Transcriber’s Note

In the following transcription, italic text is denoted by _underscores_
while bold text is denoted by =equal signs=. Small capitals in the
original text have been transcribed as ALL CAPITALS.

See the end of this document for details of corrections and other changes.

             ————————————— Start of Book —————————————




                           NEWSPAPER WRITING
                              AND EDITING

                                  BY

                    WILLARD GROSVENOR BLEYER, PH.D.

               CHAIRMAN OF THE COURSE IN JOURNALISM, AND
                 ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF JOURNALISM IN
                      THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN


                            [Illustration]


              BOSTON   NEW YORK   CHICAGO   SAN FRANCISCO
                       HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
                     The Riverside Press Cambridge




             COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY WILLARD GROSVENOR BLEYER

                          ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


                          The Riverside Press
                       CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
                        PRINTED IN THE U. S. A.




                                  TO
                               A. H. B.




                                PREFACE


Seven years’ experience in trying to train college students in methods
of newspaper writing and editing has convinced the author of the need
of text-books in journalism. Newspapers themselves supply the student
with so miscellaneous a collection of good, bad, and mediocre work
that, with an uncritical taste, he does not always discriminate in
the character of the models which he selects to imitate. Lectures by
experienced editors and writers, although fruitful of much inspiration
and general information, seldom give the student sufficiently specific
and detailed directions to guide him in his daily work. What he needs
is a handbook containing typical examples of all of the kinds of
newspaper work that he is likely to be called upon to do during the
first years of his newspaper experience. These examples should be
carefully selected from well-edited newspapers and should be analyzed
to show the fundamental principles that underlie their construction.
With such a book illustrative of current practices in newspaper
making, he can study more intelligently the newspapers themselves and
can assimilate more completely the advice and information given by
newspaper men in active service. Furthermore, such a book, by giving
specific suggestions with examples of their application, serves as a
guide to aid the student in overcoming his difficulties as he does his
work from day to day. It is to furnish a handbook and guide of this
kind that the present text-book has been prepared.

This book is adapted both for use in college classes in journalism and
for study by persons interested in journalism who are not attending
college. The needs of these two groups are not essentially different.
Both desire to know the basic principles of newspaper writing and
editing and to get the necessary training in the application of these
fundamental principles to their own work. In each chapter, accordingly,
explanation and exemplification are supplemented by material for
practice work.

To formulate a large number of rules for the writing of news stories,
the editing of copy, the writing of headlines, and other kinds of
newspaper work, is plainly impossible, even if it were desirable.
Methods of newspaper making during the last fifty years have undergone
so constant and rapid a readjustment to new conditions in the
transmission of news, in mechanical production, and in the sources
of income, that only a few traditions have remained unchanged. The
tireless effort to secure novelty and variety in present-day journalism
prevents the news story or the headline from becoming absolutely fixed
in form or style. Instead of attempting to formulate dogmatic rules
and directions, the author has undertaken to analyze current methods
of newspaper work with the purpose of showing the reasons for them
and the causes which have produced them. The examples selected to
illustrate these methods have been taken from newspapers in all parts
of the country and are intended to represent the general practices now
prevailing. For obvious reasons names and addresses in most of these
stories have been changed. To retain the newspaper form as far as
possible, the examples have been printed between rules in column width.

Inasmuch as this book is intended to prepare the student for the
kind of work which he is likely to do during the first years of
his newspaper experience, it does not consider editorial writing,
book-reviewing, or musical and dramatic criticism. To discuss these
subjects adequately would require more space than a handbook on
reporting and editing permits.

It is assumed throughout this book that the student of journalism is
familiar with the elementary principles of grammar and rhetoric, and
has had sufficient training in composition to be able to express ideas
in simple, correct English. Faults in such rudimentary matters as
grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are not considered
at all. No attention is given to diction or questions of good usage.
All these matters are fully treated in numerous books on English
composition.

In the discussion of the news story, an emphasis has been given to
the “lead” that may seem disproportionate. This has been done in
the belief that the rapidity with which newspapers are generally
read makes the beginning the most important part of the story. The
average reader gleans the significant facts of each piece of news
from the headlines and the first paragraphs. He expects in the “lead”
the “feature” as well as the gist of the news. To the student this
problem of massing skillfully, in a compact and interesting form, the
substance of his material, is a new one, and he must be shown all
the varied possibilities of this treatment. The author has not been
unmindful of the fact that efforts are being made to break away from
the “gist-of-the-news” beginning, and has given examples of other
forms. For stories in which entertainment rather than information is
the purpose, beginnings that do not summarize may undoubtedly be used
to advantage. In such stories the student must be shown how to arouse
the reader’s interest and curiosity in the first sentences so that he
will read further.

The function of the newspaper has been discussed at some length
in order to call the student’s attention to the importance of the
newspaper as an influence in a democratic government and to point out
the significance of his own work in relation to society. An effort has
been made to analyze the problems of newspaper making in order to show
the fundamental issues involved. The purpose has been, not to settle
these questions dogmatically, but to stimulate the student to think for
himself.

“Newspaper English” has so long been regarded by many teachers of
English as a term of reproach, and instruction in journalistic writing
has been so recently introduced into the college curriculum, that some
English instructors still question the value of systematic training
of students in newspaper writing as a part of the teaching of English
composition. Nevertheless, every teacher of English in the secondary
schools and colleges recognizes the fact that one of the most serious
weaknesses of present-day training in composition is the lack of a
definite aim for the student in his writing, and a corresponding lack
of interest on his part in doing work that has no real purpose. To
report actual events for publication, either in a local newspaper or
in a school paper, gives the student both material and purpose, and to
that extent increases his interest and his desire to write well. If
the application of the principles of English composition to newspaper
writing and editing can be demonstrated to the student, as the author
has attempted to do in this book, the student can undoubtedly be given
valuable practice in these principles through systematic training in
newspaper work.

“Every professor of journalism must write a textbook on journalism in
order to justify his claim to his title,” was the facetious remark made
at the first Conference of Teachers of Journalism. Until journalism
has been taught in colleges and universities long enough to have
developed generally accepted methods of instruction, the text-book
produced by every teacher of the subject must be regarded, not as a
demonstration of his claims to the title, but as a contribution to the
development of methods of teaching based on his own experience. If this
book is of assistance to those who aspire to become newspaper workers
or to those who are undertaking to train students of journalism, it
will have accomplished its purpose.

The author is indebted to the publishers of _Collier’s Weekly_, of the
_American Magazine_, and of the _Independent_ for permission to reprint
material from these magazines. Acknowledgment is also due to the many
newspapers throughout the country from which examples have been taken
and to which due credit has been given whenever the “stories” thus
reproduced have been important or distinctive in character.

The facsimile newspaper headings reproduced in this book represent
styles of type used in newspaper offices throughout the country. These
specimens are included by courtesy of the Mergenthaler Linotype Company
of New York.

  UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN,
    MADISON, March 3, 1913.




                               CONTENTS


       I. HOW A NEWSPAPER IS MADE                                 1

      II. NEWS AND NEWS VALUES                                   17

     III. GETTING THE NEWS                                       29

      IV. STRUCTURE AND STYLE IN NEWS STORIES                    60

       V. NEWS STORIES OF UNEXPECTED OCCURRENCES                101

      VI. SPEECHES, INTERVIEWS, AND TRIALS                      126

     VII. SPECIAL KINDS OF NEWS                                 161

    VIII. FOLLOW UP AND REWRITE STORIES                         194

      IX. FEATURE STORIES                                       211

       X. EDITING COPY                                          255

      XI. THE WRITING OF HEADLINES                              271

     XII. PROOF-READING                                         315

    XIII. MAKING UP THE PAPER                                   322

     XIV. THE FUNCTION OF THE NEWSPAPER                         331

          INDEX                                                 361

                           NEWSPAPER WRITING
                              AND EDITING




                               CHAPTER I

                        HOW A NEWSPAPER IS MADE


=Newspaper Production.= To furnish for a cent or two a fairly complete
record of important events that take place in any corner of the
world, editorial comment, market quotations, reviews of new books,
critiques of plays and concerts, fashion hints, cooking recipes,
cartoons, and illustrations, as well as advertisements of all kinds,
would seem a stupendous, not to say impossible, task if it were not
an everyday phenomenon. A single copy of a daily newspaper in a large
city contains, exclusive of advertising, from 60,000 to 80,000 words,
or as many as does the average novel. These metropolitan papers print
from 100,000 to 900,000 copies each day, numbers far in excess of
the editions of most successful novels. While it takes the novelist
months to produce his work, and his publishers months to print it,
the newspaper is made and printed in from one to ten editions within
twenty-four hours.

The successful achievement of such an undertaking, day by day, requires
extensive equipment and effective organization. The rapid production of
a large edition demands many expensive machines to transform written
matter quickly into type, and huge presses to print the papers at the
highest speed. Furthermore, it makes necessary a large staff to gather
and prepare news and other reading matter, a large force to put this
material into type, to print it, and to distribute the papers, besides
managers and clerks to carry on the many business transactions involved
in so big an enterprise.

=Newspaper Organization.= Although in its main divisions the
organization of newspaper publishing is essentially the same, the
size of a paper determines to a considerable extent the number of
employees and the degree of division of labor among them, as well as
the character and the extent of the equipment. On large papers where
many men are employed and many editions are printed daily, there needs
must be considerable specialization in editing and reporting; while on
small papers the size of the staff requires that each man perform a
variety of tasks. Sometimes conditions of ownership or control, and on
older papers office traditions, modify the usual duties and authority
of different members of the staff.

No one form of organization that can be described in detail, therefore,
will apply to all newspaper offices even when they are of the same
relative size, but a composite type of organization for large
newspapers may be explained to show the division of work.

Newspaper publishing consists of three distinct parts with three
entirely different classes of workers: (1) the business management, (2)
the mechanical force, (3) the editorial staff.

=The Business Management.= The business organization, as its name
implies, has charge of the commercial side of newspaper publishing.
From the financial point of view the purpose of the newspaper is to
make enough money to maintain the paper and to pay dividends to the
stockholders. The object of the business department is to sell as much
advertising space and as many copies of each issue as it possibly
can; and, on the other hand, to pay out for wages and expenses only
so much as is necessary to keep the paper up to a standard that will
insure a good circulation and enough advertising. In short, a newspaper
company, regarded purely in the light of a business enterprise, is not
essentially different from any manufacturing company that produces and
sells a commodity.

The business department is organized with a business manager at its
head, who has complete control of the finances of the paper, subject,
of course, to the owner or board of directors of the company. Under
him are: (1) the circulation manager, (2) the advertising manager, (3)
the cashier. The circulation manager directs the work of subscription
canvassers, the drivers and the assistants on the paper’s distributing
wagons, the mailing clerks and helpers, and a force of office clerks
and bookkeepers. In the advertising department are the advertising
solicitors and the office clerks and bookkeepers. The cashier has
assistants and a bookkeeper to aid him. The business office of the
newspaper is frequently referred to as the “counting room.”

=The Mechanical Force.= The mechanical side of newspaper making is
divided into three relatively distinct departments: (1) the composing
room, where, under the direction of a foreman and a copy-cutter, the
type is set up by compositors or is cast in linotype or monotype
machines by operators, and where the type is arranged by make-up men
in pages as it is to appear in print; (2) the stereotyping room, where
these pages of type are used to make molds into which lead plates are
cast by stereotypers under the direction of the foreman of the room;
(3) the press-room, where the papers are printed, in charge of a
superintendent with pressmen and machinists as his assistants. Attached
to the composing room is the proof-reading department with a head
proof-reader, several assistant readers, and as many copy-holders who
read aloud the copy for the proof which is to be corrected.

=The Editorial Staff.= The writing and editing of a newspaper, with
which this book is particularly concerned, is divided into two distinct
parts: (1) the gathering, the writing, and the editing of the news;
and (2) the interpreting of the news. The two branches are different
in the kind of work involved, and are relatively independent in the
organization of the office. To present clear, concise, accurate,
timely, and interesting reports, or “stories” as they are called, of
everything that is going on in the world of sufficient importance to
be of interest to any considerable number of readers, is the aim of
the news department. The more quickly, the more attractively, the more
completely the news can be presented, the greater is considered the
success of the newspaper from the point of view of the news staff.
The editorials of a newspaper attempt to interpret and to explain the
news, or to make the news the basis of argument upon issues growing
out of questions of the day. The attitude taken by a newspaper on the
questions at issue is determined by what is known as its “editorial
policy.”

The editor-in-chief, under whom are one or more editorial writers, has
charge of the editorial columns and determines the editorial policy,
subject to whatever control of this policy the owner or directors
desire to exercise. The editorial writers and the editor-in-chief
confer daily to consider the attitude that the paper shall take in
its editorials and to divide the work of writing them. Some of the
editorials are written by men in other professions who are not on the
regular staff, and often by such members of the news staff as the
financial editor or the dramatic critic. Most of the editorials,
however, are the work of the editorial writers.

The news staff is in charge of the managing editor, who is usually
responsible directly to the owner or the directors. As aids the
managing editor has the assistant managing editor, and the news editor,
or the night editor, to take charge of “making up” the newspaper The
gathering and writing of local news is in charge of the city editor
and the night city editor, with an assistant city editor. The news of
the state, the nation, and the world, as it comes by mail, telegraph,
and telephone, is under the control of the telegraph editor. The city
editor directs the reporters; the telegraph editor the correspondents.
Particular kinds of news are collected and edited by persons in
especially designated positions, such as the sporting editor, the
society editor, the financial and market editor, the dramatic and
musical editor, the real estate editor, the railroad editor, the marine
editor, the labor editor, all of whom usually work under the direction
of the managing editor. The special magazine sections of the Saturday
or the Sunday issues are in charge of the magazine, or Sunday, editor.
An exchange editor goes over all the newspapers received in exchange
to clip and edit material worth reprinting. Cartoonists, artists, and
photographers supply the materials for newspaper illustrations, or
“cuts,” as they are called. A librarian has charge of the reference
books and newspaper files, as well as of the collection of biographical
sketches and portraits of prominent people known as the “morgue.”

All of the manuscript, or “copy,” is edited and is supplied with
headlines at the copy desk in charge of a head copy-reader with a
number of copy-readers as assistants. “Rewrite men” are often employed
to take the facts of a story from another newspaper and rewrite
them, or to receive material over the telephone from reporters and
correspondents and write it up for publication. Unsatisfactory work of
a reporter may be turned over to a rewrite man to be put in the desired
form, for rewrite men must be able to take the raw material of the news
furnished by others and turn it into a well-written news story.

=Getting News into Print.= The relation of all these departments to
one another is best shown by following through the process by which
a piece of news gets into print. The telegraph editor on a newspaper
in the capital city of the state, for example, gets from an office
telegraph operator, a typewritten dispatch signed by the paper’s
correspondent in a city of a neighboring state to the effect that
the attorney-general has dropped dead in the lobby of a hotel. The
telegraph editor at once notifies the city editor so that he may assign
reporters to get the local phases of the piece of news, or “to cover
the local end of the story,” as the newspaper workers say. One reporter
is sent to interview the members of the late attorney-general’s family;
another is dispatched to the governor’s office for an interview with
the governor on the deceased official; a third is asked to look up the
statute concerning such an unexpected vacancy in the office; a fourth
is assigned to find out the probable successor to the position.

After informing the city editor and the managing editor, the telegraph
editor at once turns over the dispatch to the head copy-reader to have
it edited and to have a headline written. Meanwhile one of the rewrite
men is delegated to get a biographical sketch of the attorney-general
from the office “morgue” and to write an obituary. The artist looks
up the half-tone engraving, or “cut,” of the official in the “morgue”
and selects an appropriate border or “frame” in which to put it. The
editor-in-chief is informed of the attorney-general’s death so that he
may make appropriate editorial comment. Meanwhile the telegraph editor
has sent a telegram to the correspondent who furnished the first news
of the event instructing him to “wire” five hundred words more giving
all the particulars.

When the dispatch has been edited and a headline written by one of
the copy-readers, the latter returns it to the head copy-reader, who
glances over it and sends it in a pneumatic tube to the composing room.
The tube delivers it at the copy-cutter’s desk. The copy-cutter glances
at the sheet with the headline for the story, and then at the two pages
of copy. The headline he sends by the copy distributor to the headline
machine to be set up. The two pages of copy he cuts into three pieces
or “takes” so that the story may be set up on three different linotype
machines. If the copy of the whole story were given to one machine
operator, it would take three times as long to get it into type.

Meanwhile some of the reporters have returned from their assignments.
Each one reports what he has found to the city editor, and is told how
long a story to write, and possibly what to emphasize in the beginning,
or “lead.” As each story is finished it is turned over to the city
editor, who glances over it and passes it on to the head copy-reader.
Thence it goes through the same course as the first dispatch.

After the copy of the dispatch has been set up in type, it is taken to
a small hand press, and several impressions called “galley proofs,” or
“proofs,” are printed, or “pulled,” from the type. One of the proofs,
with the original copy, goes to the proof-room to be compared with the
copy and carefully corrected by the proof-readers. Another proof-sheet
is sent to the managing editor, who is responsible for everything
that goes into the paper; a third proof is delivered to the news
editor who arranges, or “makes up,” the news stories on each page of
the paper before it is printed. After the proof-readers have corrected
the proof, and the editors have made any necessary changes in it, the
proof-sheets are returned to the operators so that they may make the
necessary alterations by resetting whatever is changed. From the type
thus corrected a second set of proofs, called the “revise,” is printed
and these are distributed to the editors as the first were. The type is
then ready to be used in the process of printing the paper.

Half an hour or more before an edition is to be printed, the news
editor gathers the proofs of the news stories that are to be put into
that edition, and goes to the composing room to arrange this news on
the several pages. The importance of the news of the attorney-general’s
death would warrant its being given a prominent place on the first
page. The most prominent position is the right-hand outside column.
If there is no news of greater importance, the news editor directs
the “make-up” men in the composing room to put the type of this story
in the outside column of the first page “form.” The “form” consists
of a “chase,” or steel frame, somewhat larger in inside dimensions
than the page as it appears when printed. Into this “chase,” which
rests upon a smooth iron-top table, the type is arranged between the
brass or lead column rules which make the lines between the columns of
type. The advertisements are placed in the forms under the direction
of the advertising department just as the news matter is put in under
the direction of the news editor, the page and position on the page
usually having been stipulated by the advertiser in making a contract
for a certain “position” for his “ad.” When each page is filled with
type, the whole page is “locked” in the “form” by a series of screws
or wedges (called “quoins”), so that the form may be handled without
letting the type drop out. If the type falls out and gets mixed up, it
is said to be “pied,” and the mixture is called “pi.”

The forms, after being locked, are taken to the stereotyping room where
a paper mold, or matrix, commonly called a “mat,” is made of each page.
These matrices, bent in semicircular form, are placed in a casting box
into which molten lead is poured to make the semicircular lead plates
to be used in printing. In large offices the casting of these plates
is done by placing the matrix in an automatic stereotyping machine,
known as the autoplate, which turns out completed plates in less than
a minute. After the plates have been trimmed and planed on the back to
make them exactly the right thickness, they are ready to be put on the
press.

These semicircular lead plates, which are thus cast in exact
reproduction of the page forms of type, are fastened on the cylinders
of the press. As the cylinders revolve, ink rollers touch the surface
of the plates and ink the projecting letters. The paper from a large
roll, as it passes between the cylinders and the blanket rolls which
press the paper against the inked plates on the cylinders, takes up
the ink and thus has printed on it the impression of the page of type.
Besides printing the pages, the press cuts, folds, and counts the
papers so that the complete newspaper comes from the press ready for
sale or delivery.

As soon as the newspapers are printed, they are turned over to the
circulation department for distribution. Some copies go to the mailing
room to be labeled with little orange-colored address slips and to be
put into the mail sacks, in which they are taken to the post office
or mail trains. Other copies are sold to waiting newsboys, and still
others are taken in the company’s wagon to news stands and carriers all
over the city.

Despite the number and variety of these details in the process of
newspaper making, the news of the death of the attorney-general would
reach the readers in a comparatively short time after the event
occurred. In half an hour from the time the last piece of copy is
written, a complete newspaper containing it is printed and ready for
distribution.

=Speed of Production.= The invention and the perfection of various
mechanical devices used in newspaper making have made possible this
great speed. In the front rank of ingenious pieces of machinery that
have added greatly to rapidity in newspaper publishing stands the
linotype. This machine, which casts solid lines of type, or “slugs”
as they are called, has increased four-fold the speed of production
and has made possible much larger editions. The monotype, which casts
each type separately, has also proved a valuable addition to the means
of turning “copy” into type quickly. For the casting of semicircular
stereotype plates the autoplate machine is an important time-saving
device. The time required for “running off” an edition is now reduced
from two- to five-fold by making duplicate sets of these stereotype
plates and by putting them on from two to five large presses so that
these presses print the same edition simultaneously.

Improvements in newspaper-printing machinery have resulted in huge
presses that take paper from large rolls and turn out completed
newspapers printed in one or two colors, cut, folded, and counted,
ready for distribution. They can be adjusted to print papers from four
to forty-eight pages in size, and can produce twelve-page papers at
the rate of 144,000 copies an hour. Magazine sections and “comics” are
printed in four colors, usually yellow, red, blue, and black, on large
presses under conditions practically the same as those just described.

In order to insert the latest news without taking the time necessary
to make up new forms, prepare new matrices, and cast new stereotype
plates, a device called the “fudge” is employed. After the first page
form of a late edition has been used to make a matrix, about six inches
of type is taken out from two columns in the lower left hand corner
or the upper right hand corner of the page, and a new matrix and a
stereotype plate are made in which this corner is a blank. This new
plate with the blank space is then put on the press in place of the
regular first page plate. As fast as late news is received, it is set
up on linotype lines, or “slugs,” and these lines are clamped on a
small cylinder in the press. When the paper runs through the press,
these linotype lines on the cylinder are printed, often in red ink, in
the space on the front page left unprinted by the blank in the plate.
To save more time with this device, a telegraph wire is run to the
press room and a linotype machine is installed beside it, so that the
latest news can be cast on linotype “slugs” and put on the “fudge”
cylinder as fast as the reports are received by telegraph. Results of
baseball games, races, and other sporting events can be printed to
advantage by means of the “fudge.”

Recently a mailing machine has been introduced that folds, wraps, and
addresses each copy separately as fast as papers are fed into it.

In no other process of manufacture that is as complicated as newspaper
making, it is safe to say, has equal speed of production been attained.

=Handling a Big Story.= The scene in a metropolitan newspaper office
following the receipt of the first news of the “Titanic” disaster,
as graphically portrayed by an editor of a New York morning paper,
illustrates the conditions under which important news, received late,
is hurried into print.[1] The account in part is as follows:

  At 1:20 a.m. Monday, April 15, [1912], the cable editor opened
  an envelope of the Associated Press that had stamped on its face
  “Bulletin.” This is what he read:

    Cape Race, N. F., Sunday night, April 14.—At 10:25 o’clock
    tonight the White Star Line steamship “Titanic” called “C. Q.
    D.” to the Marconi station here, and reported having struck
    an iceberg. The steamer said that immediate assistance was
    required.

  The cable editor looked at his watch. It was 1:20 and lacked just
  five minutes of the hour when the mail edition goes to press.

  “Boy!” he called sharply.

  An office boy was at his side in a moment.

  “Send this upstairs; tell them the head is to come; double column,
  and tell the night editor to rip open two columns on the first page
  for a one-stick dispatch of the ‘Titanic’ striking an iceberg and
  sinking.”

  Every one in the office was astir in a moment and came over to see
  the cable editor write on a sheet of copy paper the following head
  [which he indicated was to be set up in this form]:

                        TITANIC SINKING
                           IN MID-OCEAN; HIT
                                 GREAT ICEBERG

  “Boy!” he called again; but it was not necessary—a boy in a newspaper
  office knows news the first time he sees it.

  “Tell them that’s the head for the ‘Titanic.’”

  Then he wrote briefly this telegraphic dispatch, and as he did so he
  said to another office boy at his side: “Tell the operator to shut
  off that story he is taking and get me a clear wire to Montreal.”

  This is what he wrote to the Montreal correspondent, probably at work
  at his desk in a Montreal newspaper office at that hour:

    Cape Race says White Star Liner “Titanic” struck iceberg, is
    sinking and wants immediate assistance. Rush every line you can
    get. We will hold open for you until 3:30.

  “Give that to the operator and find out if we caught the mail on that
  ‘Titanic’ dispatch,” he said quickly to the boy.

  In a moment the boy returned.

  “O.K. on both,” he said.

  The city editor, who had just put on his coat previous to going away
  for the night, took it off. The night city editor, at the head of the
  copy-desk, where all the local copy (as a reporter’s story is called)
  is read, and the telegraph editor stood together, joined later by
  the night editor, for the mail edition had left the composing room
  for the stereotypers and then to the pressroom and from thence to be
  scattered wherever on the globe newspapers find readers.

  The “Titanic” staff was immediately organized, for at that hour most
  of the staff were still at work. The city editor took the helm.

  “Get the papers for April 11—all of them,” he said to the head office
  boy, “and then send word to the art department to quit everything to
  make three cuts, which I shall send right down.”

  Then to the night city editor: “Get up a story of the vessel itself;
  some of the stuff they sent us the other day that we did not use,
  and I ordered it put in the envelope. Play up the mishap at the
  start. Get up a passenger list story and an obituary of Smith, her
  commander.”

  There was no mention of Smith in the dispatch, but city editors
  retain such things in their heads for immediate use, and this
  probably explains in a measure why they hold down their job; also
  having, it might be added, executive judgment, which is sometimes
  right.

  “Assign somebody to the White Star Line and see what they’ve got.”

  The night city editor went back to the circular table where the seven
  or eight men who read reporters’ copy were gathered.

  “Get up as much as you can of the passenger list of the ‘Titanic.’
  She is sinking off Newfoundland,” he said briefly to one.

  And to another: “Write me a story of the ‘Titanic,’ the new White
  Star liner, on her maiden trip, telling of her mishap with the ‘New
  York’ at the start.”

  And to another: “Write me a story of Captain E. J. Smith.”

  Then to a reporter sitting idly about: “Get your hat and coat quick;
  go down to the White Star Line office and telephone all you can about
  the ‘Titanic’ sinking off Newfoundland.”

  Then to another reporter: “Get the White Star Line on the phone and
  find out what they’ve got of the sinking of the ‘Titanic.’ Find out
  who is the executive head in New York; his address and telephone
  number.”

  And in another part of the room the city editor was saying to the
  office boy: “Get me all the ‘Titanic’ pictures you have and a photo
  or cut of Captain E. J. Smith.”

  Two boys instantly went to work, for the photos of men are kept
  separate from the photographs of inanimate things. The city editor
  selected three:

  “Tell the art department to make a three-column cut of the ‘Titanic,’
  a two-column of the interior, and a two-column of Smith.”

  In the mean time the Associated Press bulletins came in briefly.

  Paragraph by paragraph the cable editor was sending the story to the
  composing room. What was going on upstairs every one knew. They were
  sidetracking everything else, and the copy-cutter in the composing
  room was sending out the story in “takes,” as they are called, of
  a single paragraph to each compositor. His blue pencil marked each
  individual piece of copy with a letter and number, so that when the
  dozen or so men setting up the story had their work finished, the
  story might be put together consecutively.

  “Tell the operator,” said the cable editor again to the office boy,
  “to duplicate that dispatch I gave him to our Halifax man. Get his
  name out of the correspondents’ book.”

  “Who wrote that story of the ‘“Carmania” in the Icefield’?” said the
  night city editor to the copy-reader who “handled” the homecoming of
  the “Carmania,” which arrived Sunday night and the story of which was
  already in the mail edition of the paper before him. The copy-reader
  told him. He called the reporter to his desk.

  “Take that story,” said the night city editor, “and give us a column
  on it. Don’t rewrite the story; add paragraphs here and there to
  show the vast extent of the icefield. Make it straight copy, so that
  nothing in that story will have to be reset. You have just thirty
  minutes to catch the edition. Write it in twenty.”

  “Get the passenger lists of the ‘Olympic’ and the ‘Baltic,’” was the
  assignment given to another reporter, all alert waiting for their
  names to be called, every man awake at the switch.

  In the mean time, the story from the Montreal man was being ticked
  off; on another wire Halifax was coming to life.

  “Men,” said the city editor, “we have just five minutes left to make
  the city [edition]. Jam it down tight.”

  Already the three cuts had been made, the telegraph editor was
  handling the Montreal story, his assistant the Halifax end, and the
  cable editor was still editing the Associated Press bulletins and
  writing a new head to tell the rest of the story that the additional
  details brought. The White Star Line man had a list of names of
  passengers of the “Titanic” and found that they numbered 1300, and
  that she carried a crew of 860.

  In the mean time proofs of all the “Titanic” matter that had been
  set were coming to the desk of the managing editor, in charge over
  all, but giving special attention to the editorial matter. All his
  suggestions went through the city editor, and on down the line, but
  he himself went from desk to desk overlooking the work.

  “Time’s up,” said the city editor; but before he finished, the cable
  editor cried to the boy: “Let the two-column head stand and tell them
  to add this head:”

    At 12:27 this Morning Blurred Signals by Wireless Told of Women
    Being Put off in Lifeboats—Three Lines Rushing to Aid of 1300
    Imperiled Passengers and Crew of 860 Men.

  “Did we catch it?” asked the cable editor of the boy standing at the
  composing-room tube.

  “We did,” he said triumphantly.

  “One big pull for the last [edition], men,” said the city editor. “We
  are going in at 3:20. Let’s beat the town with a complete paper.”

  The enthusiasm was catching fire. Throughout the office it was a
  bedlam of noise—clicking typewriters, clicking telegraph instruments,
  and telephone bells ringing added to the whistle of the tubes that
  lead from the city room to the composing room, the pressroom, the
  stereotype room and the business office, the latter, happily, not in
  use, but throughout the office men worked; nobody shouted, no one
  lost his head; men were flushed, but the cool, calm, deliberate way
  in which the managing editor smoked his cigar helped much to relieve
  the tension.

  “Three-fifteen, men,” said the city editor, admonishingly; “every
  line must be up by 3:20. Five minutes more.”

  The city editor walked rapidly from desk to desk.

  “All up,” said the night city editor, “and three minutes to the good.”

  At the big table stood the city editor, cable editor, night city
  editor, and managing editor. They were looking over the completed
  headline that should tell the story to the world.

  “That will hold ’em, I guess,” said the city editor, and the head
  went upstairs.

  The men waited about and talked and smoked. Bulletins came in, but
  with no important details. Going to press at 3:20 meant a wide
  circulation. At 4:30 the Associated Press sent “Good-night,” but at
  that hour the presses had been running uninterruptedly for almost an
  hour.


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Find out all that you can about the organization of the paper on
   which you are employed.

2. Know the names, at least, of the heads of all the departments.

3. Learn as much as possible about advertising and subscription rates
   and methods.

4. Familiarize yourself with the details of all the mechanical
   processes connected with newspaper making.

5. Interest yourself in the welfare of the paper as if it were your own
   property.




                              CHAPTER II

                         NEWS AND NEWS VALUES


=Problems of the News.= As news is the _sine qua non_ of the newspaper,
the problem of newspaper making resolves itself into the three
questions: What is news? Where and how is news to be obtained? and,
How is news to be presented to the reader? The first question involves
the definition of news and the determination of its value, the second
concerns the gathering of news, and the third has to do with structure
and style in the writing of news.

