The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-11-25
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TribuIations of an Editor
By JORGE

DoAAJ
Through mere mischance, however. they are not
running it. But that don't discourage 'em.
SWarIns of them have typewriters and fill our
office with instructions protests at neglect Of
such instructions and loud outcries that we
are the basest of villains because we can't see
how wonderful are their ideas.
Comrades who can turn out articles like Ford
does Lzzies, but not invariably of the same high
quality, wall loud and long if each and every
article from their sacred typewriter is not pub
lshed at once and in toto-as though their
ticles and their ideas are the only thing to be
considered and should be cherished like mama
dropped from heaven or wherever mama drops
from. These comrades are blessed with
bun1ptiousness that originates in petty bour-
geos self ccnceit that does them 10 credit.
Then we have the "spetz' type, with interests
so narrow that the material supplied by his or
her organization is insisted on as the most fear
full Importance, the fate Of the world revou-
ton hangs on the putting it ION the front page
and-usually-"in box" or with big stream
er headline across the page"
This type will argue Gf in the office for end
less time to convince us that we are counter
revolutionists, nothing less, if we don't see eye
to eye with him, as though the deepest desire
of the comrades on the staff is to spoil a good
story and make the revolution difficult.
If rejected, he goes out with rage in his heart
to spread the message far and wide that the
editor should be shot md the Daily is mo
good" If accepted even, he suspiciously glares
at us and wants to follow us into the printshop
to assure himself that he is not being hood
winked by these scoundrels on the staff.
Others outside the city, but of the same type,
will send us a wire containing not only the
story, but detailed instructions, nay, ORDERS!
telling us Just what sort of headline to use
and of course, ION IT, front page" and other
minor things. Purely dsregardng little matters
like technical possibilities or political consider
ations.
Away with all trifles like revolt in Argentina,
anti-Soviet plot, maneuver of Hoover which
must be exposed Their stuff must take the
mainnlast or we are cursed high and low and
protest is dispatched to the standardization
also knows beans about the problems of actually
getting out paper, and may be impressed by
stern and self-righteous protest.
Then we have those who get bright idea
that time don't exist. If they dash off story
by mail from their village two days out of New
York, on Monday it must appear miracu-
lousy in Tuesdays Daily Worker or solemn COM
plant is registered with the Polt- Bureau of the
Comintern that the Daily 'is crininally neglect
ing" so and so and such and such.
The most amazing thing about this Is that.
with many such comrades they dash off their
protest practically in the same mail with the
article!
Thus We have the following: An incident oc-
Cured in Pittsburgh on Friday October IT, on
Saturday the 18th, a Pittsburgh comrade sent
it in. We get it on Sunday the 18th and
promptly put it in Mondays paper the 10th
Our comrade, who has abolished time sits down
on the goth and writes us a vitriolic protest.
We are this and that for "negecting" it, The
stupidity of this conrade is the greater be-
cause he has worked on the F'reiheit and is sus-
pected Of having good sense
This is not to say that the Daily Worker never
makes mistakes. We do-who does not? In
the same Pittsburgh district the comrades ar
ranged a demonstration for Saturday November
LIST. They let us in on the secret bit late for
lis to help. as the best we could do was to get
it in the paper of Friday. october 31st, which
wouldn't get there till Monday
And by pure carelessness on our part the
would be on Monday while the story said Satur-
day Did we do that by design Just out of GUS
Sedness? One would think so from the way the
comrades, the same one as mentioned above
writes us a long winded protest that he and
others are testing the edge of their tomahawks
in preparation for their scheduled scalp hunting
trip to the New York woods" The comrade,
being raised on Second Avenue, we explain does
not know that tomahawks are of no service in
scalping.
Likewise. the staff, perhaps even Red Sparks.
who had nothing at all to do with it, is belabored
because somebody. probably the head of the Ma
tional Election Committee, who blithely agrees
with the protest of the comrade in question
without perceiving his own fault in the matter,
arranged for election editions that were fore
doomed to be Disappointing Foredoomed as our
"desk-man" warned because in the Midwest
edition, for example, we had to cover six dis
tricts and the lord knows how many states cleo
ton problems. :
This rather obtruse genius follows this with a
complaint that the appeal of the Central Com
mittee on the elections printed in the Daily of
November Bird. reached Pittsburgh when they
were busy tabulating the election returns" and
says sardonicaly that city editor must have
head on his shoulders"
He ought to know, because he was CITY editor
once but is no longer. Thoueh how in the heck
city editor, with even dozen heads, could
generate Central Committee statement before
tho CeptroJ Co,,,,,,ittoo bod -o,.,.tt.;..-