in the Senate. Senator Jim Watson
of Indiana and Senator Pat Harrison
of Mississippi go to the mat in COL
loQuy. They become so forensic in de-
bate as to incline the galleries to be-
lieve that fist fight impends.
Two Great Debaters.
Jim Watson Is so much of a Re-
publican he really enjoys reading Moth
ing in Democratic newspapers except
the death notices. Pat Harrison is
such a rabid Democrat he gets up at
6 o'clock every morning in order to
have long day in which TO hate Re-
publicans.
1t Is the function of the press asso-
Citations to report what is said on the
floor.
1t is the duty Of the special cor
respondent to know that Immediately
following the Senate debate Pat Har-
rison goes over. and placing his right
arm about Jim Watson's shoulder ex-
claims:
eogue you ever heard?"
And that Senator Watson's reply Is:
mo, Pat: ami"
do not wish to be personal. The
great newspaper which sponsors this
national radio series offers such an
impressive emphasis of the point have
in mind, am going to tell you about
1t.
The Washington Star prints the news
exactly as it comes from Byron Prices
Associated Press Bureau.
But The Star goes further. It has on
its front page nearly every day signed
story by Gould Lincoln. Competent,
honest, dispassionate, Mr.. Lincoln un-
dertakes not merely to tell the news
but to disclose the significance of 1t.
In other words, you have the situa-
ton where the average newspaper
reader is too much concerned with
other affairs of life to work these things
out for himself. He expects his news
paper to have man in Washington
to do it for him. Most newspapers
have men here to do just that. to say
what the words of public men signify
and what events in Washington
portend.