=What is News?= Although every good newspaper worker recognizes news
at once, and almost instinctively decides upon its value, most of
them find it difficult to express in brief form what news is and what
determines its value. In a symposium recently conducted by an American
magazine,[2] a number of editors throughout the country undertook to
define news, giving the following definitions:—

  News is whatever your readers want to know about.

  Anything that enough people want to read is news, provided it does
    not violate the canons of good taste and the laws of libel.

  News is anything that happens in which people are interested.

  News is anything that people will talk about; the more it will excite
    comment, the greater its value.

  News is accurate and timely intelligence of happenings, discoveries,
    opinions, and matters of any sort which affect or interest the
    readers.

  Whatever concerns public welfare, whatever interests or instructs
    the individual in any of his relations, activities, opinions,
    properties, or personal conduct, is news.

  News is everything that happens, the inspiration of happenings, and
    the result of such happenings.

  News is the essential facts concerning any happening, event, or idea
    that possesses human interest; that affects or has an influence on
    human life or happiness.

  News is based on people, and is to be gauged entirely on how it
    interests other people.

  News comprises all current activities which are of general human
    interest, and the best news is that which interests the most
    readers.

The essentials of news, as brought out by these definitions are: (1)
that it must be of interest to the readers; (2) that it includes
anything and everything that has any such interest; and, (3) that it
must be new, current, timely. Furthermore, these definitions emphasize
the fact that the value of news is determined (1) by the number of
people that it interests, and (2) by the extent to which it interests
them. The composite of these definitions, therefore, would be: _News is
anything timely that interests a number of people; and the best news is
that which has the greatest interest for the greatest number_.

By the application of these tests to each event, idea, or activity,
the reporter can determine for himself what is news and what is not,
as well as what value a piece of news possesses. He must ask himself
concerning each piece of news that he gets: “Is it new and timely?”
“How many readers will it interest?” “Has it great interest for a large
number?”

Many times an incident seems, at first glance, to possess little that
will interest, but, on closer examination, reveals some phase that is
of considerable news value. Keen observation and insight to see the
significant aspect of a person, an event, an idea, often leads to the
discovery of news that may escape the notice of less acute observers.
The reporter must find for himself those aspects of the day’s events
which are of the greatest interest to the greatest number.

=Timeliness in News.= Freshness, timeliness, newness is one vital
qualification for all news. “Yesterday” has almost ceased to exist
for the newspaper man. Even “to-day” has become “this morning,” “this
noon,” “this afternoon.” “Up to date” has given way to “up to the
minute.” Improved mechanical equipment, which makes possible lightning
speed in turning news stories into a complete newspaper in less than
half an hour, has made possible a degree of freshness in the news
that would seem marvelous were it not a daily, in fact, almost an
hourly phenomenon. Competition among newspapers, and the publication
of frequent editions, increase the necessity for the latest news. The
reporter must catch this spirit of getting the news while it is news,
and of getting it into print before it loses its freshness.

=What Interests Readers.= How general will be the interest in any
activity, idea, or event is determined by what the average person likes
to hear, read, or see. Whatever gives him pleasure or satisfaction,
interests him. Consideration of the fundamental bases of news values,
therefore, involves a determination of the general classes of things
that give pleasure and satisfaction to the average individual.

=The Extraordinary.= The unusual, the extraordinary, the curious,
wherever found, attracts attention and is interesting because it is
a departure from the normal order of life. Humdrum routine whets the
appetite for every break in the monotony of regularity. So long as
the daily life of the average man conforms to the generally accepted
business and social standards and is not affected by any unusual
circumstances, it has little interest for his fellow men. As soon as
he violates the usual order, or is the victim of such violation, his
departure from the level of conformity becomes a matter of greater
or less interest according to the extent of the departure. Because
hundreds of thousands of bank employees are honest, the dishonesty
of one of them is news. So all crime, as a violation of established
law and order, is news, unless, as unfortunately is sometimes the
case, it becomes common enough to cease to be unusual. Every notable
achievement in any field of activity, because it rises above the level,
is news. A record aeroplane flight, an heroic action, the discovery of
a new serum, the invention of a labor-saving device, the finding of
remains of a buried city, the completion of a great bridge,—all are
sufficiently out of the ordinary to attract attention. Accidents and
unexpected occurrences, because they break in upon the usual course of
events, are matters of news. The thousands of trains that reach their
destination safely are as nothing compared to one that jumps the track.
Millions of dollars’ worth of property that remains unharmed from day
to day does not interest the average man, but the loss of some of it
by fire, wind, or flood immediately lifts the part affected out of the
mass and gives it interest to hundreds of persons in no way concerned
in the loss. It is not the crimes and misfortunes of others that give
the reader pleasure; it is the fact that these are departures from
the normal course that makes them satisfy his desire for something
different from the usual round of life.

In almost every event the good newspaper man can find something that
is out of the ordinary, and by giving due emphasis to this unusual
phase can give interest to what might otherwise seem commonplace.
What that something will be is determined by the reporter’s or the
editor’s appreciation of what will appeal to the average reader as the
most marked departure from the customary and the expected. If, as in
a recent accident, the front trucks of a trolley car jump the track
and upset a baby carriage, throwing out the baby; and if the baby
alights unharmed on a pillow that was tossed out of the carriage by the
collision, such peculiar circumstances the reporter knows will appeal
to most readers as the interesting feature of the accident. That a
sneak thief should be caught as he was escaping from a house with a few
dollars’ worth of plunder, will attract the average reader much less
than the fact that he jumped through a plate-glass window in his effort
to escape, or that he gained access to the house by wearing a Salvation
Army uniform, or that he carried away a pie as part of his booty. How
a man lost a purse containing $50 is scarcely worthy of notice, but
how, while looking for his purse, he found a diamond ring, is strange
enough to make good reading. A lecture at an agricultural society
meeting on the advantages to the farmers of the state of raising barley
would not ordinarily be considered of much interest to city readers,
but an interruption of the lecture by an advocate of prohibition with
the charge that to urge barley growing is to aid the brewing interests,
might make a good news story. The character and the extent of the
departure from the usual, considered from the point of view of most of
the readers, measure the news value of any phase of an event that is
out of the ordinary.

=Struggles for Supremacy.= Struggles for supremacy, also, have an
almost universal appeal. Competition in business, contest in sport,
rivalry in politics, are based on the love of fighting to win. Strikes
and lockouts, as part of the contest between labor and capital, appeal
to this interest. So does the fight to secure control or monopoly
in any part of the commercial field. The enthusiasm manifested over
baseball, football, boxing, racing, and other sports grows out of
the love of contest for supremacy. In political warfare the interest
of many is largely in the struggle for victory, with the power that
victory brings, rather than any results that will affect the individual
directly. Accounts of all these forms of fighting to win make good news
stories.

=“Human Interest.”= The fellow feeling that makes all the world akin,
the sympathy that binds together men who have little in common, is the
basis of interest which we have in the actions, thoughts, and feelings
of others. The “human interest” which newspaper and magazine editors
demand, involves emphasis on the personal element in the affairs of
life. The characters that appear in news stories, fiction, or special
articles must be made to appeal to the readers as real flesh and
blood men and women. The human side of events is what the average
reader wants. How one man is saved by a new serum is read with more
attention than is a discussion of the therapeutic value of the serum.
The privations of an arctic explorer in reaching the pole have almost
as much interest for most readers as the discovery of the pole itself.
The experiences of strikers and their families are read by many who
know little and care less about the economic conditions that produce
the strike. So vitally do we feel ourselves concerned with the fate of
our fellow men, even when we do not know them personally, that accounts
of human life lost or endangered are read with great eagerness. “Many
lives lost!” is the cry that the newsboy knows will sell the most
papers. From the point of view of the newspaper the greater the number
of lives thus involved in the event, the better is the news.

=The Appeal of Children.= The unusual appeal that children make gives
news of their activities especial value. Whenever a little child
plays a part in an event, it is pretty sure to be the best feature of
the story. The letter which a small girl writes to the mayor asking
that her pet dog be restored to her from the dog pound, will take a
place in the day’s news beside the interview with the mayor outlining
his policies of city government for the following two years. A child
witness holds the attention of the entire court room and is “featured”
in the story of a trial, partly, no doubt, because the appearance of
a child in these circumstances is unusual, but largely because of our
interest in children. Just as a child’s plea to a judge saves its
worthless father or drunken mother from a prison sentence, so the story
of that plea will move every reader. Anecdotes and sayings of children
readily find a place in newspapers and magazines.

=Interest in Animals.= The popular interest in animals, wild or
tame, in captivity or at large, makes news stories about them good
reading. Whether we are attracted by the almost human intelligence
that animals often display, or by their distinctly animal traits, we
read of their doings with keen interest. Anecdotes of animal pets if
well told are always readable. The fascination which the “zoo” or the
circus menagerie has for most people is akin to the pleasure given
by anecdotes of animals in captivity. Every city editor knows the
value of the zoölogical garden as a source of effective stories when
other fields fail. Wild animals at large, particularly when they come
into any relation with men, afford good material for the reporter or
correspondent.

=Amusements and Hobbies.= The favorite pleasures and amusements of
readers form another large group of activities that must be considered
in measuring the value of news. Besides the contest element in sports
that interests the spectator, there is the attraction of athletics for
the players. Golf, tennis, automobiling, and similar activities furnish
news that is read by those who engage in these diversions. Accounts of
the theatre, of concerts, and of all forms of amusements are read by
the thousands who patronize these entertainments. Pastimes and hobbies,
such as amateur photography, book-collecting, fishing and hunting,
canoeing and sailing, whist and chess, have enough devotees to give
value to news of such avocations. Here again the number of readers to
whom such news appeals determines the space and the prominence that it
is worth.

=Degree of Readers’ Interest.= Persons, places, or things that go
to make up news excite a degree of interest proportional to (1)
the reader’s familiarity with them, (2) their own importance and
prominence, (3) the closeness of their relation to the reader’s
personal affairs.

=Local Interest.= Local events interest readers because they know the
places and often the persons concerned. Local news, accordingly, takes
precedence over news from elsewhere of equal or greater importance as
measured by the general standards of news value. Interest in most news
stories may be said to vary inversely in proportion to the distance
between the place of the event described and the place where the paper
is published. Just as the splash is greatest where a stone strikes
the water, the ripples growing less and less marked as the force of
the shock spreads out over the pond, so the impression made by an
occurrence grows less and less the farther one goes from the scene of
action. We read more eagerly the account of a small fire in a building
that we pass every day than the dispatch telling of a fire that wiped
out a whole town two thousand miles away. The arrest of a man for
speeding his automobile will cause more comment among his friends
than the capture of a gang of automobile bandits that has terrorized
another city. Local phases, or “local ends,” as they are called, of
events that take place some distance away quite overshadow in interest
more important phases of the event itself. Every effort is made in the
newspaper to bring events, ideas, and activities elsewhere into some
local relation.

=Interest in the Prominent.= The interest which all readers have in
what is familiar to them extends to persons, places, and things that
they may not know personally but that they recognize as important or
prominent. They like to read about men and women who are leaders in
social, business, or political activities in the city, the state, the
nation, or anywhere in the world, even though these persons exist for
them only in name. A high position itself gives added importance to
news concerning the person who occupies it, although many readers may
not have heard of him before. Thus, in order to appeal to this general
interest in the doings of persons of position, some less scrupulous
reporters and editors describe the characters in their news stories as
“prominent,” “well-known,” “a college graduate,” “a beautiful young
society girl,” when the facts do not warrant it. Personages who are
well known do not need such introduction; their names alone serve to
identify them. The value of news concerning a person may be said to
vary in direct proportion to his prominence. A slight accident to a
candidate for the presidency of the United States attracts much more
attention than a serious one to a candidate for Congress. A story of
the wedding of the daughter of a multi-millionaire has thousands of
readers because of the prominence of her father, whereas the account
of the wedding of the corner grocer’s daughter attracts only a small
number who know the families. The daily life of the great affords daily
pleasure to the humble.

Places that readers have often heard of, but in many cases have never
seen, such as New York, Paris, Washington, Coney Island, Niagara Falls,
possess an attraction that makes news from them the more interesting
even though it may consist of no more than gossip and trivial
happenings. Well-known places as the setting for events give added
importance, therefore, to the news value of these events. Institutions,
such as universities of national reputation, the Library of Congress,
the Rockefeller Institute, the Young Men’s Christian Association, the
Salvation Army, because they are generally known, likewise attract
attention to news involving them. Familiar names of great ocean
steamships, of large commercial companies, and of important railroad
systems, increase the news value of stories in which they appear.
Size and prominence, then, of places and things, like importance and
prominence of persons, determine news values.

=Home and Business Interests.= The most vital concerns of both men and
women, however, are their business and their home, their prosperity
and their happiness. Whatever in the daily round of events affects
these interests most directly will get their closest attention. Upon
this principle depends the news value of many newspaper stories.
Stock brokers and investors read the stock market reports; buyers and
farmers, the produce and live stock quotations; owners and agents of
real estate, the records of transfers and mortgages; business men
generally, commercial and industrial news, because of the relation of
such news to their own business affairs. A marked rise or fall in the
price of butter, eggs, meat, or other staple articles of food concerns
not only the dealers but housewives and other purchasers of such
commodities. Announcement of the proposed construction of a new trolley
line appeals to readers whose transportation facilities or property are
affected. Income tax legislation, parcel post, adjustments of railroad
rates, state or federal supreme court decisions, the tariff, and other
political and economic problems, usually interest the average reader
in proportion as he thinks that they will affect him and his business.
For most women readers home-making and fashions are of vital concern.
Besides matters pertaining to the cost of living, which affect men and
women alike, pure food laws and their enforcement, schools, the health
and welfare of children, the servant problem, the milk and the water
supplies, as well as the latest styles of dress,—all come very close
to the everyday lives of women, who constitute no small part of the
number of newspaper readers. Incidental concerns of both men and women
readers, such as organizations to which they belong, general movements
with which they are connected, or the social life of which they are a
part, give interest for them to news concerning these activities. News
values, therefore, are measured by the extent to which news affects
directly the lives of readers; the greater the effect and the larger
the number of readers affected, the better the news.

=Combination of Interests.= If one event possesses several of these
different kinds of interest it is very good news, because of the
greater number of readers to whom it appeals and because of the
stronger appeal that it makes. Thus, for example, the “Titanic”
disaster was extremely unusual in that the largest ocean liner on its
first trip was sunk by an iceberg while proceeding at a high rate of
speed on a clear night. Greater still was its interest because of the
very large number of human lives involved. Added to this was the fact
that many of the passengers were prominent. The result was that news
of the disaster was read with the greatest eagerness by all classes
everywhere in this country as well as abroad. The combination of
sources of interest and the greater degree of interest that results
must be taken into consideration in measuring the final value of news.


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Ask yourself concerning every piece of information, How many readers
   will it interest? How much will it interest the average reader? Is it
   really new and timely?

2. Examine every phase of an event or idea for what will be of greatest
   interest to the greatest number.

3. Look always for what will appeal to the average reader as most
   unusual, curious, remarkable.

4. Consider the things that give most persons great pleasure and
   satisfaction.

5. Don’t overlook the “human interest” element in the day’s events.

6. Remember that a good fight interests many, whether it is in
   politics, business, or sport.

7. Don’t neglect children in the news; though small they make a big
   appeal.

8. Keep on the look-out for good stories of animals.

9. Provide reading for men and women with hobbies.

10. Measure the value of your news on the basis of its local interest.

11. Remember that readers are most interested in persons and places
    that they know.

12. Consider the news value given by the importance and prominence of
    persons and things.

13. Bring your news as close as possible to the reader’s home and
    business.

14. Sharpen your “nose for news” on the grindstone of experience.




                              CHAPTER III

                            GETTING THE NEWS


=The Problem of News Gathering.= The mystery of newspaper making, to
the uninitiated, is how editors and reporters find out everything that
happens and how they get it into print in a very short time. It seems
strange to the average person that when an accident occurs in the block
in which he lives, the first news of it often reaches him through the
newspaper. The apparent omnipresence, not to say omniscience, of the
reporter leads to the not unnatural assumption that the news gatherer
walks about the city waiting Micawber-like for “something to turn up.”
The size of the staff of reporters that would be required to maintain a
patrol of the streets would approximate that of the police force, and
would bankrupt the most prosperous newspaper. Such a system is not only
impossible but quite unnecessary. News gathering is really no mystery
at all, but merely a good example of efficient organization.

In organizing its news collecting, the newspaper only takes advantage
of information filed for various official purposes by many different
persons in no way connected with the newspaper. Policemen, firemen,
sheriffs, coroners, and practically all officials of local, state, and
national governments, as well as doctors, lawyers, and merchants are
all unintentionally serving as reporters of news. The public records
in all public or private offices are the reports which these men,
many times quite unconsciously, furnish for the newspapers. What the
news editors do is to see that a careful watch is maintained by their
reporters at all places where news is thus recorded so that they may
select whatever part of it is of interest to their readers.

=News Sources.= The places where news is recorded, not primarily for
the newspapers but really to their great advantage, and the kinds of
news to be found at each place are indicated by the following list of
news sources:—

Police Headquarters    —crimes, arrests, accidents, suicides, fires,
                        disappearances, sudden deaths, and news of the
                        police department organization.

Fire Headquarters      —fires, fire losses, and news of the fire
                        department organization.

Coroner’s Office       —fatal accidents, sudden deaths, suicides, and
                        murders.

Health Department      —deaths, contagious diseases, sanitary reports,
                        and condition of city water.

Recorder or Register   —sales and transfers of property and mortgages.
  of Deeds

City Clerk             —marriage licenses.

County Jail            —crimes, arrests, and executions.

Mayor’s Office         —appointments and removals, municipal policies.

Criminal Courts        —arraignments, hearings, and trials.

Civil Courts           —complaints, answers, trials, verdicts, and
                        decisions in civil suits.

Probate Office         —estates, wills.

Referee in Bankruptcy  —assignments, failures, appointment of receivers,
                        meetings of creditors, settlements of bankrupts.

Building Inspector     —permits for new buildings and alterations,
                        condemnations of unsafe buildings, regulation of
                        fire escapes, and fire prevention devices.

Public Utilities       —hearings and decisions of rates and regulations.
  Commission

Board of Public        —municipal improvements.
  Works

Shipping Offices       —arrival and sailing of ships, cargoes, rates,
                        marine news.

Associated Charities   —poverty, destitution, and relief.

Board of Trade,        —quotations, sales, and news of stock, produce,
  Stock Exchange,       grain, metals, live stock, etc.
  Mining Exchange,
  and Chamber of
  Commerce

Hotels                 —arrival and departure of guests, banquets,
                        dinner parties, and other social functions.

=News “Runs.”= To get all the news that develops at each of these and
many other similar places, the city editor divides the news sources
into “runs” or “beats,” and details a reporter to each “run.” The
reporter assigned to get or “cover” the news of police headquarters
is said to have the “police run”; another assigned to the city hall
has the “city hall run,” or is “city hall reporter”; one who gets the
news of the child welfare movement, of social centers, benevolent
organizations, etc., is said to have the “uplift run”; another is on
the “hotel run.” To cover adequately these news sources, the reporter
visits each office on his run from one to six times a day, examining
records, interviewing officials, and chatting with secretaries and
clerks. The number of times that he visits an office and the length of
time that he stays are determined approximately by the amount and value
of the news likely to be obtained.

As the reporter is held responsible for all the news of the places
on his “run,” he must not let anything escape his notice, because a
keener, quicker-witted man on the same “run” for a rival paper may get
what he misses. When a reporter obtains a piece of news that reporters
on other papers do not get, he is said to have a “scoop” or “beat,”
and the unsuccessful paper and its reporters are said to have been
“scooped.”

=City News Associations.= In large cities, like New York and Chicago,
the gathering of all the official or routine news is done by a
central news association which furnishes each paper that belongs to
the association or which pays for its services, with a mimeographed
copy of every news story that its reporters secure in covering all
the usual runs. By this method each paper is saved the expense of
providing for the scores of runs necessary in a large city in order to
cover adequately all the news sources each day. When the city editor
gets a news bulletin or a complete story from the news association,
he can have it rewritten or can send out one of his reporters if he
desires to have the event more fully covered. Such a system of local
news gathering makes possible a staff of reporters relatively small
as compared with the size of the city. Reporters employed by the city
news association work under conditions practically the same as those
in a newspaper office. Inasmuch as the stories that a news association
reporter writes are edited in at least half a dozen newspaper offices
by different editors and copy-readers, the reporter has the advantage
of seeing how various papers treat the same news story.

=Assignments.= In organizing news gathering, the city editor and his
assistants keep a “future” book or file with a page or compartment
for each day in the year. Into this are placed, under the appropriate
day, all notes, clippings, and suggestions regarding future news
possibilities. If, for example, on December 10, the state legislature
passes a law in regard to the size of berry boxes, to take effect on
March 1 of the following year, the city editor puts a clipping of the
dispatch from the state capital telling of this action, or a note
recording the fact, into the compartment or page labeled February 25,
so that a week before March 1, he may assign one of his reporters to
find out from wholesale commission dealers, berry-crate manufacturers,
and the inspector of weights and measures, what steps are to be taken
to carry out the provisions of the law. A similar news record is kept
by the telegraph and state editors covering future events in their
fields, so that correspondents may be given instructions and advice.

The city editor also has an assignment book or sheet on which is
entered every important news possibility for the day, with the name
of the reporter assigned to cover it, and with any information or
suggestions that the editor wants to give the reporter. When the
reporter arrives at the office to begin his day’s work, or when he
reports to the office by telephone, he gets his assignments for the
day. These assignments are usually connected with his run, so that
while he is on his daily round of news gathering he may get in addition
the special news assigned to him.

=“Covering” Important Events.= To secure an adequate report of an
important event, such as a state political convention, a visit of the
President of the United States, a serious crime, or a wide-spread
flood, the city editor arranges the work of the various members of his
staff so that every important phase of the event will be “covered.”
On the occasion of a day’s visit of the president, for example, one
reporter is assigned to follow the chief executive about all day from
the time he arrives until he leaves, and to write the general story
of his visit. Another is detailed to report his arrival, the ovation
given him, and possibly the short speech that he makes in response. A
third is told to “cover” the reception tendered by the Merchants and
Manufacturers Club; a fourth to report the luncheon given for him at
the City Club; and a fifth who can write shorthand to get a verbatim
report of his speech at the Coliseum in the afternoon. Practically
every event that can be anticipated is provided for in advance by the
city editor, and to that extent is easier to handle than the unexpected
ones.

=When Big News “Breaks.”= Important events that occur unexpectedly are
the real test of the editor’s ability to organize his staff quickly
and effectively. What is involved in arranging to get all phases of a
big news story is shown by the manner in which such an event as the
attempted assassination of Mayor Gaynor of New York on August 9, 1910,
was handled by the New York papers. The following summary of an account
given by one of the city editors illustrates the methods employed.[3]

The first news of the attempt to assassinate the mayor came at 9:30
A.M. in the form of a news association bulletin which read:

  Mayor Gaynor was shot this morning while on the deck of the Kaiser
  Wilhelm der Grosse in Hoboken. It is rumored he is dead.

The city editor on a morning paper at once got in touch with as many
of his reporters as he could reach on the telephone. The first three
reporters that he telephoned to were told the substance of the bulletin
and were sent to Hoboken to get the details.

The second bulletin from the news association, received a few minutes
after the first, was as follows:

  The mayor was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital, Hoboken.

As soon as another reporter was available, the city editor told him to
go to St. Mary’s Hospital to see the doctors and to report the result
at once. The fifth reporter was sent to find Mrs. Gaynor at her city
home or at her country house, as the city editor knew that she was not
accompanying the mayor on his trip abroad.

The third news association bulletin, or “flash,” gave these facts
concerning the assassin:

  The man who shot the mayor has been arrested. His name is James J.
  Gallagher. He lives at No. 440 Third Ave.

The city editor thereupon gave a reporter this assignment. “Go up
there; get all you can about him. Get a picture. Find out to what
political party he belongs. Run him to the ground and phone me later;
I may be able to give you something additional.” To another reporter
the city editor said: “Gallagher is to be arraigned in the police
headquarters in Hoboken; go over there quickly.”

The next bulletin opened up a new phase of the subject, the motive for
the crime:

  Gallagher was a night watchman in the dock department until July 1,
  when he was discharged from the city employ.

After the reporter who had been sent out to get the history of
Gallagher telephoned that Gallagher had been a disgruntled employee
of the city who had been constantly writing letters of complaint to
his superiors, the city editor assigned a reporter to get the facts,
saying: “Gallagher was a chronic kicker. Go down to the Department of
Docks and to the Civil Service Commission and get copies of all the
correspondence.”

A reporter was sent to see John Purroy Mitchel, the acting mayor,
another to find out the city charter provisions regarding a possible
vacancy in the office of mayor under such circumstances. A rewrite man
was told to get from the office collection of biographical sketches, or
“morgue,” the material on file concerning the life of the mayor and to
write an obituary. A tip by telephone from a man who had once employed
Gallagher to the effect that he had often done strange, uncanny things,
led to a reporter’s being sent to get further particulars from this
informant.

The complete list of assignments as they appeared on the city editor’s
sheet was as follows, each being preceded by the name of the reporter
detailed to cover that particular phase of the event: (1) Main story
of Gaynor shooting, (2) Interviews on board the Kaiser Wilhelm, (3)
Gallagher on board the Kaiser Wilhelm, (4) Gallagher, the man, and his
correspondence, (5) Gaynor at St. Mary’s Hospital, (6) The arraignment
of Gallagher and his plans, (7) Mrs. Gaynor and family, (8) John Purroy
Mitchel, the acting mayor, (9) City Hall, (10) What the charter says,
with interviews, (11) Obituary of Gaynor, (12) The strange, uncanny
things Gallagher did.

=Getting the Facts.= A large part of news gathering consists of getting
information from persons by asking questions. To ask questions that
will elicit the desired facts most effectively is not so easy as it
seems. Most persons, although not unwilling to give information,
are not particularly interested in doing so, and in replying do not
discriminate between what is news and what is not. Tact and skill are
necessary to get many persons to tell what they know. A stranger who
insists on asking questions is very naturally regarded with suspicion.
Even when it becomes known that the stranger is a newspaper reporter,
he is not always cordially received. Often he finds that it is
easier to get the facts when his identity as a reporter is revealed.
Nevertheless, there are not infrequent occasions when all the skill of
an astute lawyer examining a witness is required to get the desired
information. Reporters should never hesitate to ask tactfully as many
questions as are necessary, and to persist until they get what they
want.

The way in which the reporter works in gathering together the various
phases of an event before he is ready to write the story is best shown
by an example. The city editor, let us say, receives a bulletin to the
effect that an unknown, well-dressed man of about sixty years has been
seriously injured by falling off the platform in the subway station at
65th Street and Western Avenue, and that he has been removed to St.
Mary’s Hospital. The city editor sends out one of his reporters to find
out what he can about the accident.

The reporter starts at once for the subway station. At the corner near
the station he sees a policeman with whom he carries on the following
conversation:

    Reporter.—Did you send in a report on the old man who fell on the
  subway tracks an hour ago?

    Policeman.—Yes.

    R.—Do you know who he is?

    P.—No, I couldn’t find out his name.

    R.—Was he badly hurt?

    P.—I guess he was. His head was cut behind, and he hadn’t come to
  when the ambulance took him to the hospital.

    R.—How did it happen?

    P.—I don’t know. The first I knew a kid came running up to me and
  told me a man was hurt in the subway. When I got down there, they
  had him on the platform, and a crowd was standing around him. I saw
  the old man was hurt pretty bad, so I telephoned for St. Mary’s
  ambulance. We put some water on his face, but he didn’t come to. When
  the ambulance doctor came he said he was alive all right.

    R.—How did he fall off the platform?

    P.—I don’t know; I guess he fainted.

    R.—Thanks; I’ll go down and see the ticket chopper.

The reporter thereupon goes down into the subway station. The ticker
chopper, he finds, has just come on duty and does not know anything
about the accident. He therefore decides to inquire of the girl in
charge of the news-stand. The conversation between her and the reporter
is as follows:

    Reporter.—I hear that an old man was hurt down here. How did it
  happen?

    Girl.—He fell on the tracks and cut his head.

    R.—What was the matter with him?

    G.—I don’t know; I guess he got dizzy.

    R.—Did you see him fall?

    G.—No; I was busy selling a lady a magazine when I heard some one
  yell.

    R.—How did they get him out?

    G.—Two men jumped down to get him, but they couldn’t lift him up on
  the platform. Then they heard the train coming and jumped over to the
  side.

    R.—Did the motorman stop the train when he saw them?

    G.—No; I ran over to the ticket chopper’s box and grabbed his red
  lantern, and jumped down to the track and waved it.

    R.—Good for you! Weren’t you afraid of being run over?

    G.—I didn’t think of being scared. I just kept waving the lantern,
  and the motorman saw it and put on the brakes. My, but the sparks
  flew!

    R.—How soon did he stop?

    G.—Oh, the train was only about ten feet away when it stopped, and
  I kept stepping back all the time to keep out of the way.

    R.—Well, you must have had a pretty close call. Who got the old man
  out?

    G.—The motorman and one of the guards climbed down and lifted him
  up with the two other men.

    R.—What did they say about your stopping the train that way?

    G.—Oh, nothing. One man said, “Good for you, little girl,” and
  another man wanted to know my name, and said I ought to have a medal,
  but I told him I hadn’t done any thing and didn’t deserve a medal.

    R.—Did you give him your name?

    G.—Yes, because he kept asking me and telling me that he thought I
  ought to have a medal.

    R.—Well, I want your name, too, for the _News_.

    G.—No; I don’t want my name in the newspaper for I didn’t do
  anything.

    R.—But I must tell how you stopped the train in writing about how
  the man was hurt.

    G.—All right; my name is Annie Hagan.

    R.—Where do you live?

    G.—At 916 East Watson Avenue.

    R.—Have you been working here long?

    G.—No; I just started last week. I quit school and got this job
  here.

    R.—You didn’t hear any one say who the old man was?

    G.—No; I guess he was alone.

    R.—Did the doctor say how badly he was hurt?

    G.—No; he felt his pulse, and listened to his heart, and said he
  was alive all right.

    R.—Thanks; I’ll go over to St. Mary’s and see how he is getting
  along.

On reaching the hospital, which is only two blocks from the subway
station, the reporter asks for the superintendent, with whom he carries
on the following conversation:

    R.—I want to find out about the old man who fell off the platform
  in the 65th Street subway station an hour and a half ago. How badly
  was he hurt?

    S.—What was his name?

    R.—I don’t know.

    S.—I’ll look up the record. Here it is. He died at 1:15. His skull
  was fractured, and he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

    R.—Did they find out who he was?

    S.—No; this card is the only clue we have.

    R.—May I see it?

It is a business card of the Blair Photographic Studio, 712 Broadway,
on the back of which is written in pencil the words, “Oliver, Ithaca.”
To save time, the reporter telephones from the office of the hospital
to the Blair Studio, and the conversation over the telephone between
the reporter and the clerk is as follows:

    Reporter.—An old man who was hurt in the subway this noon had in
  his pocket one of your cards with “Oliver” written on the back. Do
  you know who he is?

    Clerk.—That must be the old man who came in this morning to see Mr.
  Williams, one of our retouchers, but Mr. Williams went to Ithaca last
  week.

    R.—Was Mr. Williams’ first name Oliver?

    C.—Yes; his initials were O. R., and the old man said he was his
  uncle.

    R.—Where did Mr. Williams live here?

    C.—I don’t know. But hold the line; I’ll ask Mr. Baxter.

