The Wilmington morning star., 1945-03-06
Rv WEsTBROOK PEGLER

| Copyright 1s45, by King Features Syndicate)
| In those days in London, around 1916, we
had in our office precise and arlstocratlc
little fellow named Louis Moore, an Ameri-
can so long from home that he thought in
pounds, shilings and pence and swore IN Eng
ish He ran funny little shoe-strlng news
service for English papers outside London call
ed The Provincials' and could do more tricks
with twenty words of telescoped loW-rate pig
latin than a monkey can on forty yaros Oh
grape vine. Reuters was the standard service
for the British press but Louies clients ap-
parently thought he was something very spe-
cial and unique and he seemed prosperous
Mr.. Moore was very deaf.
He had roll-top desk in a corner and
Hal O'Flaherty and l. fresh cubs from Chi
cago, used to marvel at English Journalism
as Louie sat there night after night, debating
profoundly to his typist on the basis OF his
daily dispatch from New York. According to
the English style he frequently started dis
patch with II learn" or Il am able to
state The perpendicular pronoun was a
prerogative enjoyed by only few of our
| journalists, then, and those few war CORE
spondents in France and the Balkans. OF
| course it was never used on anonymous copy.
It seemed to US silly that a dispatch attribut
ed Louies WERE to our special COM
missioner or 'our New York correspondent, -
but without a by-line, should speak in the
first person but that was their way.
After he had done debating, days work
which seldom took him more than an hour,
Louie and his typist would sort out the flimsy
copies into patches, one for each of his eli
ents. From that littlec ablegram he would
spin out as many as half dozen of his
special dispatches and his method was then
to send them down to the censor in Whitehall
by messenger after which they went to the
telegraph office
When all had been prepared and the copy
was in the envelopes, Mr.. Moore would tap
on the wall beside him and then, but not until
then, there would enter our presence a crea-
ture out of ina gination, named Jerry who
smelled so violently that he was kept in the
little ante-room. This a great imposition
on our telegraph operator, whose wire was
there and it may have shortened his life. His
telegraph machine, incidentally, was a muse
UNI piece unlike any that l have ever seen
in America, with a big black knob, like
darning egg, for a grip. In sending he would
grab this ball and bang it up and down and
his sounder clattered like a rveter's hammer
Even to the lay ear, the accent was coarse
and loud. Jerry had no chair but sat or lay
on pile of newspapers.
Upon being summoned, Jerry, like most
English office boys of the time would grab
his gloves, walking stick and bowler hat and
then would stand at attention near Mr.. Moore
awaiting his instructions and scow]ing like
primitive Bolshevik, for he hated Louie and
the detestation was mutual. Sometimes, when
he came too close, Mr.. Moore, with sensi-
tive wlnclng of his nose would glare at him
and say in soft but firm voice: Stand
little away; you have a beastly effuvum."
And stepping back, would bang his heels and
mutter audibly to us but unneard by Mr.
Moore: Sinking old rascal"
Jerry's stencil was honestly come BY His
father was a fish-monger in Whitechapel and
the family lived in the shop. His presence
strongly suggested fish-heads and tripes and
there was no reason to suspect that he ever
washed.
Louie Moore gave Jerry an allowance for
his bus fare to Whitehall but his usual trans
portation was. the coach of the Rile Mile or
Royal Mail a big red horse-drawn van. He
would wait on the corner at the embankment
and then, with his derby down over his ears
and deity managing his gloves and stick
would hop aboard the springs, and settle
himself and great tidings from ''our special
commissioner 'our New York correspon-
dent would be their way to palpitant
public.
My opinion of the English press was not
stately papers with their leisurely methods
and swollen dignity made better impression
than their "stunt press The stunt press"
was trying to initiate American journalism
but was initiating only faults and doing
it badly. The big papers were constantly amaz-
ing US foreigners with their solemn contempla-
ton of trivialitieS and I remember, serious
discussion by a number of authorities IN re-
Spouse to letter from schoolmaster want
ing to know how deep angle worms Durrow
The best writing OF the First world war, 1T
| seemed to me, was the rushing, rolling prose
of Phillip Gibbs, an Englisman at the British
front. There were other excellent writers but
Gibbs had the grace of Percy Hammond and
force that rolled into waves OF emphasis
with the rhythm of a drum.
| Some of our peope who went TO London
scoffng succumbed to their habits and never
came home except to visit. The IDEA OF all
hands knocking off work in the mlddle OF a
watch to brew pot Of tea in the once nre-
place and smear jam all over the desks ana
keyboards was shock at first, Dut IL was
one custom of English journalism tnat prac-
tically all of us adopted. But lew OF US ever
were infected by their custom OF starving
story "a fortnight since, near Hove sussex
an extraordinary mishap occurred ana leao.
ing up to six dead in smasnup III ule ias'
| line, but giving no names.