Evening star., 1934-05-06
Introduction.

Introduction.
THE place is the United States;
the time full fifty years gone
by. You are living in the
L midst of the high old times
of the Eighties, and as you sit
| in YOUR anti-macaSsared armchair
reading your newspaper, no grinding
| of automobile gears, no radio jazz
disturbs your contemplation of the
news of the day. No telephone rings,
for you have not yet seen your
personal need for this new tangled
invention, and besides you are not
sure that electric wires strung to your
roof would be safe in thunderstorm
As you stretch your toes toward the
blaze of your Franklin stove, you
search your paper for the columns OF
Washington news; you are interested
above all else in the doings at the
National Capital Indeed, the eyes of
the whole country are focused upon
this CITY of Government on the banks
| of the Potomac, for many things are
happening there, and history Is being
made every day upon Capitol Hill.
1t is about fifteen years since the
end of the Civil War, and the trying
period of the Reconstruction is only
Just over. The Nation is SOLDERING up
after its postwar orgy of spending and
extravaganza and is once more getting
down to work. Industry is growing
by leaps and bounds, railroads are
being consolidated, strong partner
ships and trade combinations are be-
ing formed, and financial eiants-some
say financial pirates-are abroad in
the land.
In Washington the Republican
poWers-that-be are trembling before
the displeasure of the voters. and the
Democrats are rejoicing in their sure
hope of victory in the next election
and the chance for trying out their
ideas of low tariffs. Civil Service Re-
form is burning question while the
low moral tone of governmental in
stitutions is an open scandal. Your
favorite Senators and Congressman,
as you call your Representatives. are
taking their part in the colorful drama
that is being played at the Capital,
and you are of course vitality inter-
ested in their performance.
On your parlor table there are
copies of the magazines of the day.
but these are few and thin. You get
the most vivid pictures of the con-
temporary scene from your newspaper.
which like all other journals of the
land, has its branch Office in Wash
ington in Newspaper Row, those
shabby brick buildings that line the
east side of Fourteenth Street just
below F. There are about one hum
dred and twenty-five correspondents
in the Capital in this decade of the
Eighties; there are an equal number
of departmental employees who supple
ment their pay from Uncle Sam by
furnishing Washington news to their
home papers; and in addition there
are also a few syndicate bureaus
which supply Washington matter more
cheaply to the smaller newspapers.
Among the members OF the Wash
ington press of the Eighties, there is
one who has but lately come to Wash
mgton, a slim red-haired young man
from Ohio. wose name is Frank G..
Carpenter and who signs his gossipy
Washington letters in the Cleveland
Leader by the pen name of Carp"
You have undoubtedly read some of
his stories which have been copied in
your own newspaper. When he first
made his appearance on Newspaper
Row, the veteran journalists there
either ignored or patronized him, be-
cause his manner was modest and
his appearance far from impressive,
and because he seemed to find inter-
esting many small details and stories
Of Washington life which they thought
too commonplace. However, as Carp"
began to write in his simple, fresh
style of the daily doings of the Cap
ital, their own papers began to quote
him, and soon his material was being
more copied than that of any other
five correspondents put together. and
in the space of a year or two he had
won his place among the three or
iour men at the top of the journal
lstic profession.
One syndicated story published dur
ing these early Eighties ran as fol-
lows:
"a good man. persons have inquired
of the Idler' if he knew anything
of the personality of Carp" the
Washington correspondent Of the
Cleveland Leader. The gentleman is
Frank G. Carpenter. He is a little
man, not more than five feet eight
inches in height with a thin face,
small mustathe, twinkling gray eyes.
and a head of unmanageable red
hair. He is popular, overfowing with
kindness and good humor, always
anxious to do favor for you or at
least to say a kind word. Retiring and
slightly embarrassed, you would never
take him for the brilliant journalist
he is. Carp" is human drag net.
Everything is fish that comes in his
direction, to be written of now or
stored away for use later on
You may think these letters of his
just bit shocking and perhaps want
ing in delicacy with their gossip, their
stories and their intimate personal
descriptions, but you must remember
they have the definite purpose of
giving true picture of the Washing
ton of the Eighties, and for true
picture all details must be told.
my only criterion in the use OF
matter" writes Frank G. Carpenter
himself at this stage of his career,
sis whether it Is interesting. # 1t
is interesting, whether it relates to