    C.—Mr. Baxter says that Mr. Williams’ address was 3116 Easton
  Street, near Brown.

    R.—All right. Thank you. Good-bye.

From the hospital the reporter hurries to the place where Mr. Williams
lived before he left for Ithaca. The conversation between the landlady
of the rooming house at 3116 Easton Street and the reporter follows:

    Reporter.—Did Oliver R. Williams live here?

    Landlady.—He ain’t here now. He moved away last week.

    R.—Did a well-dressed old man ever come to see him when he was here?

    L.—What do you want to know for?

    R.—Oh, the old man fell in the subway this noon and was badly hurt.
  He said Mr. Williams was his nephew.

    L.—I always said something would happen to him. He fainted on the
  steps here one day just after he rung the bell, and when I got to the
  door he was all in a heap right here. I knew he wanted Mr. Williams,
  because he came to see him a week before, so I called him, and Mr.
  Williams came and got him some whiskey, and after a little he came
  to. Mr. Williams told me after he went away that his uncle had heart
  trouble. Did he get hurt bad?

    R.—Yes, he died at the hospital an hour ago.

    L.—Oh my, that’s too bad! He was a nice old fellow and Mr. Williams
  thought a lot of him.

    R.—What was his name?

    L.—Mr. Williams called him Uncle Frank, and when he introduced him
  to me after he came to, he called him Mr. Dutcher.

    R.—Do you know where he lived?

    L.—No. I don’t think he lived in the city because he didn’t come
  here often, and when he came to, Mr. Williams told him he oughtn’t to
  come all the way alone.

    R.—Do you know what his business was?

    L.—No. He looked like he had some money.

    R.—When was it that he fainted here?

    L.—Let’s see. It was about three weeks ago, I guess.

    R.—Did Mr. Williams have any relatives in the city?

    L.—I don’t know. I guess not. He came from up state somewhere. He
  only lived here since January. He didn’t like the city very well. He
  said he couldn’t sleep.

    R.—Thank you.

The reporter then stops at the drug store on the next corner to find
out whether or not the name of Frank Dutcher appears in the city
directory. No such name is to be found in this directory or in the
telephone directory. As no more information is apparently obtainable,
he returns to the _News_ office and reports to the city editor what he
has found. The city editor tells him to write about 500 words playing
up the girl’s part in stopping the train, and saying that the man is
“supposed to be” Frank Dutcher.

=Putting the Facts into the News Story.= The story that the reporter
writes is as follows:—

               | By  jumping  to the  subway tracks  and|
               |waving a red lantern before  an oncoming|
               |train  at the  risk of  her  life,  Miss|
               |Annie Hagan, in charge of the news-stand|
               |in the subway station  at 65th  St.  and|
               |Western Avenue, saved a man, supposed to|
               |be Frank Dutcher,  from being crushed to|
               |death  as he lay unconscious  across the|
               |tracks.  The  man’s skull was  fractured|
               |by the  fall from  the  platform  to the|
               |tracks,  and  he  died soon after  being|
               |removed to St. Mary’s Hospital.         |
               |                                        |
               | The accident  occurred  shortly  before|
               |noon   when  the  station  was  crowded.|
               |The  man,   who  was  well  dressed  and|
               |appeared  to  be  about  60  years  old,|
               |was  seen  walking  down   the  platform|
               |when he suddenly  staggered  and pitched|
               |forward.  Before anyone could run to his|
               |assistance, he fell head foremost on the|
               |tracks.                                 |
               |                                        |
               | Knowing  that a train might come at any|
               |moment,  two  men  jumped  down  to  the|
               |roadbed and tried to  lift the man,  but|
               |found it  impossible to  get  him  up to|
               |the level of the  platform.  While  they|
               |were striving to get him off the tracks,|
               |the rumble of the oncoming  train warned|
               |them of their danger. After another vain|
               |attempt to lift the  unconscious man  up|
               |to the platform, they jumped to the side|
               |of the track to save themselves.        |
               |                                        |
               | Miss Hagan,  realizing  the  situation,|
               |ran  to  the  ticket  chopper’s  box and|
               |seizing  his red lantern jumped down  to|
               |the  tracks.  Waving the lantern  before|
               |her she ran along the track in the glare|
               |of the headlight of the train.  When the|
               |motorman saw the red light,  he  applied|
               |the  emergency  brakes,  and the  locked|
               |wheels  slid along the track sending out|
               |a shower of sparks.                     |
               |                                        |
               | The  train  came  to a stop within  ten|
               |feet of the plucky girl, who then called|
               |to the  motorman and  one  of the guards|
               |to  help lift  up the injured man.  When|
               |he  had been  placed  on  the  platform,|
               |she climbed  up and started back  to the|
               |news-stand as if nothing had happened.  |
               |                                        |
               | “You ought  to  get a  Carnegie medal,”|
               |declared  one  of  the  bystanders,  who|
               |asked  the  girl her name  and  address,|
               |evidently to present her claims for  the|
               |life  saving award.  Miss Hagan modestly|
               |disclaimed any  credit for  her heroism,|
               |and at  first refused to give  her name,|
               |but was finally prevailed upon to do so.|
               |                                        |
               | The  unconscious  man  was taken  in an|
               |ambulance to St. Mary’s Hospital,  where|
               |it was found  that he was suffering from|
               |a  fractured  skull.  He was  rushed  to|
               |the operating  room,  but  he died  of a|
               |cerebral hemorrhage.                    |
               |                                        |
               | The only means of identifying him was a|
               |business card of a Broadway photographer|
               |with   the   name,   “Oliver,   Ithaca,”|
               |written in pencil  on the back.  At this|
               |studio  it was found that an elderly man|
               |had inquired  this  morning  for  Oliver|
               |Williams,  a retoucher,  who  last  week|
               |went  to  Ithaca,  N.  Y.  At  Williams’|
               |former rooming place it was learned that|
               |his uncle,  Frank Dutcher,  who answered|
               |to the description  of the victim of the|
               |accident, had suffered from an attack of|
               |heart  failure while visiting his nephew|
               |recently  and  had  fallen   unconscious|
               |on the doorstep.  As  the  name of Frank|
               |Dutcher  does  not  appear  in  the city|
               |directory,  it is believed that the dead|
               |man was  not a resident of this city but|
               |had come to pay his nephew a visit.     |

An analysis of this story shows how the reporter wove together all the
important pieces of information which he had gathered by interviewing
the policeman, the news-stand girl, the hospital superintendent, the
clerk in the studio, and the landlady, none of whom are specifically
mentioned as the sources of his information. In accordance with the
instructions of the city editor, he “played up” the “feature” of the
story, the bravery of the girl, by putting it at the beginning and by
describing the accident in detail to show her heroism.

=Following up the News.= Many news stories, like the one just
considered, do not exhaust the news possibilities of the event, but
may be followed up in later editions or in the next day’s issues by
completing what was necessarily left incomplete for lack of time, or
by giving new phases of the event that have developed since the first
story was written. A reporter on a morning paper, for example, would be
given a clipping of the above story taken from the afternoon edition,
and would be told by the city editor to see the coroner to get the
results of his telegram to Williams, the man’s nephew, at Ithaca, and
any other information available regarding the identity of the old
man. Often unexpected and important news develops, which makes the
“follow-up,” or second story a bigger one than the first. Each reporter
and correspondent should read carefully as many newspapers as possible
before he begins his day’s work so that he may get suggestions for
“follow-up” stories on his “run,” or for “local ends” of news stories
sent in from outside the city. In large offices, one of the editors
goes over all the local newspapers to clip out the stories to be
“followed up,” or to be rewritten in the office.

=Interviewing.= In obtaining the information for the foregoing story
by means of conversations with several persons, the reporter’s aim
was to get what they said rather than how they said it; that is, he
wanted primarily the facts that they had to give, not the way that
they expressed these facts. In the news story it was not necessary to
refer specifically to the persons who furnished the information or to
quote what they said. In many instances, however, it is important to
“interview” persons in order to obtain their opinions or their versions
of current events and to give what they say just as they said it.
The terms “interviewing” and “interview” in newspaper work are often
limited to this method of reporting practically verbatim what is said
by the persons “interviewed.” Interviewing of this type requires great
skill and tact, and successful interviewers are highly valued on all
newspapers.

The two problems that the reporter has to meet are how to gain access
to the person to be interviewed and how to induce him to talk for
publication. Busy men have not time or inclination to give interviews
to every reporter who desires them. Many times such men do not wish to
say anything for publication on the desired subject, and absolutely
refuse to talk. The resourcefulness of the reporter is tested again
and again in getting access to men who are surrounded in their offices
by office boys, private secretaries, and clerks, and who on public
occasions such as banquets and receptions are sometimes equally well
guarded against newspaper men. When it is impossible to see the man
personally, it may be possible to submit to him several written
questions and thus lead him to issue a statement answering or evading
the questions.

Even when an audience is secured with the person to be interviewed,
his not infrequent unwillingness to talk for publication has to be
overcome. On some occasions to ask immediately and directly for the
desired information is the best way to secure results. At other times,
to engage him in conversation on some subject in which he is interested
and then to lead to the one on which the reporter wishes to interview
him, proves successful. Young reporters often insist on giving their
own views on the subject on which they are trying to interview a
person. The reporter should remember that he is an impartial observer,
not an advocate on one side or the other. If in an effort to get
information from the person whom he is interviewing he suggests
opposing opinions, these opinions should not be given as his own but as
those of others. Tact and a knowledge of human nature are essential.

In interviewing, as in all reporting, the newspaper man should not take
notes in the presence of the person with whom he is talking unless
he feels sure it can be done without affecting the freedom and ease
with which the man will talk. As soon as a reporter begins to take
notes, the speaker at once realizes that his statements are to appear
in black and white for the world to read. That realization leads to
caution, and caution leads to silence, partial or complete. To get
the person to talk as freely and naturally as possible is the object
of all interviewing, for the best interviewers want more than words;
they want the fullest expression of personality, an expression that
is only possible when all feeling of restraint is absent. The good
interviewer cultivates verbal memory so that he can reproduce verbatim
all the significant statements which he has obtained as soon as he
is out of the presence of the man that he has interviewed. At the
first convenient place immediately after the interview is over, the
reporter writes out as much as he desires to print, word for word as he
remembers it.

=Reporting Speeches.= In reporting speeches, addresses, lectures, and
sermons, the newspaper man either takes long-hand notes and writes out
later what he wants to use, or writes a long-hand verbatim report of
such parts as he desires. Few reporters can write short-hand, and the
few who can generally do not use it extensively because of the length
of time required to transcribe short-hand notes. It is much quicker,
and therefore more important in newspaper work, to write a connected or
“running” story, or verbatim report of a speech or lecture while it is
being delivered, by selecting significant statements and by omitting
the explanatory ones. With a little practice, the average person of
intelligence can remember a statement, word for word, as the speaker
makes it, long enough to put it in writing, and then by repeating this
process for every important statement, can give an accurate verbatim,
but necessarily condensed, report of any speech. As newspapers
generally want only a small part of the average address, the reporter
has little difficulty in writing a good account of it in long-hand.
When a complete verbatim report is desired, a short-hand reporter is
assigned to cover the address.

=“Covering” Trials and Hearings.= The same general principles
governing the reporting of speeches apply to the reporting of trials
where testimony is given in response to questioning by attorneys, or
when witnesses appear before investigating committees of the state
legislature, Congress, or other bodies. Questions and answers may be
taken down, or if the substance of the testimony is desired in either
verbatim or indirect form, the reporter can fit together the answers
into a continuous account of what the witness testifies, neglecting
partially or entirely the questions that elicit the testimony. A
“running story” of the trial or investigation is generally written in
the room where it is going on, so that the copy may be put into type as
fast as possible. In reporting important trials the newspaper sometimes
arranges to get a complete verbatim report from the official short-hand
court reporter or occasionally from an expert stenographer employed for
the purpose, and from this complete record those facts that are desired
for publication are selected.

=Advance Copies.= It is always a great advantage to a newspaper to
secure in advance a copy of a speech, a report, a decision, or any
document, so that it may be put in form for publication and may be
set up in type ready to print as soon as possible after it is given
to the public. Such advance news is marked to be “released” for
publication when it becomes public. For example, when a copy of the
speech to be delivered by the governor of the state at the laying
of a corner-stone at eleven o’clock in the morning on Washington’s
Birthday, is obtained a day or two in advance, it is marked “Release
12 M., Feb. 22.” The result will be that in the first edition of the
afternoon paper published after 12 o’clock noon on February 22 as much
of the speech as is desired can be printed, perhaps a few minutes after
the governor has concluded his address. Newspapers always regard most
scrupulously the release date which the reporter or correspondent puts
at the top of his advance story. To violate the confidence of men who
furnish news in advance by publishing it before it should be released,
is considered by newspaper men a serious breach of trust. Reporters
and correspondents should, therefore, mark plainly at the top of the
first sheet of copy the word “release” followed by the hour and date
when it can be printed. If the date and hour at which the news will
become public cannot be fixed in advance, the copy is marked, “Hold for
Release, which will probably be at 12 M., Feb. 22”; and the reporter or
correspondent notifies his paper of the exact time of release as soon
as it is fixed.

=Getting News by Telephone.= The telephone, both in local and in
long distance service, is extensively used in getting news and in
communicating it to the newspaper office. Editors often telephone their
instructions to reporters and correspondents. Newspapermen use the
telephone to “run down” rumors and “tips,” to verify news reports, to
get “interviews,” and, in short, to obtain all kinds of information.
Although some men refuse to be “interviewed” over the telephone, it is
often possible to get “interviews” more easily by this means than by
any other. Reporters, or “watchers,” at police headquarters and at
other news sources telephone important information to the city editor
so that he may assign men to get the news involved. When lack of time
prevents the reporter from returning to the office to write his story,
he telephones the facts to a “rewrite man,” who puts them in news-story
form. Or the reporter may dictate his story over the telephone to a
man in the newspaper office, who, using an overhead receiver like that
worn by telephone operators, takes it down rapidly on a typewriter.
Experienced reporters can dictate their stories in this way with only
their notes before them. The long distance service is used in the same
manner by correspondents when it can be more advantageously employed
than the telegraph.

=Photographs.= Illustrations, or “cuts,” have come to be an important
part of almost all newspapers. Although most of the photographs used
for illustrations are made by the staff photographer or are secured
from companies that make a specialty of taking pictures of current
events, reporters and correspondents are often able to supply their
papers with pictures of persons, places, or events that are a part of
the day’s news. Good photographs may sometimes be secured from amateurs
who happen to get snapshots of some interesting occurrence. Every
reporter and every correspondent should have a camera and should learn
how to take pictures to illustrate the stories that he writes, even
though he may not have occasion to take such photographs frequently.
Unmounted photographic prints with a glossy surface and with strong
contrasts are the most satisfactory ones from which to make newspaper
halftones. A brief description of the picture should be written on
the back of every photograph. Unmounted photographs should always be
mailed flat. Correspondents are paid for photographs that are used by
newspapers.

=Special Kinds of News.= Special kinds of reporting, such as is done
by sporting, market, financial, railroad, labor, marine, society,
dramatic, and musical editors, naturally requires special training
and experience in the subject matter of these fields. The methods of
gathering these special kinds of news are not particularly different
from those of collecting general news. The sporting editor and his
assistants often have to write a “running” account of a baseball
game or football game as it progresses. The musical and dramatic
critics, of course, express their opinions on productions, instead
of simply reporting what took place at the theatre or concert. The
railroad, labor, market, or marine editors report the news in their
particular fields, sometimes in special forms, such as market reports
or quotations, but their work of news gathering is like that of the
general reporter.

=Qualifications of the Reporter.= Rapidity, perseverance, accuracy,
intelligence, and tact, as well as the “news sense,” or “nose for
news,” are the essential qualifications for successful reporting.

Nowhere is it truer that “time is money” than in newspaper making. The
reporter, as the news collector and news writer, must save as much time
as possible by working fast. To know just where to get the news and
how to get it quickly, always means great economy of time and effort.
Rapid, accurate judgment of news values, likewise, is an important
qualification for a good newspaper man. “Get all the news and get it
quick,” was the command that a certain city editor of the old school
used to thunder at his cub reporters.

=Perseverance.= To get all the news, or sometimes to get any news,
demands perseverance. The reporter must follow one clue after another
until he finds what he is looking for, or is convinced that there is
nothing to find. By stopping in his pursuit before he has all there is
to get, he may miss the biggest “feature” of the story. Every neglected
clue may mean a “scoop” by a rival. To return empty-handed is to admit
defeat. News hunting is often discouraging business, but the reporter
must always keep up his determination by a firm belief that what is
eluding him may be a big story, probably the biggest story of his
career.

=Accuracy.= Accuracy must extend to every detail of reporting. As
the reporter is seldom on the spot when an unexpected event happens,
he must rely upon the accounts of it given by eye witnesses. These
accounts often differ materially because of the common inaccuracy of
observation and judgment. The reporter must weigh the testimony of
each witness, much as a juryman does in a trial, and must decide which
version is the most probable one. When time permits, he can verify
doubtful details by questioning other witnesses on the particular parts
in which the versions differ. He should always make every reasonable
effort to get all particulars as accurately as possible.

Great care should invariably be taken to have names and addresses
correct. The reporter will do well to ask his informants to spell
unfamiliar names for him. City, telephone, and society directories, the
various kinds of “Who’s Who” volumes, and similar lists, are convenient
sources for getting names, initials, and addresses. Even the necessity
for speed in newspaper work is not a valid excuse for carelessness
and inaccuracy in news gathering. The minutes required to verify
names, addresses, and other details, are always well spent. Rumors
and unconfirmed statements generally should be carefully investigated
before they are given much credence, especially when they reflect upon
the reputation of persons, organizations, or business enterprises. A
false rumor given wide currency through a newspaper may ruin a man or
a woman, or seriously injure a bank or business firm. No correction
or retraction that a newspaper can make ever counteracts completely
the effects of the original story. A rumor is often valuable as a news
“tip,” but like all news tips it needs to be traced to its source and
confirmed by evidence before it is really news. Often it is mere gossip
or the product of a fertile imagination, with little or no basis in
fact. False and inaccurate statements are not what newspapers or their
readers want.

=Tact and Courtesy.= On the stage the reporter runs about with
note-book and pencil in hand; in real life, he carries some folded
sheets of copy paper on which to take notes when necessary, in a way to
attract the least possible attention. He neither conceals nor displays
his profession. An impersonal, anonymous observer of persons and
events, he does not obtrude his personality upon those with whom his
work brings him in contact. Tactful, courteous, friendly, he elicits
his information as quickly as possible. When a more aggressive attitude
is necessary to secure what he wants and has a right to have, he is
equal to the occasion. But whatever may be the circumstances, the
reporter never forgets that he is a gentleman, and that the newspaper
which he represents never expects him to do anything to get the news
that he or it need be ashamed to acknowledge to the world. Some papers
may not hold up this ideal to their reporters and editors, but every
self-respecting newspaper must.

To cultivate personal acquaintance with those with whom news gathering
brings the reporter in contact, is the best means of increasing his
ability to get the news. When men come to have a friendly interest in
the reporter and his work, and find that they can trust him to report
accurately the news that they give him, they often go out of their way
to help him. Many a “scoop” has been the result of the friendly aid of
some one who had news to give and who saved it for the reporter in whom
he had become personally interested. In other instances, where official
news must be given to all alike, the favored reporter may be given
a “tip” in advance as to some important phase of this official news
which he can use to advantage in his paper, or he may be able to get an
advance copy of a report or of a public document so that his paper will
have a good story on it ready to print as soon as it is given to the
public.

Through his personal relations with men, however, the reporter is
sometimes put in a difficult position. In conversation with friends,
for example, he may learn of important news that would make a good
story and perhaps give him credit for a “scoop.” But he must remember
that when he obtains news in the confidence of private conversation,
he has no right to use it without the consent of those from whom he
gets it in this way. At other times he may be given news with the
request that it be not published, and again he must beware of violating
confidence. No self-respecting reporter will fail to regard the trust
placed in him by those with whom he comes in contact either in social
or professional relations. Another problem confronts the reporter when
friends or acquaintances request him to suppress the whole or a part of
a news story that it is his duty to write. Since a reporter is supposed
to give all the important facts in a fair and impartial manner, he has
no right to omit any of them without the knowledge of his superiors.
The best way out of the difficulty, therefore, is to tell those who
desire the suppression of any news that the decision in such matters
rests with the editor and not with the reporter.

=How the Correspondent Works.= The work of the correspondent is very
much the same as that of the reporter. Like the reporter, he gets
assignments or instructions from time to time; he asks his superiors
how much of a story they want on a particular event; he watches the
news sources in the city or town for which he is responsible. As he is
frequently on the staff of a local paper as well, he has the advantage
of whatever news is collected for this paper. Whenever an important
event is to take place in the district which he covers, he receives
instructions a day or two in advance from the telegraph editor telling
him what the paper wants and how much he is to send. If the telegraph
editor desires some phase of an unexpected happening looked up by the
correspondent, he telegraphs to him the necessary directions. The
correspondent, likewise, telegraphs to the editor whenever he has a
story on which he wants instructions. When a correspondent telegraphs
for instructions, he is said to send a “query” or “to query” his paper.
A query usually consists of a brief statement of the news in a sentence
or two followed by the number of words in which the correspondent
thinks he can write the story adequately. The typical form of a query
would be:

  Buffalo Express, Buffalo, N. Y.

    Easthampton, N. Y., Jan. 16.—Western Steel Co.’s mill burning, loss
  $150,000, two firemen killed. 300. Filed 9:23 P.M. Wilson.

The telegraph editor can use the facts thus given in the query by
turning the dispatch over to the copy desk to be edited for the
next edition; and at the same time he may telegraph to Wilson, the
Easthampton correspondent, to send 150 instead of 300 words on the
fire. The correspondent, on receiving these instructions, telegraphs
at once as much of the story as he can in 150 words. He always puts
at the end of the dispatch before his signature the hour at which he
files the story at the telegraph office, so that he will not be held
responsible for any delay in transmitting or delivering the telegram.

When the correspondent has a number of news stories of interest on
which he desires to have instructions, he sends his “queries” in the
form of a “schedule” in which each story is numbered. For example:

  Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia, Pa.

    Erie, Pa., March 10.—No. 1. Northern Hospital for Insane burns,
  all inmates rescued. 800.

    2. C. H. Hartman, cashier Miners’ Bank, commits suicide. 250.

    3. Principal Walters of high school prohibits football. 100.

    4. Mayor Altmeyer removes Health Commissioner Murphy for
  incompetency. 150.

    5. Minister delivers strong sermon on “Is There a Devil?” 300.
                                                     R. N. Wilson.

The telegraph editor might reply to this schedule with the following
instructions, which would indicate how much the correspondent is to
send on each of the stories that he has scheduled, as well as the fact
that nothing is wanted on story No. 5.

    Philadelphia, Mar. 10.—R. N. Wilson, Erie, Pa. Rush one and two;
  50 three; 100 four.                                         Times.

The correspondent is paid a regular salary if the amount of news that
he sends daily is considerable, but more often he is paid every month
at a regular space rate for the amount printed of the news that he
sends during the month. On some papers the correspondents clip out
all of their news stories and paste them together in a “string” which
they send in once a month, so that the telegraph editor may pay them
according to the length of the “string.” In many offices the telegraph
editor keeps a record by crediting every correspondent with what he
furnishes, and sends monthly a check for the amount due.

=News Associations.= Most of the news of the state, nation, and world
generally is furnished to newspapers, not by their own correspondents,
but through one of the several news or press associations, such as
the Associated Press, the United Press, and the International Press
Service. The Associated Press is a coöperative news-gathering and
news-distributing organization with a membership consisting of many
of the leading papers throughout the country. The expenses of the
association are divided equally among the newspapers that are members.
Each paper that belongs to the association agrees to furnish all the
others with the news that it gets in the local field. The Associated
Press also has correspondents everywhere in the world, most of whom are
paid for what news they furnish, while others at important news centers
are regularly employed to gather and send news to the association.
To facilitate the handling of the news, the Associated Press has
divided the country into four divisions with a central office and a
superintendent in each; and in these divisions there is a bureau at
every important news center with a correspondent who is responsible
for all the news in his district of the division. Associated Press
correspondents send the news of the cities, towns, or sections for
which they are responsible to the district bureau, or the division
office, where it is edited and distributed to the newspapers of the
division, and is sent on to the other division offices to be edited
and distributed to papers in these divisions. The United Press is a
corporation which furnishes its news service to afternoon papers at a
rate determined by the distance of the newspaper from the distributing
point and by the amount of news sent. It differs from the Associated
Press in the fact that it is not a coöperative organization. The
International Press Service connected with the papers controlled by Mr.
W. R. Hearst also furnishes newspapers generally with news service.

The instructions given by the Associated Press and the United Press
to their correspondents, from which the following extracts are taken,
indicate the general rules to be followed by a correspondent who is
sending out news that is of more than local interest.

  Be able always to give a valid reason for sending a dispatch.

  File news with the telegraph operator at the earliest possible
  moment. Dispatches should be filed before 9 A.M. for the noon
  editions; before 12 M. for the 3 o’clocks; and before 2 P.M. for the
  5 o’clocks; nothing should be filed after 2:15 P.M. except night
  matter, which should be marked N.P.R. (night press rate). If there
  should be news of great importance, file a bulletin of 100 words at
  any hour. All matter for afternoon papers should be filed at the
  earliest possible moment without regard to editions.

  When the news is of extraordinary character, or very sensational,
  file at once a bulletin of 100 words, and wait instructions before
  sending the details, as the number of words desired will be ordered.
  Should the news prove to be more important than the facts first
  available indicated, a second bulletin of 100 words should be filed
  as soon as the additional facts are known.

  The news in every dispatch should be given in the first paragraph,
  details following. A story should be told as briefly as is consistent
  with an intelligent statement of the facts.

  Notify, if possible, the general office by mail at least a week in
  advance in regard to the date of every meeting of national and state
  organizations, and of any gathering or coming event not of a local
  character, including the state and congressional conventions of
  political parties announced to be held in your city. Instructions
  will be given you as to the number of words to be sent in covering
  the events designated. All matter should be telegraphed unless “by
  mail” is specified in an order.

  Advance copies of speeches and addresses of public men, and important
  platforms and resolutions of assemblies and conventions, whenever
  possible should be secured in advance and mailed to the general
  office to be held until released. All advance matter is to be sent
  “subject to release.” The time of release of advance matter should be
  stated instead of the edition for which the matter is released.

  Accuracy, speed, and brevity are what we desire.

  The correspondent should be fair toward all interests.

  Do not send matter of merely local interest. Any matter sent must be
  of general or exceptional state interest.


                              SUGGESTIONS

1.  Always have at hand several soft black pencils.

2.  Take notes on folded copy paper rather than in a notebook.

3.  Keep a pocket date-book for all future events and news
    possibilities.

4.  Get all the news; don’t stop with half of it.

5.  Run down every clue whenever the character of the news warrants it.

6.  Work rapidly; don’t putter.

7.  Don’t make the necessity for speed an excuse for carelessness or
    inaccuracy.

8.  Be especially careful about names, initials, and addresses.

9.  Don’t take rumors for facts.

10. Persevere until you get what you were sent for; don’t come back
    empty-handed.

11. Be resourceful in devising ways and means of getting news.

12. Study your paper to see to what kind of news it gives greatest
    space and prominence.

13. Familiarize yourself thoroughly with the whole city, and especially
    with every place on your own run.

14. Never neglect even for a day a news source on your regular run.

15. Make acquaintances among all classes of people with whom your work
    brings you in contact.

16. Interest your friends and acquaintances in your work so that they
    will coöperate with you in getting news.

17. Gather all news quietly and unobtrusively.

18. Be tactful with every one; never make an enemy.

19. Never betray a confidence no matter how big the “scoop” would be if
    you did.

20. Remember that you can always be both a gentleman and a good
    reporter.

21. Don’t take notes in interviewing.

22. Always know exactly what information you desire before beginning to
    interview a person.

23. Get advance copies of anything to be quoted directly or indirectly
    in a news story.

24. Mark the release date plainly at the beginning of all advance
    copies or stories.

25. Get photographs of persons and events if possible, and write a
    description on the back of the photographs.

26. File telegraph stories at the earliest possible moment.

27. Always follow instructions.

28. Mail stories, either by regular or special delivery, whenever they
    will surely reach the newspaper in time for the edition for which
    they are intended.

29. Never put off till to-morrow sending news that is new to-day.




                              CHAPTER IV

                  STRUCTURE AND STYLE IN NEWS STORIES


=Writing the News.= After the reporter has found the news and has
collected all the important details concerning it, he must write it up
for publication. To present the news effectively is as important as to
get it. Many a good piece of news has been spoiled in the writing. The
raw material of fact must be transformed skillfully into the finished
product of the news story. The reporter is supposed to be able to write
an adequate report. When he does not, the copy-reader or the “rewrite
man” is called upon to make good the reporter’s failure. Ordinarily
the copy-reader needs only to polish off the rough edges. The work of
the good reporter ought to require little or no editing. The careless,
slovenly writer is not a welcome addition to the staff of any paper.
The less editing a reporter’s copy requires the more satisfactory will
he be.

=Essentials of Good Copy.= The first essential of good copy is
legibility. Typewritten copy, double or triple spaced, is always
preferred. In long-hand writing, likewise, liberal space should be
left between the lines and for margins. In such copy the “u’s” should
be underscored and the “n’s” overscored in order to differentiate
them. Proper names in long-hand copy should be printed to avoid errors
in spelling. If the story is begun halfway down the first page,
the copy-reader will have enough space on that sheet to write the
headline. Quotation marks, or “quotes” as they are called, should be
enclosed in half-circles, thus, “⁾stunt,⁽” to indicate whether they
are beginning or end marks. A small cross may be used to advantage for
a period. Numerical figures and abbreviations that are to be spelled
out should be enclosed in a circle. Each paragraph should be indented,
and the first word of it should be preceded by an inverted “L,” thus
⅃; if a new paragraph is desired where there was none in the copy as
first written, the paragraph sign (¶) should be used. At the end of
every complete story should be placed the end mark (#); if the story
is incomplete, the word “more” is written beneath the last sentence.
Additions to follow the last sentence of the story are marked with the
name of the story and the abbreviation for additions; thus, “Add 2
Hotel Fire” means that the piece of copy is the second addition to the
hotel fire story; “Add 1 Wilkins Suicide” means the first addition to
the story of Wilkins’ suicide. Additions to be inserted in the story
are marked “Insert A—Johnson Will Case” for the first insert in the
“Will Case” story; “Insert B—Trolley Collision” for the second insert
in the collision story. The place at which the new piece of copy is to
be inserted is often indicated thus: “Insert after first paragraph of
lead—Murder Trial.” Copy must never be written on both sides of the
paper.

=Style and Structure.= In the writing of the news story two elements
must be considered: (1) the style; and (2) the structure. The first has
to do with the expression; the second with the arrangement of material.

=Clearness.= Clearness is the first requisite of newspaper style as
it is of all writing. Newspapers are read rapidly, and rapid reading
is possible only when the words yield their ideas with little effort
on the part of the reader. The less the effort required to get the
meaning, the more easily and rapidly can he read. Clearness is most
readily obtained by comparative simplicity of style. However effective
elaborate sentence construction, learned diction, and carefully wrought
figures of speech may be in other kinds of writing, they ordinarily
have no place in the news story. This does not mean that literary
devices must be abandoned in newspaper writing or that newspaper
style is bald and unattractive. News stories demand all the literary
ability that the reporter possesses, for besides presenting the news
clearly they must be interesting and attractive. Effectiveness in a
simple style lies in that choice and arrangement of words which enables
the reader to get the meaning with the least effort and the greatest
interest.

