St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1942-05-08
THIS
WORLD
Reflections Of A
Small Time Editor

A reader wants to know why we
write this column every now and
then. adding you should spend
your time writing decent editO-
rails" My reader critic lives in a
rural area and perhaps is of the
opinion that your correspondent
leads a life of ivory tower ease.
We gain that impression from
other parts of the letter. A glance
at this paper with its four pages
potent pages we hope, should con-
vince our letter-writing friend that
though our spirits are big, we are
small in size. AS far as our edl-
torials are concerned, we have
found it easier to get across an idea
in a more or less personal column
than in the average editorial. For
awhile editors despaired over the
editorial page reader interest OF
even the big dailies.
It was necessary to assign men
like Gideon Seymour, editorial ed
itor of the Minneapolis Star
Journal, to doctor up the pages to
compete with the wOmen's pages,
Walter Winchell or the comics. We
must say while on the subject that
Mr.. Seymour does a fine job and
we know of no editorial page
among the big-time dailies which
has gained as great following OF
all classes and kinds of people. The
Star-JOurnal editorial page is def
initely a fine influence on the minds
of the people of the Northwest.
But getting back to our own job
a lot of people have no idea how
many jobs a small editor has. He
is usually and is, in this instance,
a Jack of all trades. He's a part
time office boy and janitor, tele-
phone answerer, collector, ad sales
manager, circulation manager,
makeup man, information clerk,
town trouble shooter, financial
wizard, social worker, job finder,
editor and publisher. Sure it's too
many jobs for one poor puny little
guy, but he's got them and who is
going to volunteer to relieve him
of some of them. True, several per-
sons draw pay checks each Satur-
day from your favorite paper, but
the work behind getting those
checks begins and ends with we
editors frayed efforts.
Sure, it's fun You get to meet
a lot of "big Shots" big people in
name and deed and many, many
important folks you are not glad to
remember.
Sure, you get to talk to men like
the late Floyd B. Olson, you know
good guys like John McDonough or
Judges Fred B. Wright, Luther
Youngdahl or Earl Lyons. You
change an idea or two with person
alities like Mary Mcleod Bethune,
Mabeth Hurd Paige, A. Phillip
Randolph, Earl Dickerson, Lester
Granger, Walter White, Roy Will
kins, George E. Leach, Stephen
Early, Clarence CLANCY, the late
George Arthur or the late Maurice
L. Rothschild.
Handshakes, words and more
with folks like Marian Anderson,
Ethel Walters, Jessie Owens, Paul
Robson, an argument with Bill
Robinson, a peek at ex-champ Jack
Johnson while he was in Leaven-
worth prison, and renewed CONVEX
satiOn with him as he toured with
a freak side-shOw, Jack Dempsey,
Jack Thompson, Harry Wills, Sam
LangfOrd, John Henry Lewis,
Henry Armstrong, Big Bill Tate,
Tommy Gibbons, Johnny Tillman.
Countless other ring celebrities in
Guiding our present champ have
rubbed SKINS" as Cab Galloway
would say, with the writer.
We have lived to know s. A.
Stockwell, one of the grandest
men this North Star State has ever
developed. If he had cared less for
humanity and more for self he
might now be serving in the high
est lawmaking body of the country.
This newspaper business is hard
work but you get to know folks.
You meet a lot of "phOnies" but
sober reflection cOnvinces you that
there is some good in most of US.