=Conciseness.= Conciseness is the second essential of the style of the
news story. This, again, does not mean that only the bare skeleton of
news is required, for good news stories are clothed with flesh and
blood to make them real and to give them human interest. Conciseness
demands that not a single needless word shall be used, that every
detail shall be necessary for the effectiveness of presentation, and
that the length of the story shall be exactly proportionate to its
interest and to its news value. If the reporter tests the value of each
detail and can give a good reason for using it, he will not go far
wrong as to the length of his story. If he can give an equally good
reason for every word that he uses, his style is likely to have the
desired conciseness.

=Originality.= Originality of expression in newspaper work is the
quality that distinguishes the good writer from the fair and the
mediocre ones. Constant rapid writing on similar subjects leads to
the use of the same words and phrases over and over again. Trite,
hackneyed expressions can be used with less effort and greater rapidity
than is required to find new and fresh phrases, unless the writer
has accustomed himself to think clearly and accurately in concrete,
specific terms. The only way that the newspaper writer can make his
work rise above the level of the average is by seeing more in persons
and events than does the ordinary reporter and by expressing what he
sees with greater freshness and individuality. The classic bit of
advice given by Flaubert to De Maupassant, the French master of the
short story, is of the greatest value to the newspaper reporter who
would cultivate in his style both conciseness and originality. It is in
part as follows:

  Everything which one desires to express must be looked at with
  sufficient attention, and during a sufficiently long time, to
  discover in it some aspect no one has as yet seen or described. The
  smallest object contains something unknown. Find it.

  Whatever one wishes to say, there is only one noun to express
  it, only one verb to give it life, only one adjective to qualify
  it. Search, then, till that noun, that verb, that adjective are
  discovered; never be content with “very nearly”; never have recourse
  to tricks, however happy; or to buffooneries of language, to avoid a
  difficulty.

  This is the way to become original.

=Typographical “Style.”= For such details of typographical “style”
as capitalization, abbreviation, hyphenation, and use of numerical
figures, every newspaper has a set of special rules, generally
printed in a so-called “style book,” that are invariably followed
by copy-readers and compositors. When a reporter begins work on a
newspaper, he should study carefully all these peculiarities, so
that he may follow them in preparing his copy. He also should learn
as quickly as possible the paper’s printed style rules, or, if there
are no printed rules, he should study the news stories as examples of
the practice followed in the office. Some newspapers have an “index
expurgatorius,” or list of words and phrases to be avoided. These
“don’ts” generally embody common errors of diction, but they not
infrequently include also some pet aversions of the editor-in-chief,
the managing editor, or the city editor, that are matters of preference
rather than of good usage. Reporters will do well to observe carefully
how their stories are changed by editors and copy-readers, and in all
matters of style should make their work conform to the preferences of
their superiors.

=Paragraph Length.= One of the distinctive peculiarities of newspaper
style is the brevity of the paragraph. The width of newspaper columns
permits about seven words in a line. The result is that a paragraph of
the length usual in prose style generally, i.e., from 150 to 250 words,
would occupy from 20 to 35 lines and would appear disproportionately
long for its width. Paragraphs that are long, or appear to be so, make
a piece of writing look solid and heavy, hence uninviting to the rapid
reader. In newspaper work, accordingly, it has come to be recognized
that shorter paragraphs are more effective. Paragraphs of from 50 to
150 words are considered the normal type for newspaper writing.

This means that often a paragraph, and particularly the first paragraph
of a news story, consists of but one sentence. Paragraphs of two or
three sentences are very frequent. A comparison of the structure of
these short paragraphs with that of paragraphs in other kinds of prose,
shows that what would be subdivisions, each with a sub-topic, in the
common type of longer paragraphs, become independent paragraphs in
newspaper style. The unity of the newspaper paragraph, therefore, is
not less marked because of its brevity.

=Sentence Length.= Journalistic style has sometimes been said to
be characterized by short, disconnected sentences that produce a
choppy, staccato effect. Kipling, for example, is often described as
“journalistic” in his abrupt short-sentence style. As a matter of fact
the style of the American news story is marked neither by distinctly
short sentences nor by particularly abrupt transitions. The sentences
in news stories, on the whole, are as long as those in modern English
prose generally. The first sentence of the story, which gives the gist
of the news contained, is many times from 50 to 75 words in length, and
is therefore to be classed as decidedly long.

=Emphatic Beginnings.= The emphasis given by initial position is
especially important in news stories. The beginning rather than the
end is the most emphatic position. The reason is obvious. As the eye
glances down the column in reading rapidly, the first group of words in
each paragraph stands out prominently. Any climactic effect with the
strongest emphasis at the end is lost to the rapid reader unless he
follows the development of the thought from sentence to sentence to the
close of the paragraph. The important element if placed at the end of a
long sentence, likewise, loses its emphasis for a rapid reader.

This principle of emphasis at the beginning determines the structure
of the news story. Into the first paragraph, as the place of greatest
prominence, is put the most important part of the news. Into the first
group of words of the first sentence of each paragraph is placed,
if possible, the most significant idea of the paragraph. The least
important details go to the latter part of the story, so that unless
the reader is particularly interested he need not follow through the
account to the end; and so that, if necessary, parts may be cut off
entirely without causing any loss that will be evident. The fitting
together into columns of stories of different lengths after they
are in type often requires that the last paragraph or paragraphs
be cut off. This possibility adds to the importance of putting the
least significant elements into the latter part of the story, and of
concentrating the essentials at the beginning. It also requires that
each paragraph be so rounded that it may serve as the end of the story
if those following it have to be thrown away.

=The “Lead.”= The beginning, or “lead,” of the story is the part that
requires the greatest skill in the choice, the arrangement, and the
expression of the essential elements of the piece of news. Nowhere is
it truer than in the news story that “Well begun is half done.” In the
typical “lead” the reporter gives the reader in clear, concise, yet
interesting form the gist of the whole story, emphasizing, or “playing
up,” the “feature” of it that is most attractive. The “lead,” as the
substance of the story, should tell the reader the nature of the event,
the persons or things concerned, as well as the time, the place, the
cause, and the result. These essential points are given in answer to
the questions: What? Who? When? Where? Why? How?

The “lead” may consist of one paragraph or of several paragraphs
according to the number and complexity of the details in the story. For
short stories a one-paragraph “lead” consisting of a single sentence
is often sufficient, because the gist of the news can be given in from
30 to 75 words. For a long, complex story consisting of several parts,
each under a separate heading, an independent lead of a number of
paragraphs may be written as a general introduction to the different
parts. Usually, however, the lead is an integral part of the story,
giving the substance of the news in a paragraph or two, in such form
that all the rest of the story may be cut off without depriving the
reader of any essential point.

=“Playing up the Feature.”= Before the reporter begins to write, he
must determine what is the most significant and interesting phase of
his piece of news; in other words, the “feature” of it. It is this
phase that must be emphasized, “played up” or “featured,” as newspaper
men say. As the “feature” of a piece of news is the most interesting
phase of it, the reporter must apply to his raw materials of fact the
tests of news values discussed in Chapter II. The element of his news,
therefore, that will be of greatest interest to the greatest number as
measured by these tests, he should select as the “feature.” In addition
to the “feature” he must present all the important facts that are
necessary to make clear the “feature” and its relation to the rest of
the news of which it is a part.

In accordance with the principle of emphasis at the beginning of the
paragraph, the “feature” of the story should be placed in the first
group of words of the opening sentence of the lead. Although any of
the essential points may be “played up,” some are less likely than
others to deserve that emphasis. The time of the event, for example, is
generally not a significant point in the story, and therefore stories
should seldom begin with “Early this morning,” “At two o’clock this
afternoon,” “Yesterday,” or similar unimportant phrases. Occasionally
the exact hour of some action, such as the adjournment of Congress or
of the state legislature, which has been anticipated but could not be
definitely fixed in advance, has enough interest to warrant giving
it the initial position in the lead. The names of persons should not
be placed at the beginning unless they are sufficiently prominent to
deserve this emphasis. When a man is not known to a number of readers,
his name is of less interest than details of the news in which he is
involved. Names of prominent persons, on the other hand, attract the
desired attention at the beginning of the story. The place of the event
is generally indicated by the date line in telegraph news, and is not
played up in local news stories except in unusual cases. News stories
should not begin with “At 116 Western Avenue,” “In the lobby of the
Manhattan Theatre,” “On the corner of Williams and Chestnut streets,”
“Near the New York Central Station,” for rarely is the exact location
the most important point. Peculiar or important causes, results, or
circumstances are likely to be the best features, because, as has been
said, unusual, curious, new phases of activities have the greatest
interest for most readers. How each of the different essential elements
of the lead may be given emphasis in the initial position is shown in
the following examples:

                               The Time

               | At 3:30  this afternoon the session  of|
               |the legislature came to an end when  the|
               |senate adjourned sine die.              |

                              The Place

               | In the lion’s  cage of  Barnum’s circus|
               |was  performed  last night  the marriage|
               |ceremony   uniting    Miss   Ada   Rene,|
               |trapezist,  and Arthur Hunt,  keeper  of|
               |the  lions,  Justice  of the Peace Henry|
               |Duplain officiating from a safe distance|
               |outside the cage.                       |

                               The Name

               | Governor Wilkins denied the rumor today|
               |that he will  call  a special session of|
               |the legislature to  consider the defects|
               |in the  primary election  law passed  at|
               |the last session.                       |

                              The Event

               | Fire  completely  destroyed  the  four-|
               |story warehouse of the Marburg Furniture|
               |Co., 914 Oxford Street, today, causing a|
               |loss of  $30,000,  covered by insurance.|

                              The Cause

               | The desire to have  maple syrup on  his|
               |pancakes  led  to  the capture  of Oscar|
               |Norrie,   who  was  arrested  by  Deputy|
               |United   States  Marshal   Congdon  this|
               |morning   charged  with  desertion  from|
               |the  army.  He was  on his way from  his|
               |mother’s home, 116 Easton Street, to the|
               |nearby grocery store to buy some syrup. |

                              The Result

               | Twenty  miners are entombed in  the In-|
               |dian Creek Coal Company’s main shaft  as|
               |the  result of an  explosion  early this|
               |morning  which  blocked up the entrance,|
               |but  which  did  not,  it  is  believed,|
               |extend to the part of the mine where the|
               |men imprisoned were at work.            |

                     The Significant Circumstance

               | Posing  as  a  gas  meter  inspector, a|
               |thief gained access to the  home of John|
               |C. Schmidt, 1416 Cherry Lane,  yesterday|
               |afternoon,  and carried off a gold watch|
               |and a pocketbook containing $20.        |

=How to Begin.= The grammatical form in which the feature is presented
in the first group of words of the lead varies according to the
character of the point to be emphasized. Some of the convenient types
of beginning are: (1) the subject of the sentence, (2) a participial
phrase, (3) a prepositional phrase, (4) an infinitive phrase, (5) a
dependent clause, (6) a substantive clause, and (7) a direct quotation.

The subject of the sentence frequently contains the most telling
idea of the lead and therefore occupies the emphatic position at the
beginning, as in the following stories:

                                  (1)

               | Three  unknown  bandits  robbed  a con-|
               |ductor on the Hartford and  North  Haven|
               |Electric Railroad at the Westlawn siding|
               |shortly  before  midnight,  and  secured|
               |about  $25.  One of the robbers  covered|
               |the motorman with  a revolver  while the|
               |other  two went  through the pockets  of|
               |the conductor. No passengers were in the|
               |car.                                    |

                                  (2)

               | Government ownership of telegraph lines|
               |is urged by Postmaster-General Hitchcock|
               |in  his annual  report made to  Congress|
               |today.                                  |

                                  (3)

               | Fire of unknown origin damaged the four|
               |story warehouse of Louis Berowitz & Co.,|
               |wholesale  wine  dealers,  131 Arlington|
               |Court,  early  this morning,  causing  a|
               |loss of $5,000.                         |

                                  (4)

               | Vivid  blue  and  green lights  playing|
               |about Brooklyn  Bridge  led early risers|
               |to  believe  that  the structure was  on|
               |fire.  A  broken  live  wire  coming  in|
               |contact  with  a steel girder,  electri-|
               |cians  found,  was responsible  for  the|
               |unexpected illumination.                |

A participial phrase, as the first group of words, is often a
convenient form in which to “play up” a significant feature. The
participle must always modify the subject of the sentence. The
“hanging” or “dangling” participle which does not modify the subject,
and the participle used substantively as the subject, are faults to be
avoided. The effective use of the participial phrase is shown in the
following leads:—

                                  (1)

               | Speeding homeward  from  Europe to  see|
               |their  daughter  who  is ill in Chicago,|
               |Mr.  and Mrs.  Arthur  Spraugton arrived|
               |here on the Mauretania this  morning and|
               |an hour  later were  on board an 18-hour|
               |train for Chicago.                      |

                                  (2)

               | Run down  by  her own automobile  which|
               |she was cranking,  Dr.  Kate Mather, 151|
               |97th Street,  was seriously injured last|
               |night, near St. Luke’s Hospital.        |

                                  (3)

               | Accused  of embezzling $4,700 from  the|
               |Erie  Trust  Company,  John Fletcher,  a|
               |bookkeeper employed  by the company  for|
               |three years, was arrested this morning. |

                                  (4)

               | While   demonstrating   a  patent  fire|
               |escape  of  his  own  invention,   Oscar|
               |Winkel,  a  machinist,   1718  Amsterdam|
               |Avenue,  fell  from the second  story of|
               |the  apartment  house  at  that  number,|
               |and  escaped  with  a  broken  arm and a|
               |dislocated shoulder.                    |

Prepositional phrases, either adjective or adverbial, may be used to
bring out an emphatic detail; for example:

                                  (1)

               | With a million coal miners  striking in|
               |England,  with nearly a  million out  in|
               |Germany  today,  and with  the  prospect|
               |of a walk-out  in  France tomorrow,  the|
               |coal supply of Europe will  be seriously|
               |affected.                               |

                                  (2)

               | By sliding down three stories on a rope|
               |fire-escape, John Wilcox,  wanted in New|
               |York for forgery, eluded City Detectives|
               |Dillingham and Bronson last night, while|
               |they were trying  to gain  access to his|
               |room in the Western House.              |

                                  (3)

               | In the guise of a postoffice inspector,|
               |a bandit gained  access to the mail  car|
               |on the Occidental Limited of the Western|
               |Pacific Railroad, and after overpowering|
               |the clerks,  rifled the  registered mail|
               |sacks.                                  |

Infinitive phrases may be employed to advantage, as
in the following cases:

                                  (1)

               | To rescue  his  three-year-old son from|
               |death when his own home burned yesterday|
               |afternoon,  fell  to  the  lot  of  John|
               |Morrissey, of Engine 14, when,  with his|
               |company,  of which he was temporarily in|
               |charge, he responded to an alarm of fire|
               |from Box 976,  near his home at 161 10th|
               |Street.                                 |

                                  (2)

               | To  prevent  private  monopoly  of  the|
               |water powers of the state, Senator H. G.|
               |Waters introduced a bill into the senate|
               |this  noon providing for the purchase or|
               |control by the state  of desirable sites|
               |for the development of water power.     |

Causal, concessive, conditional, and temporal clauses at the beginning
of a story make possible the desired emphasis in an effective form; for
example:

                                  (1)

               | Because a multiplex  money-making mach-|
               |ine  failed  to  transform  tissue paper|
               |into crisp dollar bills,  Jacob  Montrid|
               |yesterday afternoon swore out a  warrant|
               |for the arrest  of Isaac Rosenbaum,  116|
               |East  Broadway,  who had  sold  him  the|
               |machine for $800.                       |

                                  (2)

               | Although  Senator Cameron again refused|
               |yesterday to  say that  he  would  be  a|
               |candidate for reëlection,  his opponents|
               |claim  that  he  has  been  planning   a|
               |systematic campaign  in his district for|
               |several weeks.                          |

                                  (3)

               | Unless the $150,000 guarantee fund  for|
               |the   democratic   national   convention|
               |Is  raised  before  tomorrow night,  the|
               |executive committee  of  the  Commercial|
               |Club  will not  extend  an invitation to|
               |the  national  democratic  committee  to|
               |hold the  convention  in this city  next|
               |July.                                   |

                                  (4)

               | While a surgeon  was  dressing a bullet|
               |wound  in his  arm at Williamstown Hosp-|
               |ital,   George  Johnson,  colored,   was|
               |placed   under   arrest   by  Detectives|
               |Gilchrist  and  Hennessey,  charged with|
               |shooting and seriously wounding Frank F.|
               |Taylor, a colored barber, 117 Washington|
               |Place.                                  |

A substantive clause as subject of the first sentence of the story is
often convenient, particularly for an indirect quotation in reports of
speeches, interviews, testimony, etc. The different forms available are
shown in the following leads:

                                  (1)

               | How the Standard Oil  Company grew from|
               |a  firm  with  $4,000 capital in 1867 to|
               |a $2,000,000  corporation in  1875,  was|
               |told this morning by John D. Rockefeller|
               |in the  course of the direct examination|
               |conducted  by  his  attorney,   John  G.|
               |Milburn, in the suit for the dissolution|
               |of the Standard Oil Trust before Special|
               |Examiner  Franklin  Ferris in the Custom|
               |House.                                  |

                                  (2)

               | Why the  United States needs an  income|
               |tax,  was explained by  Senator  William|
               |E.  Borah  in  his  address  before  the|
               |Progressive  Republican   Club   in  the|
               |Auditorium last night.                  |

                                  (3)

               | That  the   United   States  government|
               |should  operate a  number  of coal mines|
               |in  Alaska  and  that it should  take as|
               |its share  approximately 25  per cent of|
               |the net profits  on all coal development|
               |by private  lease on the  public  domain|
               |in the  territory,  was the plan offered|
               |today  by Senator Hitchcock of Nebraska,|
               |a  member  of  the territories committee|
               |which  is hearing  the  Alaska  railroad|
               |testimony.                              |

A direct quotation at the beginning is the means of
getting before the reader at once the important statement
of a speech, report, interview, confession, etc.
The following examples and those given in the discussion
of reports of speeches and interviews in Chapter VI
illustrate the effective use of the quotation.

                                  (1)

               | “I  took the  shoes  so that  my little|
               |girl could  go to school on Monday,” was|
               |the defense that John  Hoppiman  offered|
               |in the  Police Court this  morning  when|
               |charged  with stealing  a pair  of shoes|
               |from the  Palace Shoe Company’s store on|
               |Eagle Street last night.                |

                                  (2)

               | “No  cigarettes sold to minors”  is the|
               |sign conspicuously posted  in all places|
               |where tobacco is  sold,  because the new|
               |ordinance recently  passed  by the board|
               |of aldermen went into effect today.     |

=Beginnings to be Avoided.= The rule that a news story should never
begin with the articles “a,” “an,” or “the,” is neither supported by
actual newspaper practice nor based on entirely sound principles. Good
emphasis at the beginning is what such a rule strives to secure and in
so far as it calls attention to the desirability of beginning the story
with an important word in place of an article, it is justified. Often,
however, in order to get the most significant element into the first
group of words it is absolutely necessary to use one of the articles.
Sometimes an article is unnecessary before the noun at the beginning;
for example: “Fire destroyed,” etc., is more concise than, “A fire
destroyed,” etc., and, “Government ownership of telegraph lines was
urged,” than, “The government ownership of telegraph lines was urged.”

Numerical figures should not be used at the beginning of any sentence
in a news story. To avoid putting the figures first when round numbers
are given, such forms may be used as, “About 250 students,” “Over 1,200
chickens,” “Nearly 750 gallons of milk.” If it is considered desirable
to have numbers at the very beginning, they may be spelled out, thus:
“Three thousand citizens greeted,” etc., “Two hundred pounds of candy
were strewn along Broadway,” etc.

=Explanatory Matter.= In the lead of all stories of events that are
closely associated with preceding events, such as “follow-up” stories,
it is customary to give briefly sufficient explanatory information to
make the event described clear in its relations to the earlier ones.
This is necessary because readers may have overlooked the stories of
the preceding occurrences. An explanatory phrase or clause is generally
sufficient, but sometimes a whole sentence is necessary.

=Unconventional Leads.= In place of the usual summary lead containing
all the essential points of the event, some stories begin with the
particulars leading up to the event and thus keep the reader in
suspense as to the nature and result of the happening until he has
read the greater part of the story. These stories in their structure
approximate fictitious narratives such as the short story. Various
forms of beginnings that depart from the normal summary lead are
illustrated by the following examples:

                                  (1)

               | Half a dozen clerks  were standing near|
               |the  big vault in the  Chelsea  National|
               |Bank this afternoon,  their backs toward|
               |the street.                             |
               |                                        |
               | A  blinding  flash  filled  them   with|
               |terror,  and taking it for  granted that|
               |another  earthquake   had  visited   the|
               |city, they jumped into the big vault and|
               |shut the door.                          |
               |                                        |
               | When they tried to  get out  they could|
               |not.  Some time  later when the  cashier|
               |saw the door  closed,  he opened it  and|
               |found the clerks nearly smothered.      |
               |                                        |
               | A Wilson banner, soaked with rain,  had|
               |fallen across a trolley wire  and caused|
               |the flash.                              |

                                  (2)

               | “What  time is  it,  please?”  asked an|
               |innocent  looking  blond  boy  in  short|
               |trousers of Harry G.  Lampe on the steps|
               |of his  hotel at 101 Johnson Street last|
               |night.                                  |
               |                                        |
               | “I   haven’t  a   watch,”  said   Lampe|
               |politely.  The  boy  pulled  one out and|
               |explained  that it  was 7:30,  whereupon|
               |they  fell into a conversation and Lampe|
               |went upstairs in great good humor,  only|
               |to  come running  down again.  Two  sets|
               |of false  teeth were gone from his  back|
               |trousers  pocket—all the teeth he had in|
               |the world.                              |
               |                                        |
               | The boy was seen talking to a group  of|
               |men  and was taken to  the White  Street|
               |station.                                |
               |                                        |
               | Strange  to  relate,  Sergeant  William|
               |McCarthy,  until  recently  a  marine in|
               |the  Washington  Navy  Yard,  was  there|
               |explaining to  the  desk  lieutenant how|
               |a  blond haired boy  had  just  asked to|
               |carry his suit-case containing  clothes,|
               |discharge  papers  from  a  twenty-three|
               |years’  army  service,  and  medals  for|
               |bravery.                                |
               |                                        |
               | “Sure, he said  he’d  show  me  a  good|
               |hotel and we came to a doorway that  was|
               |dark.  Just like that the wallops  came,|
               |and  me  not  being able to see who  was|
               |hitting  me.  They  took  my bag and  my|
               |watch and when I got  up and felt for my|
               |purse they grabbed  that,  too; $140 was|
               |in it.” The door opened  on  the stealer|
               |of teeth. “That’s him, B’ George!”      |
               |                                        |
               | So it happened  that  the  child  stood|
               |before  Magistrate Hinton in  the  Tombs|
               |court today on two charges of larceny.  |
               |                                        |
               | “Stand up,” said the  court, and noting|
               |everything,    blond   curls   downward,|
               |pronounced: “You  are a most interesting|
               |psychological  and  sociological  study,|
               |sir.”                                   |
               |                                        |
               | Detective De Groat said that the  youth|
               |worked for  a  gang as Oliver Twist once|
               |did.  Despite  his  youth  and  apparent|
               |innocence,  therefore,  he was  held  in|
               |$2,500 bail for the Grand Jury.         |

                                  (3)

               | Two  men  knocked on  the door  of Mrs.|
               |Mary  Martin’s  apartment  at 210 Easton|
               |Place yesterday afternoon  and said they|
               |had come  to fix  the  gas  meter.  Mrs.|
               |Martin through the keyhole told them  to|
               |go right away,  but they kicked down the|
               |door instead and walked in.             |
               |                                        |
               | The  woman  got out on the  fire escape|
               |and yelled  for help,  while the men put|
               |the parlor clock  in  a bag and rummaged|
               |about in search of money.               |
               |                                        |
               | Policeman  Cox  answered  Mrs. Martin’s|
               |call for help and ran upstairs.  The men|
               |heard him coming  and scrambled out of a|
               |skylight to the roof. Cox followed,  but|
               |the two had disappeared.                |
               |                                        |
               | In their flight,  however, they spilled|
               |a  bag of flour over their clothes,  and|
               |so when Policeman Cox,  two hours later,|
               |saw  two men with their  shoulders white|
               |with flour,  carrying  a bag down  First|
               |Avenue, he arrested them.               |
               |                                        |
               | Mrs.  Martin  identified   the  men  as|
               |William   Kelley   and   James  Hammond,|
               |and said  they  had  both  lived in  the|
               |house where her apartment is.           |
               |                                        |
               | They  were  locked   up   on  a  charge|
               |of burglary.                            |

                                  (4)

               | Mary Hand, 7  years  old,  who  was run|
               |down  by a mail automobile last night in|
               |Third  Avenue at  Seventy-fourth Street,|
               |said she  wasn’t  hurt  and  asked to go|
               |home.                                   |
               |                                        |
               | “Please don’t  arrest  that  man,”  she|
               |added,   pointing  to  the  driver;  “he|
               |didn’t mean  to hurt  me.” So  Policeman|
               |O’Reilley took the  chauffeur’s name and|
               |address,  Henry  P.  Miller,  117 Walnut|
               |Street,  and let him go on his way  with|
               |the mail.                               |
               |                                        |
               | The policeman  insisted on sending Mary|
               |to  the  hospital   though  she   wasn’t|
               |scratched.  She had been  there just one|
               |hour when  she died.  The  hospital folk|
               |said   they  couldn’t  account  for  it,|
               |except by  undetected  internal injuries|
               |that she might have sustained.          |
               |                                        |
               | The  little girl was  the  daughter  of|
               |John Hand,  214 East  Holton Avenue.  On|
               |hearing  of her death the police at once|
               |began a  search for  Miller,  the chauf-|
               |feur.                                   |

Another example of this type of story that follows the chronological
order instead of beginning with a summary of the facts, is the
following from the New York _Sun_, in which it was printed at the top
of a column on the first page:

               | Tom Flynn, a coal passer who works next|
               |to the Fort Lee Ferry over on the Jersey|
               |side,  was gazing  dreamily out over the|
               |Hudson early yesterday morning. Suddenly|
               |he dropped his shovel and let out a wild|
               |yell.                                   |
               |                                        |
               | “Gee whiz, look Bill!” he  said  to his|
               |fellow worker. “There’s a deer out there|
               |on the ice.”                            |
               |                                        |
               | About 200 feet off shore a  red doe was|
               |floating down stream,  poised on a large|
               |cake of ice.  Pretty  soon  another cake|
               |drifted along and jostled the doe’s floe|
               |and she slid gracefully  into the  water|
               |and started for shore.                  |
               |                                        |
               | Flynn gave the alarm, and although this|
               |is not  the open season in  New  Jersey,|
               |the game laws were  disregarded and in a|
               |few minutes fifty odd deckhands,  ticket|
               |takers,  and  commuters were engaged  in|
               |a deer hunt.  Boat  hooks,  brooms,  and|
               |shovels were  immediately  pressed  into|
               |service,  and the  excited  crowd waited|
               |for the deer to come ashore.            |
               |                                        |
               | When the doe  saw them  she changed her|
               |direction, veering toward the ferry-boat|
               |Englewood,  which is  hibernating in the|
               |Edgewater slip,  and took  refuge in the|
               |lee of the paddle wheel.  Having rested,|
               |the  deer  swam  out  into  open  water,|
               |headed  directly   for  the  ferry  slip|
               |and  splashed  merrily  about below  the|
               |astonished  crowd  of amateur  stalkers.|
               |Someone  got  a  rope  and attempted  to|
               |noose  the animal,  but she couldn’t see|
               |it that way, calmly ducked and continued|
               |to cavort about in the water.           |
               |                                        |
               | Finally  the  doe  became  bored,  dove|
               |under the edge  of  the  slip,  and  was|
               |lost  to  sight  momentarily.  She  then|
               |appeared on the other  side of the ferry|
               |house.  Before  the  crowd  could  reach|
               |her,   she   scrambled  ashore  opposite|
               |Terry  Terhune’s  Dairy  Lunch,   looked|
               |wonderingly into Gantert  Bros,’  thirst|
               |quenching  parlors,  dashed  up  Dempsey|
               |Avenue  and with  a whisk  of  her  tail|
               |disappeared   up   the  mountain  beyond|
               |Palisade Park.                          |
               |                                        |
               | “Well,  suffering  Jumbo!”   said   Tom|
               |Flynn,  “these guys don’t  know  nothing|
               |about deer catching,”  and he went sadly|
               |back to his coal car.                   |
               |                                        |
               | Several  weeks ago three  deer  escaped|
               |from  the   Harriman  preserves  up  the|
               |river,  and the doe of yesterday’s chase|
               |is supposed to be one of them.          |

Originality in the treatment of the ordinary material of a news story
is illustrated in the following beginning of a report of a conference
on rural problems.

               | The little red schoolhouse and the  big|
               |yellow ear of corn,  how to develop each|
               |and  how to correlate  their  interests,|
               |was  the   problem  discussed  yesterday|
               |afternoon by a  committee  of  the  Wis-|
               |consin   Bankers’   association   and  a|
               |number  of  distinguished  educators and|
               |public  officials.   After  the  meeting|
               |at agricultural hall  was  over,  it was|
               |apparent that the problem of the big ear|
               |of corn  was in a fair way of  solution,|
               |but the  little  red  schoolhouse  still|
               |remained an enigma.                     |
               |                                        |
               | The  various speakers  painted  glowing|
               |pictures of  how  two ears of corn could|
               |be  made to  grow where  one or none  is|
               |growing  now,  and  how farm  life could|
               |be beautified  and uplifted  so that the|
               |boys  and girls  would  quit rushing  to|
               |the cities to add to the  poverty of the|
               |nation and would remain  on  the soil to|
               |add  to  the  country’s wealth.  How  to|
               |hook  the country  schoolhouse  on  this|
               |uplift  movement did not seem  so  easy.|
               |The various educators  present  who knew|
               |something of the  problem  it presented,|
               |smiled at the  altruistic simplicity  of|
               |the bankers in taking up the problem and|
               |were loud in their praise of the  monied|
               |men for  so  doing.  The  bankers  could|
               |count on co-operation, they said.       |
               |                                        |
               | The meeting  was an informal conference|
               |between  the  committee on  agricultural|
               |development   and   education   of   the|
               |Wisconsin   Bankers’   association   and|
               |other organized  activities along allied|
               |lines,  and was  held in a  classroom of|
               |agricultural hall.  L. A. Baker,  of New|
               |Richmond,  chairman  of  the  committee,|
               |presided.                               |

How a bit of police court news may be worked up into a story the lead
of which piques the reader’s curiosity, is shown in the following story
from the New York _Sun_:

               | It  took only two eggs in the  hands of|
               |Annie  Gallagher,   a  cook,  buxom  and|
               |blond,  to spoil  a sunset.  That is why|
               |Annie  was in the West Side police court|
               |yesterday.  She  had  been  summoned  by|
               |Jacob Yourowski.                        |
               |                                        |
               | Yourowski, who is a sign painter, works|
               |at 355 Columbus avenue,  next door to 64|
               |West Seventy-second street,  where Annie|
               |is employed.  He  was painting a  sunset|
               |as  a background for an advertising sign|
               |last Monday when the trouble began.     |
               |                                        |
               | “I   was  on   the  ladder,”  he   told|
               |Magistrate Steinert,  “when I was struck|
               |by  some  eggshells.  I watched the open|
               |window where this woman  is employed and|
               |pretty soon I  saw her  peeking out.  At|
               |first I took it as a joke.”             |
               |                                        |
               | “Pretty  soon  there  were  some   more|
               |shells.  I caught  her  looking out  the|
               |window.  So in  a  playful manner I made|
               |believe to throw back at her.”          |
               |                                        |
               | “Judge,   then  the  eggs  came  at  me|
               |strong.  They weren’t only  shells; they|
               |had  the  goods.  Pretty soon my  sunset|
               |looked like an omelet. Then I got mad.” |
               |                                        |
               | “Yes,” interrupted  Annie, “and  in his|
               |anger he  threw ice in the window at me.|
               |One piece struck me and hurt me.  Then I|
               |got mad  and  dumped the  hot  water  on|
               |him.”                                   |
               |                                        |
               | The cook was  held  in  $300  bonds  to|
               |insure future good behavior.            |

Another example of an opening that stimulates the reader’s desire to
know more of an unusual incident is seen in the following story:

               | If it hadn’t  been  for  a woman’s  cu-|
               |riosity Wadislaus  Brinko,  who  owns  a|
               |Lithuanian  rooming  house  at  231 East|
               |Hain  street,  wouldn’t  have  confessed|
               |to  the police yesterday  that  he  shot|
               |and killed Jacob Watus,  a roomer in his|
               |house, on Oct. 23.                      |
               |                                        |
               | A coroner’s inquest  was proceeding  in|
               |a routine  way  the  day  following  the|
               |shooting  and  the  jury  was  about  to|
               |render  a  verdict of  death by suicide,|
               |when  Mrs.  Anna  Hannok,  416  Highland|
               |place,  appeared  on the scene.  She had|
               |been attracted by the crowd  outside the|
               |undertaking rooms, she said.            |
               |                                        |
               | The testimony  up to the  time of  Mrs.|
               |Hannok’s    appearance    had    plainly|
               |indicated    suicide.    Suddenly    she|
               |electrified  the  jury  by  pointing  to|
               |Brinko and crying:                      |
               |                                        |
               | “Ask him where he got the gun.”        |
               |                                        |
               | The   inquiry,  interrupted   by   this|
               |dramatic  incident,  was adjourned until|
               |yesterday.  Shortly  before  the inquest|
               |was  resumed,   Brinko  broke  down  and|
               |admitted   that  he  had  killed  Watus.|
               |He  asserted,  however,  that it was  an|
               |accident.                               |

Distinctive beginnings which are also calculated to attract attention
by reason of the question form are shown in the following stories taken
from the Chicago _Tribune_:

                                  (1)

               | Have you lost a $1,000 bill?           |
               |                                        |
               | No, this isn’t a joke; have you?       |
               |                                        |
               | Somebody  was  so careless as to drop a|
               |$1,000 bill in the lobby of the Majestic|
               |Theatre on Friday afternoon. And if some|
               |theatre-goer had held  his head a trifle|
               |lower  he might have  seen the  currency|
               |and not stepped on it.                  |
               |                                        |
               | The bill  was dropped  near the box of-|
               |fice  as the  audience  was entering the|
               |house  for the  matinee.  Just  when  it|
               |fell to the tile floor  and  how long it|
               |was kicked around nobody knows.  Herbert|
               |Klein,  the doorman,  happened to glance|
               |at the floor and  saw a piece  of paper.|
               |Persons were walking  over  it.  He took|
               |another  look  and then he  reached  for|
               |it.  Walking back to the  door where the|
               |light  was better he  slyly took  a peek|
               |at it.  He  saw  the big  yellow “M” and|
               |whistled. He hurried to the office of A.|
               |S. Rivers, treasurer of the theatre.  He|
               |did not wait for the elevator.          |
               |                                        |
               | Mr.  Rivers  placed the $1,000  bill in|
               |the vault,  where he thinks $1,000 bills|
               |belong.   He   was   somewhat  surprised|
               |yesterday  when there was no inquiry for|
               |the money.  Then he  became  suspicious.|
               |Thinking  the bill might  be one  of the|
               |notes  of  the  $173,000  in  government|
               |money that disappeared from  the Chicago|
               |subtreasury two years ago,  he  notified|
               |Capt.   Thomas  I.   Porter   and  Peter|
               |Drautzberg of the secret service bureau.|
               |                                        |
               | The number of the bill was sent to  the|
               |treasury  department at  Washington.  It|
               |is  not  known  whether  the  government|
               |possesses  the  numbers  of  the  $1,000|
               |bills   which   were  missed   from  the|
               |subtreasury.                            |

                                  (2)

               | “Shall we shoot old preachers?”        |
               |                                        |
               | Several  aged  ministers attending  the|
               |Rock  River   conference  at  the  First|
               |Methodist  Church  of Evanston  sat bolt|
               |upright in their seats last evening when|
               |Rev.  George P.  Eckman,  editor  of the|
               |Christian  Advocate of New  York,  asked|
               |the question.  They blinked  hard and in|
               |unison when he repeated it.             |
               |                                        |
               | “Shall we shoot old preachers?”        |
               |                                        |
               | A general sigh of relief was heard when|
               |he offered his explanation.             |
               |                                        |
               | “We might as well shoot them,” he said,|
               |“as let  them  starve  on  the  pitiably|
               |small incomes which  some of  them have.|
               |Shooting them would be more humane. They|
               |have served long and useful  lives.  Why|
               |should their last days be spent  in want|
               |and suffering?”                         |
               |                                        |
               | Rev. Eckman was the  principal  speaker|
               |at the anniversary  of  the  Society for|
               |Superannuated  Preachers.  He  dwelt  at|
               |length on the increasing hardships  that|
               |confront the preacher who has  grown too|
               |old to perform active service.          |

                                  (3)

               | Who is responsible for the  collapse of|
               |the Pearl Theatre in Western avenue?    |
               |                                        |
               | Who  permitted  the  construction  of a|
               |roof which the results show was a menace|
               |to  the lives of  many  people from  the|
               |time the theatre was opened?            |
               |                                        |
               | How much  of the blame is  on the  city|
               |building department?                    |
               |                                        |
               | How much  blame  attaches  to the  city|
               |council?                                |
               |                                        |
               | How about  the architect and the  owner|
               |of the theatre?                         |
               |                                        |
               | How many other Chicago theatres—picture|
               |theatres   and   theatres   of   various|
               |types—are  as  dangerous  potentially as|
               |was the Pearl theatre?                  |
               |                                        |
               | Questions such as these will be  met by|
               |the  council  committee  on   buildings,|
               |which tomorrow  will  take up an inquiry|
               |into the Pearl 5-cent theatre case.  The|
               |roof of the  Pearl,  Western  avenue and|
               |Downey  street,  caved  in  last  Monday|
               |morning  and   a  disaster  was  averted|
               |because no show was  in  progress at the|
               |time.                                   |

A type of lead that has some vogue has a very short first sentence
that usually states the most significant fact in the story. This short
statement may be followed by a longer explanatory one that contains
the other essential details, or by a series of short sentences each of
which contains an important detail. This kind of lead is in reality
only the breaking up of the long one-sentence lead containing all
the essentials, into two or more shorter sentences. Greater emphasis
is thus gained for the particulars set off in the short sentences.
Examples of these leads are:

                                  (1)

               | Col.  Roosevelt  is  back.   He   spoke|
               |tonight  at  Madison  Square  Garden  to|
               |15,000  people.  They  cheered  him  for|
               |forty-two minutes.                      |
               |                                        |
               | There was no indication throughout this|
               |storm of  applause that  it was anything|
               |but spontaneous. It was directed at Col.|
               |Roosevelt himself.                      |

                                  (2)

               | The “fatherless frog” is in Washington.|
               |He arrived here this morning. He has two|
               |big  bulging  green  eyes,  a big  white|
               |throat, and for all the world looks just|
               |the same as  millions  of  his  brothers|
               |who occupy  thrones on lily pads in some|
               |muddy creek.  According to Prof. Jacques|
               |Loeb  of  the Rockefeller  Institute  of|
               |Research,  however,  this particular Mr.|
               |Frog,  on exhibition before the Congress|
               |of  Hygiene  and  Demography  here,  was|
               |hatched from  the  egg  of  a female  by|
               |chemical process.                       |
               |                                        |
               | While  visitors are  greatly interested|
               |in this orphan frog,  learned professors|
               |are  busy   challenging   his   chemical|
               |parentage.                              |
               |                                        |
               | Professor Loeb says that his fatherless|
               |frog  is  the  culmination of  years  of|
               |effort  and  that  with but little  more|
               |study he will be  able  to produce other|
               |forms of life  resulting from his  study|
               |of parthenogenesis.                     |

In the less conventional types of leads, various beginnings are used,
often to excellent advantage, for novelty and variety. The two examples
given below show some marked departures from the usual kinds of
beginnings.

                                  (1)

               +----------------------------------------+
               |                                        |
               |       I SOLD YOU THE GLASSES           |
               |            NOT THE COMET               |
               |                                        |
               +----------------------------------------+
               | By  this  sign   displayed   to-day  in|
               |an  optical  shop  in  Fifth  Avenue,  a|
               |dealer in binoculars,  who  is  weary of|
               |explaining that he  is  not  responsible|
               |for  unsatisfactory  views  of  Halley’s|
               |comet,  hopes to make plain his position|
               |to customers that desire to return their|
               |purchases.                              |

                                  (2)

               | WANTED—Young woman as governess for ten|
               |year old child, to travel through Europe|
               |this summer.  Give references,  age, and|
               |experience. Address E 740, Times Office.|
               |                                        |
               | This innocent looking  advertisement in|
               |the Times led  to the arrest of  William|
               |Houghton,  alias  Wilson Hulton,  at the|
               |National  Hotel  yesterday  afternoon on|
               |the  charge  of  swindling  Miss  Fannie|
               |Hopkins,   Denver,   out  of  $200  last|
               |month,  by means of a similarly alluring|
               |advertisement in the Denver papers.     |

=“Boxed” Summaries.= To give greater prominence to interesting
statistics, summaries, excerpts, and lists than is possible in the
lead, these facts are often put before the regular lead, usually
surrounded by a frame or “box,” and printed in black face type.
Although this arrangement is determined by the editors and copy
readers, the reporter may select and group significant facts in such a
way that those who edit his copy can readily mark them to be “boxed”
and set in the desired kind of type. Lists of dead and injured in
accidents; telling statements from speeches, reports, or testimony;
statistics of interest; summaries of facts; and brief histories of
events connected with the news story at hand, are frequently treated in
this way. If not placed before the lead, these “boxed” facts are put at
a convenient place in the body of the story. Brief bulletins, likewise,
containing the latest news are often “boxed” and set in heavier type.

                                  (1)

               +----------------------------------------+
               |                                        |
               |         SOUTH POINT FIRE LOSS          |
               |                                        |
               | Elevator B                    $300,000 |
               | Wheat, 377,000 bu.             403,390 |
               | Flax, 227,000 bu.              274,670 |
               | Barley, 7,000 bu.                3,360 |
               | Western Pacific Dock            30,000 |
               |                              --------- |
               |   Total Loss                $1,011,420 |
               +----------------------------------------+
               |                                        |
               | Over a  million   dollars’   worth   of|
               |property  on South  Point  was  consumed|
               |within  two  hours  yesterday  afternoon|
               |when fire  destroyed  Elevator  B of the|
               |Northern  Elevator Company and  the dock|
               |of the Western Pacific Railroad Company,|
               |and   imperiled   surrounding   property|
               |valued at another million.              |

                                  (2)

               +----------------------------------------+
               |                                        |
               |       REPUBLICAN STATE PLATFORM        |
               |                                        |
               |  Repudiation of Payne-Aldrich Tariff   |
               |   Act.                                 |
               |  Non-Partisan Tariff Commission.       |
               |  Government Regulation of Monopolies.  |
               |  Taxation of Water Powers.             |
               |  Conservation of Natural Resources.    |
               |  National Income Tax.                  |
               |  Limited Hours of Labor for Women and  |
               |    Children.                           |
               |  Popular Election of U. S. Senators.   |
               |  Employers’ Liability Laws.            |
               |  Workingmen’s Compensation Acts.       |
               +----------------------------------------+
               |                                        |
               | With the adoption of a strong  platform|
               |on  state  and  national   issues,   the|
               |Republican State Convention  came  to  a|
               |close late last night.                  |

                                  (3)

               +----------------------------------------+
               |                                        |
               |           TAFT ON THE IRISH            |
               |                                        |
               | They have accentuated American wit.    |
               | They have added to American tender-    |
               |   ness.                    |           |
               | They have perhaps instilled in the     |
               |   American a little additional pug-    |
               |   nacity.                              |
               | They have increased his poetic imag-   |
               |   ination.                             |
               | They have made him more of an          |
               |   optimist.                            |
               | They have suffused his whole exis-     |
               |   tence with the spirit of kindly      |
               |   humor.                               |
               +----------------------------------------+
               |                                        |
               | Eight hundred members of the Charitable|
               |Irish  Society  gave  President  Taft  a|
               |notable ovation  at their  175th  annual|
               |dinner held  at the Hotel  Somerset last|
               |night.                                  |

                                  (4)

               +----------------------------------------+
               |                                        |
               |         TROLLEY CRASH VICTIMS          |
               |                                        |
               |              The Killed                |
               | Muckly, Mrs. Theresa, 47 years, cook,  |
               |   1916 Flushing Avenue.                |
               | Flesner, Jacob, 26 years, machinist,   |
               |   2717 Hawthorn Street.                |
               | Block, Marie, 16 years, cash girl, 616 |
               |   Parkway.                             |
               |                                        |
               |              The Injured               |
               | Claxton, Mary, 10 years, 1414 Cedar    |
               |   Street, broken nose, scalp wounds,   |
               |   St. Mary’s Hospital.                 |
               | Shumacher, Mrs. Ida, 42 years, 191     |
               |   12th Avenue, right arm broken, in-   |
                   ternal injuries, St. Mary’s Hospital.|
               | Perkins, Charles, 31 years, 157 Wash-  |
               |   ington Street, dislocated hip, scalp |
               |   cut, Roosevelt Hospital.             |
               +----------------------------------------+
               |                                        |
               | Three  passengers  were  killed,  three|
               |seriously  injured,  and  a  dozen  more|
               |badly  shaken  up  when  a  south  bound|
               |trolley car on the Wellington  Park line|
               |crashed into one ahead that  had stopped|
               |to  take in passengers,  at Fifty-second|
               |Avenue  and  Howard  Place  last  night.|

=The Body of the Story.= Following the lead is the body of the story,
which generally consists of a more or less detailed account of the
event. The main part of the report usually presents the incidents
in the order in which they took place. In choice and arrangement of
particulars, therefore, it does not differ from narration in general.
As in all narration, so in news stories, it is essential to pick out
those particulars that are most interesting and most significant in
relation to the feature of the news. If the details are arranged
in chronological order and this order is made evident by means of
connective words and phrases, the reader can follow the account easily
from beginning to end.

All of the methods used by writers of fiction to make short stories
and novels realistic and attractive may be applied to the writing of
news. Concise descriptive touches that suggest the picture rather than
portray it by detailed description, are always effective. Accounts
of eye-witnesses, exclamations and remarks made by the bystanders,
comments by those concerned, dialogue between persons involved, when
given in the form of direct quotations, all add to the life and
interest of the story. Every legitimate literary device can be used to
advantage in the writing of the day’s news, provided that it does not
require too much space, for above everything else the news story must
be concise.

Good emphasis at the beginning of each paragraph should always be
sought, because in rapid reading, as has already been pointed out,
the eye catches first the initial group of words at each indention.
Unimportant connective phrases and clauses should seldom be given
this position of prominence, but should be buried in the sentence.
The emphasis at the end of each paragraph in the news story is not
great and can therefore be disregarded. Although each paragraph need
not end emphatically, it should be rounded out to give the effect of
completeness.

The organization of details in the body of a story is shown in the
account of a train robbery given below:

               | Spokane,  Wash., March 15—In the  guise|
               |of  a  postoffice  inspector,  a  bandit|
               |obtained  admittance to  the  postal car|
               |on the  Great Northern  Oriental Limited|
               |at  Bonners  Ferry,  Idaho,  early  this|
               |morning,   and  after  overpowering  the|
               |two clerks,  calmly  rifled the  through|
               |registered mail pouches while the  train|
               |was proceeding to Spokane.              |
               |                                        |
               | During  the run  of  over 100  miles to|
               |Spokane, the robber received the mail at|
               |three stations  where the train  stopped|
               |and threw off the newspaper mail.       |
               |                                        |
               | Just before the train entered the yards|
               |here,  the  bandit leaped  from  the car|
               |and,  with the booty in a small satchel,|
               |made his  escape.  It  is not known  how|
               |much  money  and  valuables  the  bandit|
               |obtained,  but it  is supposed he got  a|
               |big haul. Six registered mail sacks were|
               |cut and their contents rifled.          |
               |                                        |
               | When the train reached  this city, John|
               |Wilson,  one  of the postal clerks,  was|
               |found  locked  in  the  clothes  closet,|
               |while Henry Devine, the other, was under|
               |the  table with  a jumper drawn over his|
               |head and his arms tightly bound  with  a|
               |rope.  It was then that the story of the|
               |robbery was learned.                    |
               |                                        |
               | When the train stopped at Bonners Ferry|
               |at  four  o’clock  this morning,  a  man|
               |came to the door of the postal car,  and|
               |throwing  in  a  mail sack  and  a small|
               |satchel,  announced that  he was  R.  F.|
               |Burton, a postoffice inspector.         |
               |                                        |
               | “I will return  in a  few  minutes  and|
               |ride with you to Spokane,”  he  said  to|
               |Wilson,  the clerk on duty.  Devine, the|
               |other,  was  asleep under the table that|
               |was covered with mail sacks.            |
               |                                        |
               | After  the  man  left  the  car, Wilson|
               |awoke  Devine,  and  told  him  that  an|
               |inspector was to ride with  them to this|
               |city,  and that he, Wilson, would awaken|
               |him again shortly.                      |
               |                                        |
               | Just before the train  started from the|
               |Idaho  town,  the  man entered  the  car|
               |again.  “Is there any mail  for me?”  he|
               |inquired of the  clerk.  “There ought to|
               |be some. Please look.”                  |
               |                                        |
               | Wilson looked over some  mail  and when|
               |he  turned around to inform the supposed|
               |inspector that there was none,  he found|
               |a big revolver pointed at his head.     |
               |                                        |
               | The robber, after warning the  clerk to|
               |make no outcry,  ordered him to get into|
               |the clothes  closet,  which  is scarcely|
               |large enough to permit  a  man  to stand|
               |erect.                                  |
               |                                        |
               | Ignorant of the robbery that  was going|
               |on  in  the  car,  Devine  continued  to|
               |sleep.   Finally   when  the  train  was|
               |leaving  Big  Bend,  Devine  awoke  and,|
               |looking  up  from  underneath the table,|
               |saw the stranger opening letters.       |
               |                                        |
               | As Devine crawled out,  the  bandit wh-|
               |ipped out a  revolver from  his overcoat|
               |pocket.                                 |
               |                                        |
               | “Keep  quiet, or  I’ll blow  your  head|
               |off,” he commanded.                     |
               |                                        |
               | The robber then threw a jumper over the|
               |clerk’s head,  bound  his  hands  behind|
               |him,  and  pushed  him  under  the table|
               |where he had been asleep.               |

When a story covers considerable time because the incidents leading
up to the principal event took place a week or more before, care must
be taken to keep the time element before the readers in order to make
the series of incidents clear in their relation to one another. The
following story shows the arrangement of material in such a story:

               | Because he unknowingly tried to swindle|
               |the same young woman twice  within three|
               |weeks by means of a “want ad,” Arthur M.|
               |Howell,  who says his home is in  Yukon,|
               |Alaska,  was arrested at the Hixon Hotel|
               |last night.  The  similarity  of a “want|
               |ad” in the  Sun a few days ago to one in|
               |a Denver paper recently,  led  Miss Emma|
               |Bunde of Denver,  who  had been swindled|
               |out of $280, to notify the local police,|
               |and  through  her  efforts   Howell  was|
               |placed under arrest.                    |
               |                                        |
               | When, three weeks ago, an advertisement|
               |appeared  in  the  Denver  paper  for  a|
               |young  woman to act  as secretary  to  a|
               |business man during a three months’ trip|
               |through  Europe,  Miss Emma Bunde,  then|
               |a  stenographer  in  a  railroad  office|
               |in Denver,  answered  it,  offering  her|
               |services.  In reply to  her application,|
               |Howell arranged a  meeting  with her and|
               |engaged her for the position.           |
               |                                        |
               | At her new  employer’s suggestion,  she|
               |withdrew  her   savings   amounting   to|
               |$280  from  one  of  the  Denver  banks,|
               |and  accompanied  him  to  Kansas  City.|
               |When  they arrived there,  he offered to|
               |take  her  money for  safe  keeping  and|
               |she entrusted the  whole amount to  him.|
               |At the same time he  gave  her  $25,  as|
               |an advance  payment  on her salary,  and|
               |told her  that they would continue their|
               |journey  that  afternoon  after  he  had|
               |transacted some business.               |
               |                                        |
               | When she returned to  the hotel after a|
               |shopping  tour in which she had bought a|
               |dress for $22.50,  she found a note from|
               |her employer, which informed her that he|
               |had  been  suddenly called  to Columbia,|
               |Mo., on business.  A railroad ticket and|
               |sleeping car  reservation were  enclosed|
               |with  the  note which  requested  her to|
               |proceed to St. Louis that night and meet|
               |him  the following day at a hotel in St.|
               |Louis.                                  |
               |                                        |
               | Miss  Bunde   went  to  St.  Louis  and|
               |awaited  the  arrival of  Howell  at the|
               |hotel designated.  After waiting in vain|
               |for a week, she decided that she was the|
               |victim of a clever swindling game. Being|
               |without funds she wrote to  friends here|
               |and with their aid came to this city.   |
               |                                        |
               | In looking through  the “want  ads”  in|
               |the  Sun  last  Friday,  she  came  upon|
               |an   advertisement  for  a  young  woman|
               |secretary to  accompany  a business  man|
               |on  a  tour  throughout  the states  and|
               |Alaska.  The  similarity  of  this  “ad”|
               |and  that  which  she  had  answered  in|
               |Denver,  led her to inform the police of|
               |her  suspicion that  the author  was the|
               |same  person  who  had taken her  money.|
               |Detectives  were  at  once  detailed  to|
               |watch  for  Howell  when  he called  for|
               |replies to his advertisement  at the Sun|
               |office.                                 |
               |                                        |
               | The young woman in reply to the advert-|
               |isement again  offered her  services  as|
               |secretary,   giving  a  fictitious  name|
               |but  her  real  telephone  number.   The|
               |advertiser  failed  to call for his mail|
               |for nearly a week,  and  the  detectives|
               |abandoned their watch. Then on Wednesday|
               |Howell called at the Sun office where he|
               |found twenty letters,  including the one|
               |from Miss Bunde.                        |
               |                                        |
               | Unfortunately  for  the  swindler,  the|
               |first   letter  that   he   opened   was|
               |evidently Miss  Bunde’s,  for  he called|
               |her up Wednesday  afternoon  and made an|
               |appointment at the  Hixon Hotel for last|
               |evening.                                |
               |                                        |
               | She  at once notified  the  police  and|
               |Detective  Sullivan   was   detailed  to|
               |accompany her to the hotel.  When Howell|
               |appeared  and recognized Miss  Bunde  as|
               |his  Denver  victim,  he  endeavored  to|
               |leave but was arrested by Sullivan.     |
               |                                        |
               | At  the  police  station  he  gave  his|
               |address as Yukon, Alaska. In his pockets|
               |were found  letters from  several Kansas|
               |City  women  who  had   replied  to  his|
               |advertisements  in  that city,  and  the|
               |police  believe  that  he  is wanted  in|
               |other places on similar charges.        |


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Write legibly; use a typewriter whenever possible.

2. Double or triple space your typewritten or longhand copy.

3. Never write on both sides of the sheet.

4. Make your meaning absolutely clear to the rapid reader.

5. Be concise; don’t use needless words.

6. Use superlatives sparingly.

7. Find the one noun to express the idea, the one adjective, if
   necessary, to qualify it, and the one verb needed to give it life.

8. Get life and action into your story whenever circumstances warrant.

9. Use original expressions; avoid trite and hackneyed phrases.

10. Remember that every one of your mistakes adds to the work of your
    superiors.

11. Study and follow the peculiarities of the style of your paper.

12. Make your paragraphs short and concise.

13. Avoid choppy, disconnected short sentences.

14. Don’t overload the first sentence by elaborating on the essential
    points.

15. Select the most interesting phase of the news as the “feature” of
    the story.

16. Put the “feature” in the first group of words at the beginning of
    the lead.

17. Answer satisfactorily in the “lead” the questions—Who? What? When?
    Where? Why? and How?

18. Seldom “play up” the time or place as the feature.

19. Avoid the hanging, or dangling, participle, particularly at the
    beginning of the lead.

20. Don’t put important particulars of the story in the last paragraphs
    where they may be cut off in the “make-up.”

21. Avoid beginning successive paragraphs with the same phrase or
    construction.

22. Use an unconventional form of “lead” when the news justifies it.

23. Tabulate on a separate sheet significant statistics, lists,
    excerpts, or summaries, so that they may be “boxed.”

24. Don’t suppress news; refer all requests for such suppression to
    your superiors.

25. Put the mark (#), or the figures 30 enclosed in a circle, at the
    end of every story.


                            PRACTICE WORK

(1) Point out the faults in the following story and correct them by
    rewriting it.

  Suspected of starting over a score of fires in the downtown district
  within a month and confessing starting nineteen, with six false
  alarms in three months, Henry Handifort, a South Side boy, was
  arrested after a fire early today.

  In a confession to the police Handifort, who is 16 years of age, said
  he began his career as a firebug when 5 years old, but after starting
  three fires was so punished by his parents that he refrained from
  further operations until a few months ago. He said his ambition was
  to be a fireman and that he started the fires to be on hand when the
  firemen came so he could help them. He said he enjoyed seeing the
  apparatus turn out.

  The fires to which he confessed caused a total loss of $25,000. His
  climax came Sunday night, when three fires caused $8,000 loss. The
  boy, then under suspicion, was watched carefully, and a fire early
  today brought his arrest.

(2) What are the faults in the following story printed in a weekly
    paper, and how should they be corrected in rewriting?

  Mr. Ed. Williams of this city met with a very severe and painful
  accident in the zinc works in this city.

  Mr. Williams, who is employed as a cart driver at the works, was
  performing his usual duties, when in some way the horse became
  frightened and started to run away. Ed was thrown out of the heavy
  ore cart and fell in such a position, that the wheels of the cart
  passed over his body, causing severe injuries to his head and
  fracturing four ribs, besides bruising him internally. He was at once
  taken to the hospital rooms of Dr. Hulton, where his injuries were
  dressed. He was then conveyed to his home, where he is recovering
  nicely at present. It will be some time however before he will be at
  his post again.

(3) What is the weakness of the following story and how could you
    improve it by rewriting?

  Mrs. William Black, wife of the caretaker of the Yewdale Yacht Club
  house, which is on the end of the long bulkhead of the South Basin
  at the foot of Ring street, Lawton Park, sent her eleven-year-old
  daughter, Madelaine, to Dresden Avenue yesterday morning to get some
  oranges.

  Mrs. Black sat by an upper window of the club house waiting for
  Madelaine to come back. Pretty soon the little girl put in an
  appearance. The wind was blowing so hard that the mother feared
  for the child’s safety and she arose to go to her assistance. When
  she looked out of the window again, Madelaine had disappeared. She
  hurried out and saw the child’s cloak floating on the water.

  Charles Blaine, a sailor on the yacht Elizabeth E., and Otto Grey
  of the schooner John Bull, dived for the body several times before
  Blaine succeeded in bringing it up.

  The child’s father is on a fishing trip to Block Island.

(4) Play up the unusual element in this story by putting it in the
    first group of words.

  Mrs. Minnie Greene, a colored janitress, was burned to the point
  of death by a fire started by the son’s rays focused by a large
  reflector which she carried. Mrs. Greene, with the big brass
  reflector under her arm, was standing in front of the First
  Presbyterian church when suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her left
  leg. Looking down she saw that her skirt was afire. Screaming in
  terror she ran down the street and in and out of three stores before
  she could be stopped by two policemen. It is not believed that she
  can recover.

(5) Compare the leads of the two following stories of the same event,
    pointing out their merits and defects; then write a new lead
    embodying the best points of each.

                                  (1)

  Princeton, N.J., Nov. 3—Governor Woodrow Wilson had a narrow escape
  from serious injury at an early hour this morning when the automobile
  in which he was returning home from Red Bank ran into a rut in the
  main street leading into the little village of Hightstown, throwing
  him with great force against the top of the limousine, inflicting a
  painful cut in the top of his head.

  When he appeared in his library this afternoon to meet many callers
  and the newspaper men the governor wore across the top of his head
  a broad plaster bandage, covering part of the scalp that had been
  shaved when the cut was dressed.

  Captain “Silent Bill” McDonald, the Texas ranger traveling companion
  of the governor, received a severe jolt, but escaped any other injury
  than a bruise on his neck.

                                  (2)

  Princeton, N.J., Nov. 3—Gov. Woodrow Wilson wears a strip of
  collodion and gauze across the top of his head covering a scalp wound
  three inches long which he received early on Sunday in a motor mishap
  on the way home from Red Bank, N.J. His automobile struck a mound in
  the road and jolted him up against a steel rib in the roof of the
  limousine car.

  The wound is not serious and the democratic presidential nominee will
  fulfill his speaking engagements in Paterson and Passaic, N.J., on
  Monday.

  At night the governor was in the parlor of his home the center of a
  group of friends. There was nothing in his manner to indicate that
  he had met with any mishap. He said he did not feel the wound in the
  slightest degree and had not even developed a headache from it.

  “I guess I’m too hardheaded to be hurt,” he said smilingly as he
  received the correspondents.

  The mishap occurred in the early hours of the morning. The governor
  had spoken at Red Bank and left for Princeton, a distance of
  forty-five miles, shortly before 11 o’clock. He rode in the limousine
  car of Abraham I. Elkus, a New York lawyer who lives at Red Bank,
  accompanied by Capt. William J. McDonald, his personal body guard,
  who was shaken up and bruised.

(6) Criticize the following story and rewrite it in accordance with
    your criticism.

  Another hero of the sea was disclosed today through a collision
  of the Norwegian steamer Noreuga with the Norwegian sailing ship
  Glenlui. It appeared that he saved, not only the passengers and
  crews, but the ships.

  The Noreuga arrived at Norfolk last night in a sinking condition in
  tow of the revenue cutter Onondaga and is preparing to dock. The
  Glenlui is expected later.

  The Noreuga will be repaired at the Newport News ship yards, where
  its eleven passengers, including eight women, and its freight will be
  transferred to the steamship Mexicana. The passengers were brought to
  port on the Onondaga.

  The man to whom credit is given is the wireless operator on the
  Noreuga who declined to tell his name and whose desire to avoid
  notoriety was respected by Captain Hansen.

  When the crew favored deserting the stricken Noreuga after the
  collision last Friday the wireless operator refused to leave his
  post. With death riding the gale he continued to flash his appeals
  for help. He succeeded finally in raising both shore stations and
  vessels of the Atlantic fleet. The rescue of the Norse vessels was
  accomplished as they were about to founder.

(7) From the following account, as given by an eye-witness, write a
    news story for a local daily paper.

  John Quinn, foreman of the E. J. Mackey Co., 356 W. 40th St., gave
  the following account of an accident in his plant this noon:

  “I was working on the fifth floor of our new six story warehouse just
  before dinner time today when Oscar Taub who lives out at 216 W.
  139th St., one of the men who works for us, came up and said that Mr.
  Mackey wanted him to find out how much whiskey there was in the big
  tank on my floor. Taub put a ladder against the side of the big tank
  and, catching hold of the cord of one of the electric lights, started
  up to the top of the tank. When he got up to the top he called to
  me saying that there were 7,705 gallons of whiskey in it. When he
  started down the ladder again, the bulb of the electric light slipped
  from his hand and broke on the edge of the tank.”

  “Then there was a big explosion and I saw Taub flying through the air
  against the side of the wall about 30 feet away. Then the whiskey in
  the tank started to burn and the flames spread out along the ceiling
  as if the tank were a big furnace. When I saw that the whiskey was
  afire, I jumped over to turn on the outlet valve so that the whiskey
  would run off into the drain pipe. I turned on the water so it would
  run into the tank and put out the fire. I hurried over to see if
  Taub was hurt, for the water had put out the blaze and all of the
  whiskey was running out into the sewer. I found Taub lying against
  the wall unconscious with his hands and face burned. I was just going
  to carry him over to the elevator when the firemen came rushing up.
  I told them the fire was out and asked them to help me carry Taub
  downstairs. Then Mr. Mackey called the ambulance and they took Taub
  who had regained consciousness and was groaning with pain from his
  burns to Roosevelt Hospital.

  “There wasn’t any damage done but we lost all the whiskey and I guess
  the building would have burned if I hadn’t let the whiskey run out
  and turned on the water. The ambulance doctor said Taub would be able
  to get back to work in about a week.”

(8) Compare these three stories in regard to the effectiveness of the
    introductory statement.

                                  (1)

               | Within  hailing  distance  of   several|
               |costly  north  shore  residences,  Henry|
               |Hoskin,  132 Welcome place,  was held up|
               |late  last evening and robbed of $14 and|
               |a  watch.  Hoskin  was crossing Bellevue|
               |place on  Lake Shore drive when a  black|
               |limousine car drove up  and a  man  with|
               |a revolver leaped  out in  front  of the|
               |pedestrian. Hoskin turned over his money|
               |promptly.  The robber  jumped  back into|
               |the  car,  where Hoskin  could  see  two|
               |others,  and  the car dashed  on  to the|
               |north.                                  |

                                  (2)

               | The latest  thing  in  highway  robbery|
               |is   to  have  a  $7,000  limousine  and|
               |a  handsome  chauffeur,   and  then   to|
               |watch   for  victims  strolling  through|
               |fashionable neighborhoods. Henry Hoskin,|
               |who  lives  at 132 Welcome Place,  was a|
               |victim at 1 o’clock this morning.       |
               |                                        |
               | “I  was just passing Harold McCormick’s|
               |mansion  at  the  Lake Shore  Drive  and|
               |Bellevue  Place,”  he  said,   “when  it|
               |happened  to  me.   The  finest  looking|
               |limousine  I  ever saw  slowed  up right|
               |in front  of  the McCormick  house.  The|
               |machine  looked  so  expensive   that  I|
               |thought  the  occupant   must   be   the|
               |millionaire himself—until  out he  leaps|
               |at  me  with  a  revolver leveled  at my|
               |head. It took the man about four seconds|
               |to get  my money—it was  only  $14.  And|
               |then I was ordered to be on my way.     |
               |                                        |
               | “There  were  two of  the  robbers, the|
               |operating  man and  the  chauffeur,  who|
               |looked like a real one.”                |
               |                                        |
               | Hoskin told his story to  the police at|
               |the East Chicago Avenue Station and they|
               |started a search for the robbers.       |

                                  (3)

               | Stepping  out  of  one  of  the  finest|
               |limousine   cars  ever  seen   in   Lake|
               |Shore Drive,  three young  men  held  up|
               |a  pedestrian  early today at the  point|
               |of  their  pistols   in  front   of  the|
               |Harold  McCormick   home.   The  victim,|
               |Henry Hoskin,  132  Welcome Place,  told|
               |the  police  of the East  Chicago Avenue|
               |Station that he would not have been more|
               |surprised if the St.  Gaudens  statue of|
               |Lincoln in  Lincoln Park had stepped off|
               |its pedestal and picked his pocket.     |
               |                                        |
               | “I was just  passing Harold McCormick’s|
               |mansion  at  the  Lake Shore  Drive  and|
               |Bellevue  Place,”  he  said,   “when  it|
               |happened  to  me.   The  finest  looking|
               |limousine  I  ever  saw slowed up  right|
               |in  front  of the  McCormick house.  The|
               |machine  looked  so  expensive   that  I|
               |thought   the  occupant   must   be  the|
               |millionaire  himself—until   out  leaped|
               |three men with  revolvers  leveled at my|
               |head. It took the men about four seconds|
               |to get  my  money—it  was only $14.  And|
               |then I was ordered to be on my way.     |
               |                                        |
               | “The  three robbers  were  well-dressed|
               |young   fellows.   The  chauffeur   wore|
               |a  uniform   and  looked  like  a   real|
               |chauffeur.”                             |

(9) Analyze the treatment of material in the second story below and
    compare it with that in the first.

                                  (1)

               | A quarrel over the  merits of the North|
               |and South in  the civil war  resulted in|
               |the shooting through the  right cheek of|
               |John White,  3100 Renton street,  at the|
               |saloon of William Lubin,  Brinton avenue|
               |and Hamilton street, by Charles McGuire.|
               |The latter was arrested.                |

                                  (2)

               | The war of the rebellion was resumed in|
               |Chicago  yesterday  after a  preliminary|
               |skirmish  on  Saturday.  Three men  were|
               |engaged,  and after the smoke of  battle|
               |had  cleared  away  the casualties  were|
               |found to  be: one shot,  one prisoner of|
               |war, and one incapacitated for conflict.|
               |                                        |
               | The  skirmish   and   ultimate   battle|
               |occurred in the saloon of William Lubin,|
               |Brinton   avenue  and  Hamilton  street.|
               |Charles McGuire and  his brother carried|
               |the  colors of the South and John  White|
               |defended the North.                     |
               |                                        |
               | The three men were drinking together on|
               |Saturday  when the  issues  between  the|
               |North and  South caused a dispute.  They|
               |parted in wrath.                        |
               |                                        |
               | “We’ll show that fellow  where  he gets|
               |off   at,”  the   McGuire  brothers  are|
               |reported to have said as  they left  for|
               |the loop  to  buy  arms to  protect  the|
               |honor of the South.                     |
               |                                        |
               | Charles McGuire, with a revolver as his|
               |artillery,  went alone  yesterday to the|
               |saloon.  His brother,  not feeling well,|
               |remained at home. Soon Charles met White|
               |and had  no trouble in drawing an attack|
               |from him.                               |
               |                                        |
               | He drew  the  revolver  and shot  White|
               |through  the  cheek.   Then  the  police|
               |arrived and took Charles prisoner. White|
               |was rushed to St. Anne’s hospital.      |




                               CHAPTER V

                NEWS STORIES OF UNEXPECTED OCCURRENCES


=Kinds of Occurrences.= Reports of unexpected occurrences of various
kinds may be taken as typical of news stories generally. Fires,
railroad and trolley wrecks, mine and tunnel accidents, floods and
storms, marine disasters, explosions, runaways, automobile accidents,
etc., form one large group of events in this class. Murders, suicides,
robberies, embezzlements, and all other crimes constitute the second
important division. The application to each of these groups of the
principles of structure and style discussed in the preceding chapter
will be considered separately.

=Fires and Accidents.= In news stories of fires and accidents, the
number of lives lost or endangered, the character and extent of the
damage, and the cause are the features in which readers are most
interested. Lists of the killed or injured are always included in local
stories, and should be sent in telegraph stories when the persons are
known in communities in which the newspaper circulates. The names, the
addresses, the occupations or business connections, and often the age
of persons killed, are given, and the same details are reported for the
seriously hurt, as well as the extent of the injuries and the hospital
to which each person is taken. The form in which such lists are
arranged is shown in the explanation of “boxed” lists (pages 86–88).
The extent and the character of the damage caused by a disaster are
important, particularly when the amount or the area affected is large.
Curious and unusual causes and results, remarkable escapes, pathetic or
humorous incidents, and novel circumstances generally are frequently
“played up,” particularly in telegraph stories of occurrences in which
the persons involved are known only locally. In such cases the peculiar
circumstances are the only reason for publishing the stories outside of
the community in which the events happen. Unusual incidents are also
good in the lead of local stories when the other phases are not more
important.

The chief considerations in writing the body of news stories of
unexpected occurrences are to select and emphasize important details,
to eliminate or subordinate minor ones, and to connect firmly the
different parts of the narrative. Whether the reporter is limited
to a given number of words or is instructed to write as much as the
news is worth, he must choose and reject particulars with great care,
remembering always that what he retains must be so arranged that to
the rapid reader the relation of one part to another will be perfectly
clear. In a complex story with a series of incidents taking place
simultaneously, different threads of narrative must be woven together
skillfully to make it evident how the several incidents took place at
the same time.

Greater life, action, and interest can always be given to accounts of
fires, accidents, and disasters that cause loss of life, by giving in
direct quotations the accounts of eye-witnesses and survivors. When the
magnitude of the catastrophe warrants it, every effort is made to get
interviews and statements from persons involved. Conversation between
those concerned in the event can sometimes be used effectively. Every
form of direct quotation gives variety and interest to the news story
and is therefore an excellent method to use.

In the excitement naturally produced by the news of a disaster, many
rumors quickly gain currency. The first estimates of the number
of lives lost or endangered and of the extent of the damage are
frequently too large. The young reporter must not let himself be
carried away by wild reports, and should discount liberally these
estimates. By keeping calm no matter how great the catastrophe and
attendant excitement, he not only can judge the more accurately of the
character of the information that he gets from others, but he inspires
a certain amount of calmness in those from whom he is getting his
information and thus secures the facts more accurately. He should not
accept reports of a disaster without question and investigation, or if
it is impossible to investigate them, he should give them as rumors and
not as facts. To magnify a catastrophe often means to cause needless
anxiety to many whose relatives or friends may be involved in it. As in
all reporting, a simple narrative, picturing clearly, accurately, and
interestingly the unexpected occurrence, is the best news story.

=The Lead of the Fire Story.= Because accounts of fires involve all the
points to be considered in the average news story, they are taken as
typical of the whole group of accidental occurrences. In fire stories
the feature to be “played up” may be, (1) the cause, (2) the extent of
the damage, (3) the danger to surrounding property, (4) the number of
lives endangered or lost, (5) prominent persons or places involved, or
(6) any unusual incident or phase. The following examples illustrate
methods of giving prominence to each of the significant details at the
beginning of the lead.

                                 Cause

                                  (1)

               | Spontaneous  combustion  of  turpentine|
               |and paints caused a fire that completely|
               |destroyed the one-story frame paint shop|
               |of  John  Nelson,  213 Higginson Street,|
               |shortly before midnight,  causing a loss|
               |of $5,000.                              |

                                  (2)

               | Candles on  a Christmas  tree set  fire|
               |to  lace   curtains  in   the   home  of|
               |Robert  Whitcomb,  1716 Charter  Street,|
               |last night,  and  before  the  blaze was|
               |extinguished $500  damage had  been done|
               |to the house and furnishings.           |

                                   (3)

               | The  breaking of an incandescent  light|
               |set  fire  to a  can  of gasoline in the|
               |garage   of   the   Wheeler   Automobile|
               |Company,  731  Winter Place,  early this|
               |morning,  and two taxi-cabs  were  badly|
               |scorched.                               |

                           Damage and Danger

                                  (1)

               | Over  a  million  dollars’   worth   of|
               |property  was  consumed on  South  Point|
               |within  two  hours  yesterday  afternoon|
               |when  fire  destroyed  Elevator D of the|
               |Consolidated Elevator Company,  and  the|
               |docks  and sheds of the Western  Pacific|
               |Railroad Company.                       |

                                  (2)

               | Nearly 3,000,000  feet  of lumber  were|
               |burned   at   Mystic  Wharf  early  this|
               |morning with a loss  of $120,000 to  the|
               |Export Lumber Company and  the  Atlantic|
               |Coast Lumber Company.                   |

                                  (3)

               | About $2,000,000  worth of property was|
               |threatened  by fire in the manufacturing|
               |district along the Ohio river front last|
               |night  when  the  plant  of  the Rockton|
               |Woodworking   Company   was   completely|
               |destroyed with a loss of $125,000.      |

                       Lives Lost or Endangered

                                  (1)

               | Nearly 300 frightened  girls  ran  down|
               |stairways,    jammed   themselves   into|
               |elevators,   or  jumped   to   roofs  of|
               |adjoining buildings this noon  when fire|
               |did  $20,000 damage  to the twelve story|
               |building at 652 Bleecker Street.        |

                                  (2)

               | Nine firemen were  overcome by  ammonia|
               |fumes while fighting a fire  in the cold|
               |storage warehouse of R. C. Rinder, 48 to|
               |52 May Street, this morning.            |

                                  (3)

               | One person  was suffocated, one fatally|
               |and  three  seriously  burned,  and  the|
               |lives  of  many  others endangered  when|
               |fire  swept through the five-story  flat|
               |house at 122 West 127th Street today.   |

                                  (4)

               | Three  children were  burned  to  death|
               |this noon while locked  in the house  by|
               |their mother,  Mrs. Frank Lincoln,  1719|
               |Belleville Place.                       |

                          Persons and Places

                                  (1)

               | Market Square  Theatre was  damaged  by|
               |fire to the  extent  of $5,000 late last|
               |night, evidently the result of a lighted|
               |cigar or cigarette thrown on the gallery|
               |steps at the close of the performance.  |

                                  (2)

               | Robert Camp’s  summer home  at Rockton,|
               |L. I.,  was completely destroyed yester-|
               |day by fire said to have been started by|
               |tramps.  The loss Mr.  Camp estimates at|
               |$25,000, fully covered by insurance.    |

                                  (3)

               | Wilton C.  McClay, broker,  71 Exchange|
               |Place,  was  suffocated by  smoke in his|
               |rooms  in  the  Oxford  Arms  early this|
               |morning,  when  fire,  originating in  a|
               |defective flue,  damaged the building to|
               |the extent of $1,500.                   |

                         Unusual Circumstances

                                  (1)

               | Overcoats used  as life  nets saved the|
               |lives  of a  dozen  women  and  children|
               |last  night  when   fire,   believed  to|
               |be  of  incendiary  origin,  gutted  the|
               |three-story   frame   tenement  at   137|
               |Hoverton Avenue, Brooklyn.              |

                                  (2)

               | Rotten hose, which burst  as fast as it|
               |was put in use,  imperiled  the lives of|
               |firemen today in a  fire  that destroyed|
               |the foundry of  the National Tubing Co.,|
               |Wilson and Pierce Streets.              |

                                  (3)

               | More  than 300 chickens and ducks  were|
               |cremated last night in a  blaze  in  the|
               |basement  of  the  meat market  of  John|
               |Holton, 16 Erie Street.                 |

                                  (4)

               | To rescue  his  money,  which he  hoped|
               |would   raise  him  from  the  rank   of|
               |workman to that  of merchant,  Woo  Wing|
               |Lee,  Chinese laundryman,  3031 Nicollet|
               |Avenue,   ran  back  into  his   burning|
               |laundry  today  and was so  badly burned|
               |that physicians say he cannot live.     |

=Fire Stories.= After the lead has been completed, the main part of the
story remains to be written. The structure of the body of the story
offers no particular difficulties in arrangement as the incidents
usually follow each other in the order of time. In the account of a
fire, it is usual, after the lead, to give the facts concerning the
discovery of the fire, the sounding of the alarm, the arrival of the
fire department, the progress of the fire, and the different incidents,
with little or no variation from chronological order.

How a fire story is arranged is shown in the following example:

               | By  sliding  down  a swaying  extension|
               |ladder through  fire and smoke,  with an|
               |unconscious woman in his  arms,  Fireman|
               |Daniel Walter rescued her  from death in|
               |a  fire that early  this  morning  swept|
               |through a  five-story apartment house at|
               |122 West Thirty-ninth Street, and caused|
               |a loss of $15,000. Mrs.  Mary Owen,  the|
               |woman saved,  is  in a serious condition|
               |as a result of  inhaling  smoke,  but at|
               |the Harlem Hospital it was said that she|
               |would probably recover.                 |
               |                                        |
               | When the firemen  on  Truck  30 reached|
               |the  burning  building,  they  saw  Mrs.|
               |Owen leaning out of  a  front window  on|
               |the fifth floor,  screaming for help and|
               |apparently  preparing  to  jump  to  the|
               |street.                                 |
               |                                        |
               | “Don’t  jump,”  shouted  the   firemen.|
               |“We’ll be up there in a minute.”        |
               |                                        |
               | She stood motionless in the window with|
               |the smoke  pouring  out  around her when|
               |the  big  eighty-foot  extension  ladder|
               |began to  rise  slowly  in  response  to|
               |vigorous cranking.  While the ladder was|
               |swaying like a  pendulum as it ascended,|
               |Fireman Walter  and Driver Frank  Lawson|
               |began to climb up.                      |
               |                                        |
               | “Hold on just a second longer,” shouted|
               |Lawson  as he  saw  that  Mrs.  Owen was|
               |again leaning  forward  as if  about  to|
               |jump.                                   |
               |                                        |
               | When he reached the top of the ladder a|
               |moment later,  Mrs. Owen swayed and fell|
               |back into the room.  At the same instant|
               |flames burst out of the  windows on  the|
               |third  floor  and   swept   through  the|
               |ladder.                                 |
               |                                        |
               | “You go down,” called Walter to  Driver|
               |Lawson  below him  on the ladder.  “I’ll|
               |get  her and slide  for  it.  Be  at the|
               |bottom to catch us.”                    |
               |                                        |
               | Lawson  slid  back through  the flames,|
               |and  Walter  climbed  into  the  window.|
               |Mrs.  Owen was lying unconscious  on the|
               |floor with her dress ablaze. Walter beat|
               |out  the flames  and  then  wrapped  his|
               |coat around her to  protect her from the|
               |sparks and  embers  that  were  swirling|
               |through the window.                     |
               |                                        |
               | Laying  the unconscious  woman  on  the|
               |window-sill,  Walter climbed  out on the|
               |ladder.  Then  he reached  over and took|
               |Mrs.  Owen, placing her across his arms.|
               |Seeing that a slow  descent  through the|
               |flames bursting  out of the  windows  on|
               |the floors  below  meant certain  death,|
               |Walter wrapped his legs around the sides|
               |of  the  ladder  and  took  hold of both|
               |sides  with  his  hands,  balancing Mrs.|
               |Owen across his arms.                   |
               |                                        |
               | “Catch us down  there,” he  shouted and|
               |started to slide down the ladder through|
               |the flames and smoke,  as  though it had|
               |been greased.                           |
               |                                        |
               | For a few seconds he  was  hidden  from|
               |view;   then   he  reappeared  with  his|
               |clothes ablaze but with his burden still|
               |safe across his arms. Firemen caught him|
               |as  he  reached the sidewalk,  and  took|
               |Mrs. Owen who was still unconscious.    |
               |                                        |
               | It was all the police reserves could do|
               |to keep the crowd  from breaking through|
               |the  fire  lines  to congratulate Walter|
               |and carry  him off  on their  shoulders.|
               |They  cheered  again  and  again  as  he|
               |was  hurried  into  the  Harlem Hospital|
               |ambulance.   His  hands  and  face  were|
               |scorched,  but after  his burns had been|
               |dressed   at  the  hospital  he   gamily|
               |returned  to his  quarters  in  the fire|
               |station.                                |
               |                                        |
               | Mrs.  Owen was the only occupant of the|
               |house who  did not succeed  in  reaching|
               |the  fire  escapes  in  the rear of  the|
               |apartment and thus getting out safely.  |
               |                                        |
               | The  fire   started  in  the  basement,|
               |evidently from  an  overheated  furnace,|
               |and shooting up  through the air shafts,|
               |spread into the apartments on the third,|
               |fourth,  and fifth  floors.  As  most of|
               |the tenants  left  the  doors  of  their|
               |apartments  open  when  they  fled,  the|
               |draught  swept  the  fire  through floor|
               |after floor.  The interior of  the whole|
               |five floors was destroyed.  Three alarms|
               |were  turned  in  and  the fire was  not|
               |under control until 10 o’clock.         |

=Stories of Accidents.= News stories of accidents are constructed on
the same plan as those of fires, and the features are practically
the same. The story of the accident in the subway (page 41) and the
following one may be taken as typical reports of accidents.

               | In attempting  to protect the lives  of|
               |others  against  danger  from  a  broken|
               |electric light  wire,  Patrolman Patrick|
               |Wilson,  751 Erie St.,  was electrocuted|
               |at 3:30  this  morning  on Depere  Place|
               |between 75th and 76th streets.  The body|
               |of the policeman was  discovered an hour|
               |later by  Oscar Wilkins,  a milkman,  as|
               |he  was driving along  Depere  Place  on|
               |his  morning  rounds.  A small  red burn|
               |across the back  of his right hand and a|
               |live wire with a rope  attached dangling|
               |from a tree a few feet away,  showed how|
               |Wilson had lost his life.               |
               |                                        |
               | Patrolman  Wilson  talked  with  Police|
               |Sergeant William Strong about the broken|
               |wire  on  Depere Place near 75th  Street|
               |about  3:15  this  morning.  As  he  did|
               |not report  to the  police  station from|
               |the patrol  box  as  usual  at 3:35,  it|
               |is assumed that  he  was killed  shortly|
               |before that time.                       |
               |                                        |
               | “There’s  a live wire hanging down from|
               |a tree  on Depere Place,” said Wilson to|
               |Sergeant  Strong  when they met  shortly|
               |after three o’clock. “I’m afraid someone|
               |will be  killed.  I’ve been watching  it|
               |all  night.  I  believe  I  will  try to|
               |fasten it up in the tree  so that no one|
               |will run into it.”                      |
               |                                        |
               | “You had better  be careful; you may be|
               |killed,” suggested Strong.              |
               |                                        |
               | “No danger of  that,” he replied.  “The|
               |wire is insulated.”                     |
               |                                        |
               | “Well, you had better get a rope at the|
               |car barns,  anyway,” urged the sergeant,|
               |and  Wilson  agreed  to go over  to  the|
               |barns on 75th Street for a rope.  He was|
               |last seen alive  when he  left  the  car|
               |barns with some rope about 3:20.        |
               |                                        |
               | Evidently  he threw  the  rope  over  a|
               |branch of  the tree,  and  then tried to|
               |put the deadly wire  through  a noose in|
               |one end of the rope so that it could  be|
               |drawn up into the tree out of the way of|
               |passers-by.  The wire must have squirmed|
               |around  unexpectedly striking  Wilson on|
               |the back  of the  hand  and killing  him|
               |instantly.                              |
               |                                        |
               | Wilson, who  was  27  years old and had|
               |been on the police force for five years,|
               |is  survived by  a  wife  and  two small|
               |children.                               |

=Stories of Crime.= Accounts of crime, or “police news stories,” are
constructed on practically the same principles as those of fires
and accidents. In all crimes in which human lives are destroyed
or endangered, the essential points are the names of the persons
involved, the nature of the crime, its cause, its results, and, if
the perpetrator escapes, clues to his identity and whereabouts. In
murders, attempted murders, suicides, and defalcations, the motives
for the crime are always matters of great interest. The value of what
was stolen or what might have been stolen should be given in reports
of robberies or embezzlements. Ingenious methods used to gain entrance
to places robbed make interesting features. In defalcation or fraud
peculiar means of deception employed may be “played up.” The “human
interest” in the accused or the victim must not be overlooked in
crime stories. When either individual is well known, his name is the
important “feature.”

The reporter must always remember that a person charged with a crime is
not a criminal until he is proved guilty in court. Unless he confesses,
the person charged with crime is presumed to be innocent until
convicted. In writing police stories, therefore, the reporter should
always make it plain that the person involved is “charged” with a
crime, and that he is “alleged,” or “said,” by the police to be guilty.
While he is charged with the crime, he may be said to be, not “the
murderer,” but “the alleged murderer”; or not “the embezzler,” but “the
alleged embezzler.” The reporter should present both sides of the case
by giving the prisoner’s version, as well as that of the police, not
only because it is just to do so but because it is usually good news.

Stories of crime, like all other news stories, should be told in a
simple, direct style that presents in an accurate and interesting
manner the account of the crime as it was actually committed.
Exaggerated and sensational stories of crime or those in which attempts
are made to arouse sentiment for or against the perpetrator or his
victim, have no place in the news columns of reputable newspapers. If
readers are to be appealed to to right a wrong, such appeals should be
made in the editorial columns and should not be allowed to color the
facts in the news stories. The actual facts truthfully presented make
the best possible appeal. To try, in the newspapers, a person accused
of crime, before or during his legal trial, is not to give him the fair
trial to which he is entitled.

The way in which various phases of crime may be “featured” in the
lead without making the story in any way sensational is shown by the
following examples, in which some interesting or extraordinary phase
of the crime is put in the emphatic position at the beginning of the
story.

                                  (1)

               | After  confessing  to  a   shortage  of|
               |$21,500  lost  in  speculation,   Robert|
               |Crook,   Jr.,  assistant  paying  teller|
               |of the  Security  Loan & Trust Co.,  was|
               |arrested this afternoon on the charge of|
               |embezzlement.                           |

                                  (2)

               | “I  played  the ponies  and  lost,”  is|
               |William   Dieb’s  explanation   of   the|
               |theft of  $1,200  from  Wilson Brothers,|
               |clothiers,  121 Williamson Street, where|
               |for eighteen months he has been employed|
               |as cashier.                             |

                                  (3)

               | On the  charge of robbing  thousands of|
               |women  and  other   small  investors  of|
               |nearly $25,000 by fake  mining  schemes,|
               |Allan  Gotham,   a  mining  broker  with|
               |offices  at  117  Chambers  Street,  was|
               |arrested by U.  S.  Marshal Harshaw this|
               |morning.                                |

                                  (4)

               | To avenge  a  beating,  Giovanni Ricci,|
               |a  laborer,  shot  and  instantly killed|
               |Guiatto Cimbri,  section foreman on  the|
               |Pennsylvania Railroad,  this noon,  near|
               |Harcourt Road,  just west of  this city.|
               |Ricci   immediately  disappeared   among|
               |the freight cars  in  the railroad yards|
               |nearby,  and as  the other workmen  were|
               |unable to  find any trace of him,  it is|
               |believed that he boarded a freight train|
               |as it drew out of the yards.            |

                                  (5)

               | By leaping  from  his  aeroplane  at  a|
               |height of  2,000  feet,  Luis Reveri,  a|
               |young Spanish aviator, committed suicide|
               |early  today,  following a quarrel  late|
               |last night with a young woman to whom he|
               |is said to have been engaged.           |

                                  (6)

               | Seized by thugs in broad daylight while|
               |crossing the railroad tracks at the foot|
               |of Washington Street, this noon, William|
               |Williams,  a stone  mason  from Chicago,|
               |was robbed of a gold watch and $20.     |

                                  (7)

               | With  all  the  skill  of  professional|
               |thieves,   two  neatly  dressed   little|
               |girls  robbed  several  stores  in   the|
               |neighborhood  of  Amsterdam  Avenue  and|
               |159th  Street  yesterday,  by  arranging|
               |that  the   younger,   about   12  years|
               |old,  should  engage the  proprietor  in|
               |conversation while the older,  about  14|
               |years,  proceeded to take  whatever  she|
               |could carry away conveniently.          |

                                  (8)

               | Sticky fly paper pasted on show windows|
               |to  prevent the crash  of falling glass,|
               |was used by burglars who broke the plate|
               |glass windows of three jewelry stores on|
               |Third  street  last night,  and got away|
               |with about $15,000 worth of plunder.    |

The following story of a robbery shows how various details are grouped
in the lead and in the body of the story:

               | Westhampton, Ind., April  10.—By drill-|
               |ing  through  a fourteen  inch fireproof|
               |wall of the vault of  the temporary post|
               |office from an  adjoining store,  expert|
               |cracksmen  got away  with  $18,653,  all|
               |in  stamps,  some  time  last night.  So|
               |skillfully did  they  operate  that mail|
               |clerks at work all night fifty feet away|
               |from  the vault  knew  nothing  of  what|
               |took place.  The police and  post office|
               |inspectors have no clue.                |
               |                                        |
               | The  robbery  was  discovered  at  7:30|
               |o’clock this  morning by Oscar Otter,  a|
               |clerk  in  the  United States  Furniture|
               |Co.,  which occupies the store adjoining|
               |the  post office.  When Otter was unable|
               |to open either of the front doors of the|
               |store with his keys he became suspicious|
               |and  called  Patrolman   Frank   Parker.|
               |Throwing their weight against  the doors|
               |they  forced an  entrance and found that|
               |both  had  been fastened by large  screw|
               |eyes.                                   |
               |                                        |
               | On examining the store, they discovered|
               |below  the  main stairway on  the  first|
               |floor a hole in  the wall about eighteen|
               |inches  square.  An  electric drill with|
               |wires  attached  to  an  electric  light|
               |socket  under  the   stairs  showed  how|
               |the  robbers  had succeeded  in  cutting|
               |through  the  fourteen  inch   fireproof|
               |wall.   Drills,  chisels,  and  a  small|
               |bottle  of nitroglycerine were  found  a|
               |few  feet  away covered with  dust.  The|
               |floor  in front of the hole and the wall|
               |about  it  were  covered  with  blankets|
               |and  quilts  taken  from  the  company’s|
               |stock, apparently to deaden the sound of|
               |drilling.  The bricks of which there was|
               |a  small pile had  evidently  been drawn|
               |out one  by  one  as  fast  as they were|
               |loosened, with the aid of a small pulley|
               |and tackle that were lying in the hole. |
               |                                        |
               | Some footprints in the dust at the foot|
               |of  the  stairs  indicated  that  one of|
               |the  men  had been stationed there  as a|
               |look-out to command a view of the street|
               |through the big  plate glass windows  of|
               |the store.  These  with  the  tools  and|
               |tackle were the only clues.             |
               |                                        |
               | Patrolman Parker notified  the  detect-|
               |ives of the central police station while|
               |Mr.  Otter  informed  Postmaster  White.|
               |When  the post office  vault  was opened|
               |everything was found to be in confusion.|
               |The stamp cases had  been rifled to  the|
               |extent of over $18,000  worth  of stamps|
               |of all denominations. The cash boxes had|
               |evidently been overlooked for  they were|
               |found to be intact.                     |
               |                                        |
               | “At no time of  the night  was the post|
               |office   unguarded,”   said   Postmaster|
               |White.   “Arthur   Cummings  and   Henry|
               |Leister,   mailing   clerks,   were   in|
               |the  mailing  and  sorting  rooms  until|
               |they  were  relieved by  the  day force.|
               |Patrolman Cutting, a messenger, and mail|
               |wagon  drivers were  in and  out of  the|
               |office at all hours of the night.”      |
               |                                        |
               | Post Office Inspector A.  B.  Holmes of|
               |Cincinnati was  notified of  the robbery|
               |by telegraph, and Inspector G. C.  Helms|
               |of  Fort  Wayne,  whom  he  detailed  to|
               |come  here to investigate,  arrived late|
               |tonight.                                |


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Find an interesting “feature” in every unexpected occurrence.

2. Give all the facts and stick to them.

3. Don’t be carried away by wild reports; investigate every rumor.

4. Keep cool, no matter how great the disaster.

5. Don’t overestimate the extent of the damage and the number of
   persons killed or injured.

6. Remember that not all persons who appear in the news are necessarily
   “prominent” or “well known.”

7. Avoid describing persons or property as “endangered” or “threatened”
   when they are not actually in danger.

8. Don’t overload your story with minor details.

9. Give life and action by using direct quotation whenever it is
   appropriate.

10. Include verbatim accounts of eye-witnesses or survivors in big
    disasters.

11. Make clear to the rapid reader the exact relation of all incidents
    to the principal event.

12. Look for the motive in murders, suicides, embezzlements, and
    similar crimes.

13. See the “human interest” in police news.

14. Don’t call an accused person a criminal unless he confesses or has
    been convicted of crime before.

15. Don’t try criminal cases in your news stories; leave that to the
    court.

16. Give both sides; the accused as well as the accuser has a right to
    be heard.

17. Avoid predictions of “sensational developments” when they are not
    likely to occur.

18. Don’t put a “mystery” in your story when none exists.

19. Remember that the truth, and nothing but the truth, interestingly
    written, makes the best news story.


                             PRACTICE WORK

1. Criticise and rewrite the following fire story:

  In a fire which destroyed the plant of John B. May & Co., paint and
  varnish makers, 20 East Harmon street, late yesterday, five men who
  took desperate chances in escaping from the blazing structure were
  injured and Mme. Celloni’s famous bohemian restaurant was temporarily
  put out of commission.

  Mme. Celloni’s, for twenty years renowned as a gathering place for
  Chicago’s litterati, adjoins the burned building on the south. It was
  flooded by water, shaken by explosions and overrun by firemen, who
  fought to confine the flames to the May rooms.

  The damage to the building, which was a three-story brick, and
  contents of the paint house is $65,000. The loss on paintings,
  decorations and furnishings in Mme. Celloni’s is placed at $5,000.
  All is reported covered by insurance.

  The injured men were employes of the paint company. Driven by a
  succession of explosions to the roof, they were hemmed in by flames.
  They slid down a rope to safety. The injured are:

  Joseph Hinners, 312 North Wilson avenue; hands and face burned.

  Michael Lorenz, 614 William square; hands burned, right wrist
  sprained.

  William Gee, 6651 North Washington street; hands cut and burned.

  James Green, 84 New street; body bruised and contused.

  Charles Speer, 916 First street; body bruised.

  The men were at work on the third floor when the alarm was sounded.
  The stairway was in flames and three explosions of wood alcohol
  tanks in the basement and minor explosions caused by the ignition of
  smaller containers of oil on the third floor drove them to the roof.

  A line was passed to them from the street. Hinners, a foreman, made
  it fast. He ordered his men to precede him down the rope. When he
  undertook his slide for life the entire building was afire. The
  flames licked the slender cord and, just before Hinners reached the
  ground, it was severed.

  Miss Mary Devine of Walnut Park, stenographer for John B. May, was in
  the office of the building with Mr. May when the fire was discovered.
  Although the other employes fled she remained and assisted Mr. May
  in placing valuable papers in the safe before leaving. There were
  fifteen persons in the building when it took fire, Mr. May said.

  The fire is believed to have originated in the rear of the basement
  where the wood alcohol was stored. The explosions splintered the rear
  partitions and ceilings and spread the flames.

  The building was an old one and burned rapidly. Within a few minutes
  after the alarm was sounded the flames enveloped it. Twelve engine
  companies were summoned and Fire Chief Classon took personal charge
  of the work. Tenants of the apartment building on the north of the
  paint company fled, but their rooms were not damaged.

  The fire was fought with difficulty. Firemen “Jim” Moore and Samuel
  Walters of engine company No. 11 risked their lives on a ladder to
  keep the flames from an oil tank in front of the third floor which
  threatened to ignite the top apartments of Mme. Celloni’s.

  Firemen caused most of the damage to Mme. Celloni’s. Costly tapestry
  and hangings were knocked down and trampled under foot. The place
  will be reopened soon. It has long been the meeting place of the
  “true bohemians” of Chicago’s literary world and art circles.

  The building occupied by the May company was owned by Esther McNain
  of Hyde Park.

2. Analyze the following story; can you improve it by rewriting?

  Riverside residents’ New Year resolutions were jolted at the outset.
  Just at the break of the first day of 1913 the 110 foot water tower,
  sole source of supply for the town, burned to the ground.

  From 5:30 to 10 o’clock no water was to be had. Then hard personal
  effort by members of the village board resulted in fire hose being
  connected with outlying hydrants of Berwyn, next village east; water
  trickled once more into kitchen sinks of Riverside homes. There was
  not sufficient power, however, to force the water to second floors.

  The cause of the fire is unknown. It is believed to have been caused
  by a defective chimney, as the fire originated near the roof. The
  flare of light over the roofs and through the trees warned the
  suburb. The citizens promptly filled bathtubs, buckets, pitchers, and
  all other available receptacles. This exhausted the supply in the
  mains and the firemen found they had no pressure of water with which
  to fight the fire.

  Half an hour after the blaze was discovered the tower was transformed
  into a pillar of flame. The fire swept around it in a circling
  whirlwind, crackling and snapping until it reached the top, when
  it billowed into a black cloud. Most inhabitants of Riverside and
  nearby towns came to the blazing tower. The firemen found themselves
  helpless. In an hour the chemical truck from Cicero arrived, but the
  fire had too big a start.

  When the tank collapsed there was a dense smoke and a scattering of
  brands, but the effect of the loosened water did little to extinguish
  the fire.

  The water tank was built in 1870 and was a landmark for many years,
  especially valued by automobilists entering and leaving Chicago along
  the Riverside road. There was $15,000 insurance, but the total loss
  was estimated to amount to approximately $50,000.

  During the interval when Riverside was without water children were
  sent both to Lyons and to Berwyn for bottled water. Then John H.
  Rogers, a grocery man, obtained wagons and automobiles and brought
  2,000 gallons of water into the town from a nearby bottling works. At
  the breakfast hour automobiles were lined up in front of his store
  with customers waiting their turn to be served with water.

  In many residences where hot water heat is used it was necessary to
  let the fire go out. For the relief of these persons Arthur Hughes,
  commissioner of public works, sent men to bring what water wagons and
  sprinkler carts they could from the neighboring towns. Water for the
  heaters and also for live stock thereby was provided.

  The town board held an emergency meeting in the morning and made
  preliminary arrangements for a new plant. The water is pumped from
  two artesian wells 2,000 feet deep.

  “We will have a temporary power plant in here by next Saturday,”
  announced Henry G. Riley, president of the board. “When we are ready
  to install our new plant it will be on a different plan than this
  one, which was inefficient, anyway.”

3. Are the essential facts presented most effectively in the “leads” of
   the following stories?

                                  (1)

  Belleview, Wis., Jan. 3.—William Schmidt, a farm hand of Branch
  Township, confessed to-day that it was he who attacked Miss Lizzie
  Martin of this city last Saturday, and injured her so severely that
  she died a week later. Schmidt insisted that he had mistaken Miss
  Martin for a man on whom he sought revenge, and that he had not meant
  to kill her.

  Until Schmidt confessed the police and the county authorities were
  without a single clue as to Miss Martin’s slayer. Bloodhounds and
  Belgian sheep dogs had been used to trace the slayer, but they had
  failed. Several men, black and white, had been arrested, but each
  one proved his innocence. Rewards totaling more than $2,500 had been
  offered, but not until a day or so ago was the least clue found.

  Then Miss Mildred Green, a trained nurse, attending a case on a farm
  near Richland, noticed that a new farm hand was extremely nervous,
  and that he talked of almost nothing but the Martin murder. He
  discussed the probable penalty for such a crime, and was eager to
  know whether any trace had been found of the slayer. The nurse,
  convinced that the man, who was Schmidt, knew something of the crime,
  told Dr. Henry F. Schley, a local physician, of her suspicions, and
  last night Dr. Schley brought Schmidt here.

  The physician got a room for Schmidt in a local hotel, and this
  morning communicated with Prosecutor Frank Firling. The latter, with
  several policemen, concealed himself in a room in the hotel through
  the walls of which holes had been bored into the adjoining room, and
  then Schmidt was led into this second room. There, under Dr. Schley’s
  questioning, he gradually made a full confession, which was overheard
  by Firling and the policemen, who entered the room and arrested him.

  Schmidt took his arrest very calmly. In fact, he seemed to be
  relieved after he had made his confession. He even whistled
  cheerfully as he was taken to jail. Later he was arraigned before the
  Justice of the Peace and held without bail on a charge of murder, to
  await the action of the January Grand Jury.

  Prosecutor Firling, beyond saying that Schmidt had made a confession,
  was not much disposed to talk about the case. He said, however, that
  Schmidt denied that robbery was his motive, and that the prisoner
  said he did not discover that he had mistaken the woman in the
  darkness for a man against whom he had a grievance, until after he
  had felled her.

                                  (2)

  Paul Schein, said to have confessed to having illicitly distilled
  liquor in his home at 421 Maryland street, was arrested today by
  government officers and is locked up in the county jail. He confessed
  to Marshal Weed this afternoon, according to the marshal. Held as
  evidence is a copper tea-kettle still, found in his house. Schein is
  25 years old.

  The discovery of the outfit came as the result of a fire in the home
  of the accused man. Detectives Harry Weiler and Arthur Winter found
  the tea-kettle distillery. They took the apparatus to the police
  station, learned its purpose, and notified the government authorities.

  Special Gauger Frank Heiler was put upon the case, and the arrest of
  Schein followed. Schein is said to have told Marshal Weed that he
  made cheap brandy, using dried grape mash. He said, however, that he
  has only been making the brandy for fourteen days, for his own use.
  Schein is a wine-maker.

4. Rewrite the following story, giving it a summary lead and improving
   it in every possible way.

  Fresh from an evening of shopping in 125th Street, Mrs. Margaret
  Werner started down Broadway about 10:30 last night, headed for her
  apartment at 627 West 109th Street, and talking Christmas plans with
  her friends, Miss Ethel Hinkey, of 421 Cathedral Parkway, and Jennie
  Fielding, of 301 Harrison Avenue.

  Their thoughts were full of the Yuletide and their arms were full of
  bundles, and as they were walking down from 118th Street past the
  long, lonesome stretch of the Columbia University buildings they were
  so absorbed in their chatting that they paid no attention to three
  men speeding to catch up with them.

  Suddenly two of the men stepped around in front of them, and one
  reached for the capacious handbag swinging by a strap from Mrs.
  Werner’s wrist. The other two men devoted themselves solely to
  keeping the other two women quiet, and Mrs. Werner was practically
  left to fight it out with the highwayman. She was a pretty good match
  for him.

  Her first thought was to clench her fist grimly on the straps of her
  handbag. Her second was to scream, and she carried this second idea
  into such good effect she could be heard a block away, despite her
  assailant’s swift reach for her throat. Once his fingers closed, she
  did not make any more noise, but just struggled and twisted while the
  highwayman thrust her against the wall.

  But her first cry had been heard by a broad-shouldered muscular
  stranger who was swinging up Broadway and changed his walk to an
  interested run at the sound of the cries for help. He reached out a
  long arm for Mrs. Werner’s assailant, and after wrenching him around
  gave him a stinging buffet over the head.

  Then the two men locked, and the highwayman’s assistants stood at a
  nervous and respectful distance while the stranger did his work. He
  finally had the chief offender so suppressed that his only remaining
  weapon was his teeth, and these he imbedded in the rescuer’s shoulder.

  This was the way matters stood when Mrs. Werner and her friends heard
  the sound of Patrolman McDonald fairly racing up Broadway from his
  post two blocks below, where he had been standing when he first heard
  the cries. At sight of him the two minor highwaymen just turned on
  their heels and fled, while McDonald closed on their friend.

  The stranger, released from his chivalrous police duties, rubbed
  his shoulder ruefully, and identified himself as Harry Rogers, a
  civil engineer. He helped to calm Mrs. Werner, who was very much
  wrought up, and not at all pleased to find that for all her valiant
  self-defense two five-dollar bills were missing from her opened bag,
  to say nothing of her eyeglasses. All her Christmas bundles were
  intact, however, lying strewn on the pavement at the very spot where
  she had dropped them and from which the highwayman had pushed her
  over toward the wall.

  As for the highwayman, he went peaceably enough to the West 125th
  Street Station, where he gave his name as Arthur G. Duffy, his age
  as 21, his occupation that of a driver, and his address, 961 West
  Forty-fifth Street. Mrs. Werner’s money was not to be found in his
  pockets, but her glasses were.

5. What are the faults in the following story, and how can you correct
   them?

  Charles Johnson of 641 Washington Avenue, Jersey City, who is
  employed as a bookkeeper by the Harrison Felt Company in the
  company’s Mill No. 3, 16 Erie Street, started out from the factory
  yesterday morning to draw the money for the weekly payroll, following
  his custom. An associate of Johnson who usually made the trip to
  the bank with him was ill, and in his absence the bookkeeper was
  accompanied by Edward Wiley of 412 Oak Place, Jersey City, the
  19-year-old son of the manager of the factory, who is also an employe
  of the establishment.

  The man and the youth, carrying a small satchel, went first to the
  New York County Bank, Fourteenth Street and Eighth Avenue. A part of
  the pay roll was drawn out there, and then they went to the Gansevoort
  Branch of the Security Bank, Fourteenth Street and Ninth Avenue,
  where were withdrawn the remaining funds needed to make up the weekly
  wages.

  Ordinarily, the weekly payroll of the Erie Street mill reaches a
  total of $3,000 to $3,500, but at the Christmas holidays a part of
  the employes had been paid off in advance. As a result, Johnson and
  Wiley drew from the two banks, instead of the usual amount, just
  $1,194, in currency and specie of small denomination.

  They proceeded west on Fourteenth Street one block to Hudson Street,
  and south on Hudson Street four blocks to Abingdon Square. Here they
  crossed the street from east to west, and, going two blocks further,
  turned into Erie, rounding the corner where stands the saloon of
  Schmidt Brothers. Scarcely a block away in the same street is the
  factory of the Harrison Felt Company.

  Jutting out on the north side of Erie Street from Schmidt Brothers’
  saloon is a glass vestibule, and about ten feet to the west of it is
  an iron railing fronting a five-story brown stone apartment house.
  The railing and the vestibule form something like a retreat from the
  sidewalk. As Johnson and Wiley neared this spot they saw two men
  standing in the space between the railing and the vestibule, but took
  no especial notice of them as they walked along, each holding to the
  handle of the satchel, Johnson on the outside and Wiley next to the
  building.

  All of a sudden the two men who had been standing in the inclosure,
  drawing blackjacks from their pockets, pounced down upon the pay roll
  messengers. The foremost man made for Wiley first, got a wrestler’s
  hold around his neck and sent him whirling to the pavement as the
  bandit struck vigorously at his head. At almost the same instant
  Johnson was attacked by the second robber, who sank his fingers into
  the bookkeeper’s throat, and hurled him to the sidewalk. The satchel
  remained in the hands of Wiley.

  The bookkeeper and his companion fought valiantly, but Johnson was
  quickly overcome by the short, heavily built man, while Wiley, still
  clutching the handle of the satchel, was rolled over the edge of the
  sidewalk by his assailant. Wiley was still holding to his satchel
  and trying to keep it from the grasp of his assailant, when a third
  man, wearing a gray overcoat, ran over from the south side of the
  street and gave him a violent kick on the arm, releasing his grip on
  the satchel. The man in the gray overcoat snatched it up and darted
  off west on Erie Street to Greenwich Street, followed closely by the
  first two assailants and a fourth man, who had been observed standing
  on the south side of Erie Street. Johnson and Wiley, regaining their
  feet, started in pursuit of the fleeing men, both yelling, “Stop
  thief!”

  The man in the gray overcoat, carrying the satchel, turned north into
  Greenwich Street with another of the bandits close at his heels.
  The other two, according to confused statements made by the pay roll
  messengers, turned south into Greenwich Street. The first two men
  leaped into a black five-passenger automobile waiting just around the
  corner in front of Pietro Gatti’s barber shop, 551 Greenwich Street.
  They were whisked away at full speed just as Johnson and Wiley turned
  into Greenwich Street. They saw the fleeing automobile, several
  blocks away, swing into Gansevoort Street. The second pair jumped
  into an automobile waiting in Greenwich Street, south of Erie Street,
  which started off also at top speed.

  Meanwhile a large crowd had collected, but none of those who were in
  the vicinity in time to see the struggle would venture to give any
  assistance, because, as several of them afterward said, they thought
  it was an affair between gangmen, and discretion forbade their
  interference.

  One of the first men to reach the place of the hold-up was Detective
  Patrick Sullivan, who was standing at Eleventh and Washington
  Streets, two blocks away, waiting to catch a car. He arrived in time
  to see only clouds of dust cast up by the flying automobiles, but he
  succeeded in getting from some of the eyewitnesses several license
  numbers.

  Mounted Patrolman Hartwig of Traffic Squad C reached the spot with
  Sullivan, and while the latter was gathering information from the
  spectators, the former telephoned the Charles Street Police Station
  and notified Police Headquarters. The reserves under Lieut. Green
  were rushed to Erie and Greenwich Streets, but arriving there too
  late to make any arrests, withdrew, leaving the apprehension of the
  highwaymen to Acting Captain Charles Du Frain.

  Capt. Du Frain, after working on the case all day, said last night
  that he could report but little progress. He declared that the
  descriptions he had obtained from eyewitnesses were incomplete and
  confused, and that the numbers of the automobiles were likewise
  conflicting.

  Julius H. Schnitzler, shipping clerk for the Scholz & Gamm pickle
  firm at 665 Wilson Street, an eyewitness of the affair, said
  yesterday afternoon that he had seen the hold-up and robbery from his
  desk, which faces almost the exact spot where the two messengers were
  first attacked. Before the attack Schnitzler declared that he had
  observed two men standing across Erie Street. It was most probably
  they, be said, who gave the signal of the approach of Johnson and
  Wiley.

  Schnitzler said that these men were dressed, one in a black suit with
  a black derby, and the other in a blue suit under a dark overcoat.
  The man in the black suit pulled a yellow blackjack, with which he
  attacked Wiley, while the second man attacked Johnson. Schnitzler
  further said he had noticed one of the autos when he went to his
  office shortly before 8 o’clock. His story was corroborated in
  practically every detail by Arthur Hansen, a clerk in the office with
  him.

  Another complete account of the affair was obtained from Mary
  Harrigan, a maid in the home of Judge John R. Winch, 961 Greenwich
  Street, across the street from where the first automobile was kept
  waiting.

  Johnson was able to continue his work at his desk. He corrected some
  of the details in his first version of the attack, and declared
  that he had not been struck with a blackjack. He as well as Wiley,
  however, received a number of bruises in the struggle.

6. Combine the later bulletin (1) with the first news story (2) in
   rewriting the following material.

                                  (1)

  Norfolk, Va., Jan. 4.—A wireless message received tonight from the
  revenue cutter Apache says the British steamer Indrakuala rescued
  six of the crew of the steamer Luckenbach, with which she collided in
  Chesapeake Bay today. One of the men, W. M. McDonald, a coal passer,
  died from the effects of the long exposure in the Luckenbach’s
  rigging.

                                  (2)

  Norfolk, Va., Jan. 4.—With the abatement today of the wind and
  snowstorm that raged over the eastern states last night, came
  harrowing tales of shipwrecks at sea, thrilling rescues, increased
  loss of life and damage to property.

  Eight men, the survivors of the crew of twenty-two of the steamer
  Julia Luckenbach, which was rammed and sunk by the British tramp
  Indrakuala in Chesapeake bay, arrived in Norfolk late today, and
  after being revived, started for New York.

  The eight men clung to the rigging for six hours until they were
  taken off by the crew of the steamship Pennsylvania. The Indrakuala
  was badly damaged and had to be beached. She lies about two miles
  from the Luckenbach, whose spars alone are visible rising out of
  forty-five feet of water near Tangiers sound.

  The eight survivors of the Luckenbach are George Hunt, first officer;
  William Bruhn, second officer; George Little, first assistant
  engineer; George Doyle, third assistant engineer; George Davis,
  quartermaster; William Hoffman, fireman; and Theodore Losher and P.
  Anderson, seamen.

  Describing his experience Davis said tonight:

  “None of us knew what hit us. I was knocked down and when I got up
  water was pouring over me. I saw men climbing into the rigging and I
  followed. I saw Capt. Gilbert swimming around the ship and calling
  for his wife, who was an invalid. Both were lost. Waves that appeared
  to be two hundred feet high broke over the ship and she sank in a
  hurry. Lifeboats were lowered from the Indrakuala but none came
  toward us. The ship turned her nose around and started for the beach.”

  “We pleaded and cried for help,” said Theodore Losher, “but were
  either unheard or ignored. The Indrakuala was less than 100 yards
  away when she started for the beach. I thought every minute we would
  be blown into the sea. The wind was terrific. Our chief engineer,
  Kris Knudson, told me he could not hold on much longer, because his
  hands were frozen. I told him to stick it out a little longer. When
  the Danish steamer Pennsylvania hove in sight, I called to him, but
  he was gone.

  “We were six hours in that rigging. But there were men on the
  Pennsylvania. When they saw our signals of distress they put away in
  small boats in spite of the tremendous seas. The boats would get near
  us and then be carried fifty feet in the air on the crest of a wave
  and lost to sight, but those men stuck and took everyone of us off.
  First Officer Hunt was unconscious when they reached him. He had
  been holding on with one hand and holding an unconscious man on his
  perch with the other.”

  The Indrakuala is commanded by Capt. Smith, but the ship does not
  carry wireless and no statement from him was obtainable tonight.

  According to the survivors, Capt. Gilbert and the first and second
  officers were standing on the bridge when the collision occurred.
  There was no opportunity to give alarm to those below.

7. What are the objections to the first paragraph as the beginning of
   the following story, and how can you improve it in rewriting?

  About 5 o’clock yesterday morning a wagon load of thieves arrived in
  front of the tenement house at 841 Holton Place. Leaving one of their
  number to hold the horse, the others went to the roof of the house
  and thence to the loft building at 837 Holton Place, on the top floor
  of which are the store and show rooms of the International Jewelry
  Company, of which Henry Hertel is President. The thieves cut a big
  hole through the roof of that building and then with the aid of a
  rope ladder let themselves down into the show room, where they packed
  a dozen suitcases belonging to traveling salesmen with loot, the
  value of which Mr. Hertel last night estimated to be about $5,000.

  The International Jewelry Company is wired everywhere with burglar
  alarms, but the directing mind of yesterday’s theft evidently knew
  where all the wires were, for the hole was cut in one of the few
  places in the ceiling which had not been wired. After packing the
  suitcases the thieves retraced their steps over the roofs of 839
  to 841 Holton Place, and then proceeding down the stairways of the
  tenement house, deposited the suitcases in the wagon and drove away.

  The theft was discovered when the place was opened for business
  yesterday morning. An investigation was started, and tenants in 841
  Holton Place told of seeing the wagon in front of that house at about
  5 A.M. Detectives from the Reynolds Street Station are working on the
  case. So far they have reported no progress.




                              CHAPTER VI

                   SPEECHES, INTERVIEWS, AND TRIALS


=Various Forms of Utterances.= As news stories of speeches, sermons,
lectures, official reports, and interviews, as well as of testimony,
decisions, and arguments in trials and investigations, are concerned
largely with direct or indirect quotation of written or spoken
expression, the writing of them involves several elements that do not
enter into the composition of the typical news story. In the types of
news thus far considered, such as fires, accidents, and crime, the
story was a narrative of what had happened. Although the facts were
gleaned largely from observation and interviews, usually no person’s
ideas or opinions were quoted. News stories of addresses, reports, or
similar documents, interviews and court trials, on the other hand,
have only a small incidental narrative-descriptive element to present
the circumstances under which the utterance was made. The large and
important part of such stories consists of a reproduction in complete
or condensed form of the original expression.

=Verbatim Quotation.= Direct verbatim quotations of all utterances
are generally preferred for news stories, because they are exact
reproductions of the originals. Whenever a copy of any of these forms
of expression can be obtained, it is desirable for the reporter to
get one either before or after the utterance is made, because of the
accuracy of the quotation which a copy makes possible. Frequently
copies of addresses, lectures, sermons, reports, decisions, and
testimony can be had, and exactness of reproduction is thus secured.
When a copy cannot be obtained, the reporter is dependent upon himself
to get the equivalent of it by taking down as nearly as possible a
verbatim reproduction of such parts of the utterance as he desires.

=Methods of Reporting Speeches.= The two problems in reporting these
various forms of oral or written expression are, how to get the exact
words of the speakers, and how to condense long utterances effectively.

The body of news stories of speeches can often be written while the
speaker talks, in what is called a “running story,” particularly when
it is necessary for the reporter to have his copy ready for publication
soon after the speaker finishes. In such cases the reporter picks
out and combines into a connected verbatim report the most important
statements, summarizing briefly the less important ones. To do this
he depends on long-hand writing so that what he writes can be used as
copy without being transcribed. If time permits, he may take notes
during the address, sermon, or trial, and write up his story later.
Short-hand, although occasionally convenient, is not commonly used by
newspaper reporters, and very few of them can write it.

The greatest skill is required to condense all of these forms of
expression within a comparatively limited space. A speech, for example,
that in complete form would fill three columns must often be cut down
to half a column; and a report that would fill a page often cannot
be given more than three quarters of a column. To select and combine
separate parts into a unified, coherent reproduction that is only
one-fifth or one-tenth of the original, is no easy task. Despite this
great condensation the news story must be an accurate presentation of
all the important material in the original. When a newspaper reporter
or editor is satisfied to pick a few striking statements out of their
context, and present them in a new combination, the result too often is
that neither the spirit nor the substance of the original is accurately
given; in fact, not infrequently the speakers’ ideas are completely,
though often unintentionally, misrepresented.

=“Playing Up” Misleading Statements.= This distortion is often brought
about by taking a striking sentence out of its context, in which it
may be modified or explained, and by “playing it up” as a feature of
the lead in a way that gives an entirely false or very misleading
impression of the speaker and his utterance. The accuracy of the
quotation under such circumstances does not justify the inaccuracy of
the effect produced. Nor does the supposed news value of a striking
but misleading quotation at the beginning of the lead justify the
misrepresentation involved. Unless when taken from its context a
quotation, direct or indirect, gives accurately not only the expression
but the point of view and spirit of the original, it should not be
used. Generally, by means of some connective or explanatory matter,
such a quotation can be made to represent the original accurately.
Great care should be taken not to give a wrong impression in the lead.

=How to Begin the Lead.= In news stories of speeches, lectures, and
sermons, or of reports and similar documents, eight different forms for
the beginning of the lead may be suggested: (1) a direct quotation of
one sentence; (2) a direct quotation of one paragraph; (3) an indirect
quotation of one statement; (4) an indirect quotation of several
statements; (5) the keynote; (6) the title quoted; (7) the name of the
speaker; and (8) the conditions under which the utterance was made.
The reporter should choose the form best suited to the subject, the
substance, and the occasion of the speech or report.

The single sentence quotation, as in the following form, should be
used when the thought or expression which it contains is the most
significant feature:

               | “The  sentiment  of the  working  class|
               |everywhere  is  for  peace  rather  than|
               |for  war,”  declared Charles  P.  Neill,|
               |United States commissioner of labor,  in|
               |speaking on  “The Interest  of  the Wage|
               |Earner in  the  Present  Status  of  the|
               |Peace Movement,” before the  Lake Mohonk|
               |Conference of International Arbitration.|

The paragraph of direct quotation is necessary when the most important
point of the speech is not expressed in a single sentence but
requires several connected sentences, or when the single sentence is
sufficiently long to fill a whole paragraph, thus:

                                  (1)

               | “The  treatment  for  bad  politics  is|
               |exactly   the   modern   treatment   for|
               |tuberculosis—it is exposure to the  open|
               |air.  One of the  reasons  why  politics|
               |took  on a  new complexion in  the  city|
               |in  which   the  civic  center  movement|
               |originated was that the people who could|
               |go into the  schoolhouse  knew what  was|
               |going on in that city and  insisted upon|
               |talking about it;  and the  minute  they|
               |began  talking  about  it,  many  things|
               |became impossible,  for there are scores|
               |of things in politics that will stop the|
               |moment they are talked about  where  men|
               |will listen.”                           |
               |                                        |
               | So  said   Gov.   Woodrow   Wilson   of|
               |New   Jersey   in   speaking   on   “The|
               |Social  Center:  A   Medium   of  Common|
               |Understanding”  at  the opening  of  the|
               |first national conference  of  civic and|
               |social center development last night.   |

                                  (2)

               | “Whatever   method   of  control   over|
               |water-power  resources  may  be   deemed|
               |most  equitable  and  expedient,  it  is|
               |imperative  that a  definite  policy  by|
               |both  the  federal  government  and  the|
               |states  be   speedily   adopted,   first|
               |because of the  obvious desirability  of|
               |utilizing  all  commercially   available|
               |water power,  and second  because of the|
               |possibility   of  public  water  powers’|
               |passing    absolutely    into    private|
               |control.”                               |
               |                                        |
               | With these  significant  words  Herbert|
               |Knox Smith,  commissioner  of  corporat-|
               |ions,  closes a report  to the President|
               |of  the  United States  on  “Water Power|
               |Development in the United States.”      |

The indirect quotation is of advantage when it is not possible or
convenient to give a direct quotation, and when it is desirable to give
the most important point at the beginning of the lead; for example:

               | That  the   tariff  problem  cannot  be|
               |successfully   solved   until   Congress|
               |has  adequate data  upon  which to  base|
               |its  conclusions,   was   the  statement|
               |of  Senator  Albert   J.   Beveridge  of|
               |Indiana in the senate  this afternoon in|
               |advocating a tariff commission.         |
               |                                        |
               | “The  tariff is fixed by facts; how  to|
               |get  at  all these  facts is  the  first|
               |question in  the whole  tariff problem,”|
               |said Senator  Beveridge.  “Common  sense|
               |and experience, [etc].”                 |

The main points in a report or speech may be effectively summarized
in several indirect quotations at the beginning of the story, but the
separate clauses must not be too long or complicated in structure. The
following examples show how these indirect quotations can be used:

                                  (1)

               | That  the  present  one  cent  a  pound|
               |postage rate on newspapers and magazines|
               |should  be doubled; that the actual cost|
               |of  handling  such  second  class matter|
               |is  5½  cents  a  pound;  and  that  the|
               |proposal  to charge a higher rate on the|
               |advertising  sections  of  magazines  is|
               |not  feasible,  is the substance of  the|
               |report of the commission on second class|
               |mail matter  submitted  to  Congress  by|
               |President Taft today.                   |

                                  (2)

               | That   the   initiative   is  the  most|
               |effective  means  of giving  the  people|
               |absolute control over their  government;|
               |that  the initiative  and  referendum do|
               |not  overthrow representative government|
               |but   fulfill   it;   and   that   truly|
               |representative government must represent|
               |not  misrepresent  the people,  was  the|
               |declaration of  William J.  Bryan  in an|
               |address before  the  Ohio Constitutional|
               |Convention today.                       |

The keynote beginning gives the dominant idea that runs through the
whole utterance, thus:

                                  (1)

               | The  establishment of an expert  tariff|
               |commission   by  Congress  as  the  best|
               |solution of the tariff problem was urged|
               |by Senator  Albert  J.  Beveridge  in  a|
               |speech in the senate this afternoon.    |

                                  (2)

               | How every  country in Europe  has  suf-|
               |fered from the  increase in the cost  of|
               |living is shown in a report submitted by|
               |President  Taft in a  special message to|
               |Congress last night.                    |

When the subject is stated in a particularly novel or interesting form
it may be the best feature of the story and should accordingly be in
the lead. For example:

               | “Why  Working   Children   Need  Voting|
               |Mothers” was discussed by Mrs.  Florence|
               |F.   Kelley  in  an  address  on   equal|
               |suffrage before a large  audience in the|
               |Assembly Chamber last night.            |

The prominence of the speaker or author of the report frequently
justifies the placing of his name at the beginning, thus:

                                  (1)

               | Postmaster  General   Frank   Hitchcock|
               |advocates  government ownership  of  the|
               |telegraph  lines  of  the country  in  a|
               |report made to Congress today.          |

                                  (2)

               | Ambassador James  Bryce  explained  the|
               |method  of  drawing  up  bills   to   be|
               |presented  for adoption  by the  British|
               |parliament,  in addressing  the  members|
               |of the congressional  committee  at  the|
               |hearing on the  bill  providing  for the|
               |congressional legislative library.      |

Unusual or significant conditions under which the address was
delivered, or the report made, may become the “feature” and may be
played up, as in these stories:

                                  (1)

               | Despite the pouring rain,  nearly 5,000|
               |people heard Senator La Follette discuss|
               |the  issues   of  the  campaign  at  the|
               |Auditorium last night.                  |

                                  (2)

               | By their demonstrations of approval and|
               |frequent  expressions  of enthusiasm the|
               |members of the legislature gave evidence|
               |of their endorsement  of the policies of|
               |President Taft when he addressed them in|
               |the State House this afternoon.         |

=The Body of the Story.= Whatever form of lead is used for speeches,
reports, or interviews, the body of the story generally consists
of paragraphs of direct verbatim quotations, combined often with
summarizing paragraphs. As the interest lies not only in what a man
says but also in the way he says it, verbatim quotations are usually
preferred to indirect ones. It is frequently necessary to condense
speeches and reports so much that large portions must either be omitted
or be briefly summarized. It is desirable, as far as possible, to avoid
combining in the same paragraphs both direct and indirect quotations,
or both direct quotations and summarizing statements.

In paragraphs of direct quotation it is often necessary to insert
explanatory phrases, such as, “said Mr. White,” “declared the speaker,”
“the report continues,” “explained Mr. White in conclusion,” “the
report concludes,” etc., but such phrases should be buried in an
unemphatic position in the first sentence of the paragraph. Paragraphs
of direct quotation should not begin with such unemphatic phrases as,
“Mr. Blank continued by saying, etc.,” “The speaker then said,” “The
report continues.” It is likewise ineffective to begin with phrases
like, “I believe,” “I feel sure,” “I think,” “I know.” The newspaper
reader will take for granted that what the speaker says is what he
“thinks,” “believes,” “knows,” or “is sure of,” and the reporter,
therefore, may omit these needless phrases entirely or may put them in
a less prominent place. Instead of beginning a paragraph with,

               | “I  believe that the income tax is  the|
               |fairest  of  all  taxes,”  said  Senator|
               |Borah.                                  |

it is preferable to omit entirely the phrase “I believe,” or else to
put the quotation in the following form:

               | “The  income  tax, I  believe,  is  the|
               |fairest  of  all  taxes,”  said  Senator|
               |Borah.                                  |

In paragraphs of indirect quotations or of summaries, it is as
necessary to use explanatory phrases as in those of direct quotations,
and this explanatory matter should be put in unemphatic positions. The
form of the phrases should be varied as much as possible so that the
repetition will not be evident. Among the active verbs that may be
used in explanatory matter are: “say,” “point out,” “show,” “declare,”
“explain,” “insist,” “ask,” “advocate,” “demand,” “continue,”
“conclude.” Passive forms include: “considered,” “discussed,” “given,”
“described,” “demonstrated.” It must always be made plain by these and
other means that all matter not quoted directly gives the substance of
the speech or report.

When the body of the story consists of a series of direct quotations,
these paragraphs are introduced by such phrases as: “He said in part,”
“He spoke in part as follows,” “The report in brief follows,” “His
address in full is as follows,” or “The complete report follows.” Such
introductory statements end with a colon, and usually stand alone as
a separate paragraph. In a continuous quotation extending through
several paragraphs, quotation marks are placed at the beginning of each
paragraph but at the end of only the last paragraph of the quotation.
Quotations within quotations are set off by single quotation marks, and
quotations within quotations within quotations by double marks.

It is not always necessary to arrange the matter in the body of the
story so that it will follow the exact order in which it was given in
the original. When the lead presents the most important statement, the
following paragraphs frequently explain or amplify this statement,
and then other parts of the speech follow, although in the original
they may have preceded. In rearranging the order of quotations, care
should be taken to establish close connection between them and to avoid
misrepresenting the thought or spirit of the original. How a long
speech is given in brief form partly by direct quotation, partly by
indirect quotation, and partly by summarizing statements, is shown in
the following example:

               | Washington,  Jan. 2.—Taking up the gage|
               |of  battle offered by Senator  Bailey in|
               |his  denunciation  of direct  government|
               |measures,  Senator Ashurst,  of Arizona,|
               |the  state whose progressiveness delayed|
               |her  entry  into statehood,  today  made|
               |eloquent   defense  of  the  initiative,|
               |the referendum,  and  the  recall.  That|
               |the people in the  states  now using the|
               |initiative and  referendum,  have  taken|
               |a more  active interest in  voting  upon|
               |measures  brought  before  them  at  the|
               |polls  than  have  the  members  of  the|
               |United  States  senate  in  adopting  or|
               |rejecting laws, was Ashurst’s reply.    |
               |                                        |
               | “There is not one record,” he declared,|
               |“of  an  instance   where  a   law   has|
               |been  rejected  or  accepted  under  the|
               |initiative and referendum  by  less than|
               |40 per cent  of  the  entire  number  of|
               |voters within a state, yet in the senate|
               |itself,  composed of  96  members,  each|
               |paid $7,500 per year to remain there and|
               |vote upon measures, generally only 55 to|
               |60 per cent of the total membership vote|
               |upon a  bill,  and frequently a bill  is|
               |passed or defeated by 29 or 30  per cent|
               |of the entire membership.”              |
               |                                        |
               | The bill  to  construct a  railroad  in|
               |Alaska, the senator pointed out,  passed|
               |the senate by a vote of only 32 per cent|
               |of the  entire membership;  on the  army|
               |appropriation bill in the  62nd Congress|
               |only 36 per cent of the membership voted.|
               |                                        |
               | “Thus, while  it is true that under the|
               |initiative  and  referendum  only  about|
               |70 to  80 per cent  of  the voters of  a|
               |state go to  the polls,  at times it  is|
               |very  difficult for the  Senate to  keep|
               |a  quorum,   notwithstanding  that   the|
               |senators  are paid handsome salaries for|
               |that very purpose.                      |
               |                                        |
               | “During  the  trial  of  the   Archbald|
               |impeachment case frequently  there  were|
               |only 15 to  20 senators present,  though|
               |two  distinguished  republicans  and  an|
               |equal number of distinguished democratic|
               |senators to my  knowledge  have  pleaded|
               |with  senators  to remain  and listen to|
               |the testimony.”                         |
               |                                        |
               | Ashurst  then went  into  an   extended|
               |legal  argument,   quoting  “fathers  of|
               |the  country,” and  the  federal supreme|
               |court  to prove that  no special form of|
               |government  was defined as  “republican”|
               |in  the constitution.  He  declared that|
               |congress was the  only  court that could|
               |declare  a   given  form  of  government|
               |“unrepublican” and  that  by its  action|
               |in   admitting  to  membership  senators|
               |and  representatives  from  states  that|
               |have  adopted   the   system  of  direct|
               |legislation,    congress   itself    has|
               |recognized this  form  of government  to|
               |be  republican  under  the  terms of the|
               |constitution.                           |
               |                                        |
               | Finally the senator defended the  right|
               |of  the  people  to  express  themselves|
               |directly without  regard  to  precedent,|
               |and   declared   that  “in   such   free|
               |expression alone lay the safety of human|
               |society,  for whose service  governments|
               |were maintained.”                       |

=How to Combine a Series of Speeches.= In reporting meetings it is
frequently desirable to give indirect or direct quotations from
the remarks of the speakers. When several speakers are quoted, the
speaker’s name is put at or near the beginning of the paragraph in
which he is quoted, so that in a rapid reading of the report, the eye
catches at once the change from the words of one speaker to those of
another. The following report of a convention illustrates the method of
handling a series of quotations, as well as the manner of giving fairly
both sides in a debate:

               | DENVER,  Aug. 26.—Benzoate  of  soda is|
               |not harmful when used to preserve food. |
               |                                        |
               | This  is   the   declaration   of   the|
               |convention of the  association of  State|
               |and National Food and Dairy departments,|
               |which today indorsed the findings of the|
               |Remsen  referee  board,  which had given|
               |the preservative a clean bill of health.|
               |                                        |
               | The vote, which was 57 to 42, was taken|
               |after a hot debate.                     |
               |                                        |
               | The federal government  was  accused of|
               |licensing  the sale of  “medicated  food|
               |fit only for  the  sewer.”  Dr.  Charles|
               |A.  L. Reed of Cincinnati,  in attacking|
               |the  Remsen board of scientific experts,|
               |which  urged  the  government  to  allow|
               |the  use  of benzoate of soda as  a food|
               |preservative, made the charge.          |
               |                                        |
               | “That recommendation to the  department|
               |of   agriculture  benefited   only   two|
               |classes of people,”  asserted Dr.  Reed,|
               |“the manufacturers of  benzoate of  soda|
               |and  the manufacturers of  food  of such|
               |a character  that it could not  be  sold|
               |without being preserved by the  addition|
               |of a  chemical.  The  government  is now|
               |licensing  food  for  consumption  which|
               |has to be medicated and which  otherwise|
               |would be fit only for the sewer.        |
               |                                        |
               | “The  referee  board  experimented with|
               |healthy young  men,  but  all  of  these|
               |young  men   were   stuffed  with  great|
               |quantities  of  food  while  taking  the|
               |samples  of benzoate  of  soda  and  the|
               |results observed in them would not apply|
               |to the average consumer.”               |
               |                                        |
               | Dr. Reed’s remarks followed speeches by|
               |members of the referee board,  including|
               |one by Dr. Ira Remsen, its chairman.    |
               |                                        |
               | A special committee  appointed  by  the|
               |association  to  investigate the referee|
               |board,   reported  adversely   upon  its|
               |findings.                               |
               |                                        |
               | Dr. Russell H. Chittenden of New Haven,|
               |Conn.,  a  member of the  referee board,|
               |said  that three-tenths  of  a  gram  of|
               |benzoate of soda was administered  daily|
               |to each of six young men subjects during|
               |two  months.  In the one month each  man|
               |received per day  during the first  week|
               |six-tenths of  a gram,  the  second week|
               |one gram,  the  third week two grams and|
               |the fourth week four grams.             |
               |                                        |
               | “From our experiments, only one logical|
               |conclusion  seems  possible,”  said  Dr.|
               |Chittenden.   “Benzoate  in   small  and|
               |large doses up to four grams  per day is|
               |without  deleterious  effects  upon  the|
               |human system.”                          |
               |                                        |
               | Dr. Remsen, in discussing the report of|
               |the referee board, said in part:        |
               |                                        |
               | “Since the appointment of the  board by|
               |President  Roosevelt  my  dealings  have|
               |been directly with Secretary Wilson. The|
               |board  understands  we  have nothing  to|
               |do with  the administration of the  pure|
               |food law. Our function is to answer such|
               |questions as the  secretary may put.  In|
               |regard to benzoate of soda the board was|
               |asked to determine two points:          |
               |                                        |
               | “1.  Whether benzoate of  soda  in such|
               |quantities  as are likely to be  used is|
               |or is not injurious to health.          |
               |                                        |
               | “2.  Whether the quality or strength of|
               |a food to  which  benzoate  of soda  has|
               |been added is thereby reduced,  lowered,|
               |or injuriously affected.                |
               |                                        |
               | “You know the conclusions to which  the|
               |board  has  been  led by  its  work.  We|
               |agreed upon the  form of  the report and|
               |the  knowledge I  had gained during  the|
               |investigation of the subject was of such|
               |a  character  that I felt  justified  in|
               |signing the report.”                    |
               |                                        |
               | Dr.  Remsen said  he had nothing to  do|
               |with   the   actual  experimenting  with|
               |benzoate of soda.                       |
               |                                        |
               | The position taken  by  Commissioner J.|
               |Q. Emery of Wisconsin and his followers,|
               |who are vigorously attacking the  use of|
               |benzoate of soda  is:  “If there  is any|
               |doubt as to the harmfulness of chemicals|
               |in  food  the  public  should  have  the|
               |benefit of the doubt.”                  |

=The Form of the Interview.= The interview, as a statement made to
one man, the reporter, instead of to a number of persons, as in the
case of a speech, may have practically the same kind of beginning as
the address or report. Owing to the interest in the man interviewed,
his name frequently begins the story, but as what he says is likewise
of value, some form of beginning that gives his opinions can also be
used advantageously. Although in an interview all of the information
is obtained from the person interviewed in response to the reporter’s
questions, it is not necessary or generally desirable to include these
questions in the written story of the interview. Readers are interested
in the statements of the person interviewed, not in the reporter’s
questions or actions. When a man refuses to give any information by
declaring in response to questions that he has nothing to say, it may
be desirable as a matter of news to give the reporter’s questions
and the man’s non-committal answers. Generally, however, neither the
reporter nor his questions and remarks are given a place in the story
of an interview. The following examples illustrate the application to
interviews of some of the forms suggested for speeches and reports:

                                  (1)

               | “Two-cent  letter  postage between  the|
               |United States and England is  a business|
               |proposition which  should  have been put|
               |into  effect   twenty  years  ago,”  was|
               |the comment  of  John Wanamaker,  former|
               |postmaster general,  on the adoption  of|
               |the reduced rate.                       |
               |                                        |
               | “I urged this reform in 1890 when I was|
               |postmaster general,” said Mr. Wanamaker.|
               |“Now  I  hope that the over-sea  postage|
               |will  be followed  by national  one-cent|
               |postage.                                |
               |                                        |
               | “Within  three  years  the income  from|
               |over-sea  postage  under  the   two-cent|
               |charge for  stamps  will be as great  as|
               |under  the  five-cent  charge.  In fact,|
               |two  years ago I  made  the offer to the|
               |government in  conjunction  with several|
               |other gentlemen to  guarantee that there|
               |would be no  deficit under  the two-cent|
               |foreign postage.                        |
               |                                        |
               | “If railroad rates for the  carrying of|
               |mails  were lessened  to  equality  with|
               |commercial  rates,   the  two-cent  rate|
               |might be cut to one-cent without loss to|
               |the government.”                        |

                                  (2)

               | The claim that the  equal suffrage bill|
               |might be repealed  at the coming special|
               |session   of  the   legislature  because|
               |the  Political  Equality  League has not|
               |filed  expense  statements under the new|
               |corrupt practice law, is sheer nonsense,|
               |according   to  Miss  Mary   K.   Block,|
               |secretary of the league.                |
               |                                        |
               | “Since equal suffrage was not mentioned|
               |in  the  call  for the  special  session|
               |of  the   legislature,   it   cannot  be|
               |considered,” said Miss Block. “The story|
               |is  the work of those  opposed to ‘votes|
               |for women’ because they know  how strong|
               |the sentiment  for woman  suffrage is in|
               |this state.”                            |

=Combining Several Interviews.= When a number of interviews are
included in one story, the lead usually presents the consensus of
opinions given, and explains or summarizes the results. The separate
interviews may be combined in one of several ways. Not infrequently
the name of the person expressing the opinion is put at the beginning
of the paragraph and is followed by the quotation. In other cases
the quotation for each person is put first in the paragraph, and
the explanatory matter follows at the end of the first sentence. The
following examples illustrate both forms:

                                  (1)

               | With almost complete  unanimity  public|
               |officials and other prominent  men today|
               |disapproved of the plan  of the Carnegie|
               |Foundation to give  ex-presidents of the|
               |nation an  annual  pension  of  $25,000.|
               |That  the acceptance of such  a gratuity|
               |was beneath  the  dignity of one who had|
               |held the highest office in the land, was|
               |the general objection to the plan. A few|
               |public men  lauded the pension scheme as|
               |giving an opportunity for  the nation to|
               |profit by  the  experience and knowledge|
               |of those who had served the people.     |
               |                                        |
               | “If  it  has come to  the  point  where|
               |ex-presidents   cannot   take   care  of|
               |themselves,  we  ought to make provision|
               |for  their  admission  to  a  charitable|
               |institution,”  said Congressman Henry of|
               |Texas.                                  |
               |                                        |
               | “It isn’t worth doing,” was the comment|
               |of Speaker Champ Clark.                 |
               |                                        |
               | “The  scheme   doesn’t  strike  me very|
               |favorably,” said Senator McCumber.      |
               |                                        |
               | “I  don’t see any  objection  to it  or|
               |any great  value in it.  I think any man|
               |elected  for a  public office  ought  to|
               |work himself  back into citizenship when|
               |his  term  expires,”   declared  Senator|
               |Sutherland of Idaho.                    |

                                  (2)

               | That  the  question   of  adopting  the|
               |commission  form   of   government   for|
               |Hamilton  should  be  submitted  to  the|
               |voters  at  the  election  next  spring,|
               |was   the   opinion  expressed  by  many|
               |Hamilton business  men  and professional|
               |men today.  The recent adoption  of this|
               |form of  municipal government by several|
               |other  cities of  the  state has led  to|
               |the  discussion of  the advisability  of|
               |adopting the commission system here.    |
               |                                        |
               | The  centralization  of  authority  and|
               |the  fixing  of  responsibility  in  the|
               |management  of city affairs are urged by|
               |its advocates as  important elements  in|
               |the  proposed method  of administration.|
               |A  number of business  men expressed the|
               |belief that better business  methods  in|
               |the city’s  finances  would  result from|
               |the new method.                         |
               |                                        |
               | When interviewed today, those who  were|
               |in  favor   of  the  plan  included  the|
               |following:                              |
               |                                        |
               | WILSON   R.   HARRISON,   President  of|
               |Commercial National Bank— “The  question|
               |of commission  form of government should|
               |certainly  be  submitted to the citizens|
               |at the next election, and I believe that|
               |the plan will be adopted.”              |
               |                                        |
               | ARTHUR  C. PERKINS,  Secretary  of  the|
               |Harrison  Building  House   Association—|
               |“Government by commission appeals to  me|
               |as the best method of managing municipal|
               |affairs  in  a  city   of  the  size  of|
               |Hamilton,  and I hope that  the question|
               |will  be  brought before  the electorate|
               |next spring.”                           |
               |                                        |
               | HENRY R. DE RAIN, of Hawley, Jenks, and|
               |De Rain,  lawyers— “The adoption  of the|
               |commission  form  by  seventeen   cities|
               |of  the  state  indicates  a  widespread|
               |appreciation   of  the   advantages   of|
               |this  centralized control  of  municipal|
               |government.  Voters here should have  an|
               |opportunity to  put Hamilton in the list|
               |of progressive cities of this state.”   |

                                  (3)

               | Leaders in finance and business  appear|
               |to  be  of  the opinion  that  questions|
               |relating to the  tariff  will be handled|
               |conservatively   by    the    Democratic|
               |administration.  In this  belief  it  is|
               |held that the business of  the  country,|
               |which   has   gained   such   remarkable|
               |headway, will continue uninterrupted.   |
               |                                        |
               | James  J.  Hill,  commenting  upon  the|
               |result of  the election,  declared  that|
               |the  success  of  the  Democratic  party|
               |would not  have  an  adverse  effect  on|
               |business. He said:                      |
               |                                        |
               | “I feel better over the general outlook|
               |than I  did before election.  An attempt|
               |was made  to  bring  about  a  political|
               |revolution,  but  the  American  people,|
               |while   desiring   a   change,    showed|
               |their  good  sense  by  repudiating  the|
               |revolutionary  doctrines   offered  them|
               |and by sticking to sound  principles and|
               |established  methods  of  bringing about|
               |their wishes.                           |
               |                                        |
               | “Governor Wilson, a deep student of the|
               |history of nations, has the training and|
               |qualifications which  should make him an|
               |able president.”                        |
               |                                        |
               | W.  E. Corey, formerly president of the|
               |United  States  Steel  Corporation,  now|
               |identified  with  many   industrial  and|
               |railroad  companies,  favors  a  gradual|
               |reduction  in  the  tariff,  but  not  a|
               |reduction    sufficiently   drastic   to|
               |disturb  the  country’s  commercial  and|
               |financial equilibrium.                  |
               |                                        |
               | “I  am  convinced,”  said  Mr.   Corey,|
               |“that Mr.  Wilson will make an able  and|
               |conservative  business   president   and|
               |that  the business of  the country  as a|
               |whole will  reap  great  benefits during|
               |his administration.  That he will handle|
               |the tariff and  other problems ably  and|
               |conservatively  there  seems  to  be  no|
               |question.                               |
               |                                        |
               | “All indications point to a  continuat-|
               |ion of the prosperity the country is now|
               |enjoying,  and business should  be given|
               |a further impetus by  the outcome of the|
               |election.”                              |
               |                                        |
               | Alvin Krech, president of the Equitable|
               |Trust Company, predicted a slowing up of|
               |business as a result of  the  Democratic|
               |victory and coming tariff revision.     |
               |                                        |
               | “This will occur,” he said, “until  the|
               |country  can find  out  definitely  what|
               |the  new  administration intends  to  do|
               |with the tariff, and how drastic and how|
               |precipitately the question is  attacked.|
               |If the new congress  proceeds cautiously|
               |and  gradually  there is  no  doubt that|
               |business will  finally adjust itself  to|
               |any  changes  without  serious  disturb-|
               |ance.”                                  |
               |                                        |
               | B. F.  Yoakum, chairman of the board of|
               |the ’Frisco Lines, said:                |
               |                                        |
               | “I  am   very  much  pleased  with  the|
               |election  of  Wilson.  From my  personal|
               |acquaintance with  him I am confident he|
               |will  carry out  all the policies he has|
               |promised during the campaign.  I am sure|
               |he is earnestly  in favor of  everything|
               |he advocated, and is entirely competent.|
               |                                        |
               | “The  Democratic victory  does  not  by|
               |any  means settle  all  the big economic|
               |questions of the  day.  In meeting these|
               |the Democratic  party  is on  probation.|
               |The  entire  country  looks  to  it  for|
               |results during the next four years.”    |
               |                                        |
               | Francis  L.  Hine,   president  of  the|
               |First National Bank,  declared  that the|
               |election  of  Mr.  Wilson  presented  no|
               |immediate possibility of danger  for the|
               |country,  and as regards the future “one|
               |can only wait and see.”                 |

=News Stories of Trials.= In trials in court the reporter has to deal
with material not unlike that in speeches, reports, or interviews.
The arguments by the attorneys are in the nature of addresses. The
questioning of the witnesses on direct and cross examination is not
unlike the question and answer method of interviewing. The decisions
handed down by the judges are the reports which those officials make.
In general, then, many of the same points that have been considered in
regard to addresses, reports, and interviews may be applied to court
reports.

=Writing the Lead.= What the lead of the trial story should contain
is determined by the status of the case in court. If a verdict or
decision is rendered, that news is naturally the feature. If the
trial is not completed, either the most significant testimony or the
net result of the day’s proceedings may be made the feature. As the
trial goes on from day to day, it is necessary to explain briefly in
each story, usually in the lead, what the case deals with, who the
parties are, and before whom and where the trial is being conducted,
so that the situation will be clear to readers who have not seen the
preceding stories of the trial. The reporter must not take for granted
that, because all this information was given once when the accused
person was arrested, or when the trial was begun, he need not give his
readers information every day as to the essential elements of persons,
time, place, cause, result, etc. Each of these essentials, as in other
stories, may be the feature of the lead. When, for example, a jury has
been deliberating for a long time in an interesting case, the exact
time at which they reached their verdict may be placed in the first
group of words, before the verdict itself.

Hearings before committees of legislative bodies that are getting
information and arguments from men for and against proposed
legislation, and the taking of testimony by investigating committees,
partake so nearly of the nature of trials that the forms and methods of
the one apply to the other with little or no modification.

Various forms of leads for reports of trials, hearings, and
investigations, given below, show some of the possibilities.

                                  (1)

               | To continue  its  study  of  the   best|
               |methods   of  issuing  railroad   stocks|
               |and  bonds,   President  Taft’s  Railway|
               |Securities Committee  met  today in  the|
               |banking  house of  J.  W.  Smith  & Co.,|
               |3 William St.                           |

                                  (2)

               | That  the  government was  a  year  too|
               |late in bringing  its  suit against  the|
               |Standard   Oil  Company   for  accepting|
               |secret   rebates,   and   the  suit   in|
               |which  Judge K.  M.  Landis  imposed the|
               |$29,000,000   fine,   was  brought   out|
               |yesterday in  the  government  suit  for|
               |the  dissolution  of  the  Standard  Oil|
               |Company of New Jersey under  the Sherman|
               |Anti-trust Law,  before Special Examiner|
               |Franklin Ferris in the Custom House.    |

                                  (3)

               | Fraudulent scales  were  used  to weigh|
               |raw sugar  on  the Brooklyn piers of the|
               |Sugar Trust,  according to the testimony|
               |of Special Agent  Richard  Parr  of  the|
               |United States Treasury Department,  this|
               |morning in  the  preliminary  hearing of|
               |the   government’s  suits  against   the|
               |American Sugar Refining  Company  before|
               |Commissioner  Shields  in   the  Federal|
               |Building.                               |

                                  (4)

               | How suddenly and how radically a  woman|
               |can  exercise  her inalienable  right to|
               |change  her  mind  was  shown  yesterday|
               |before  Judge  Thomas  in  the   probate|
               |court,   when  in  the  hearing  on  the|
               |contested will of Mrs.  Jane L.  Whiting|
               |it  was  shown  that  she  had  made one|
               |will at 3 o’clock on July  4  last,  and|
               |another at  7 o’clock in the evening  of|
               |the same day.                           |

                                  (5)

               | “Go  home  and  serve  time  with  your|
               |families,”  was the  sentence imposed on|
               |two  men  charged with being  drunk  and|
               |disorderly,  by  Judge  Wilkinson in the|
               |police court this morning.              |

                                  (6)

               | “Would  you  send  this  venerable  and|
               |honorable  man  to  his  grave  with the|
               |taint  of  criminal  conviction upon his|
               |great name?”                            |
               |                                        |
               | Thus  Delancey  Nicoll  inquired of the|
               |jury today in Judge Hard’s court,  where|
               |William E. Williams,  aged 83, for forty|
               |years  a leader of the American bar,  is|
               |being tried with  three  other directors|
               |of  the Cotton Trust  on  the  charge of|
               |criminally  conspiring  to  violate  the|
               |Sherman Anti-trust Law.                 |

                                  (7)

               | “Never  in  the  twenty  years  that  I|
               |have  been  at  the head  of the women’s|
               |department  of  Blank   University  have|
               |I   discriminated  against  any  student|
               |because of race or religion.”           |
               |                                        |
               | This  statement  made  on  the  witness|
               |stand  today  was  the  answer  of  Dean|
               |Sarah  Brown  to the charge preferred by|
               |Miss Della  Smith in her $10,000 slander|
               |suit  against Dr.  Brown,  that  she had|
               |been   driven  out  of   the  university|
               |because of her religious views.         |

=Forms for Testimony.= The bodies of stories of trials and
investigations, like those of speeches and reports, consist of direct
quotations of the most significant testimony or arguments, with
indirect quotations or summaries of other parts not worth quoting
verbatim. The same general principles apply, except when it is
necessary to give question and answer in direct or cross examination of
witnesses in order to bring out significant points. Several forms are
used for verbatim reports of such testimony. Sometimes, particularly
in New York papers, the attorney’s questions are preceded by the
letter “Q” and the witness’s answers by the letter “A,” each question
with its answer constituting a separate paragraph. More commonly, the
questions and answers are given in dialogue form as in short stories
and novels, with the question followed by the explanatory material in
one paragraph, and the answer with necessary explanatory material in
another paragraph.

Occasionally, if on direct examination a witness’s testimony, although
interrupted by questions, is fairly continuous, the questions may
be omitted, and the story told by the witness can thus be given
uninterruptedly. When the facts of the testimony rather than the form
of it are sufficient, these facts may be given without using either
direct or indirect quotations.

How the several forms of reporting testimony appear in newspapers is
shown by the following examples which are taken from the body of the
story, the leads being omitted here:

                                  (1)

               | Thomas W.  Farlin of Freeport, the next|
               |witness  called  before  the  committee,|
               |said that  he  was  engaged in  the real|
               |estate and fire insurance business,  and|
               |that  he  represented Davis,  Hibbard  &|
               |Company,  fire insurance brokers of this|
               |city.                                   |
               |                                        |
               | “Was  there   a  general  increase   in|
               |insurance rates  on dwellings and stores|
               |in  Freeport  during   the  last   three|
               |years?” asked William C. Brown,  counsel|
               |for the committee.                      |
               |                                        |
               | “Yes, all the rates have gone up,” said|
               |Mr. Farlin.                             |
               |                                        |
               | “Did  you  learn  why  the  rates  were|
               |raised?”                                |
               |                                        |
               | “Oh, they  joined  the  Fire  Insurance|
               |Exchange.”                              |
               |                                        |
               | “Who did?”                             |
               |                                        |
               | “Davis, Hibbard & Company.”            |
               |                                        |
               | “That’s why the rates were raised?”    |
               |                                        |
               | “I suppose so.”                        |
               |                                        |
               | “You joined the Exchange too?”         |
               |                                        |
               | “Yes.”                                 |
               |                                        |
               | “Why?”                                 |
               |                                        |
               | “They told me I’d  have no trouble with|
               |the new rates.”                         |
               |                                        |
               | “Were you  forced  into   joining   the|
               |Exchange?”                              |
               |                                        |
               | “I found that it was necessary in order|
               |to write policies.”                     |
               |                                        |
               | Mr.  Farlin  said  that   he  preferred|
               |belonging  to  the  exchange  to   doing|
               |business   as   an  independent   broker|
               |because  it  meant more money  and  less|
               |trouble.                                |
               |                                        |
               | “So  you’re  in  favor  of  the  higher|
               |rates?”                                 |
               |                                        |
               | “Oh, no.”                              |
               |                                        |
               | “But you get  more premium, don’t you?”|
               |                                        |
               | “Yes.”                                 |

                                  (2)

               | Mr.  Green  then  took  the  stand.  In|
               |response  to   questions  of   Henry  T.|
               |Williams,  his counsel,  he said that he|
               |was 57 years old,  had lived in the city|
               |50 years,  and  was a man of family.  He|
               |named several  social and charitable  as|
               |well  as  financial   institutions  with|
               |which  he  was   associated.   In  1870,|
               |he  said,  he  had  entered  the  employ|
               |of  the  Harrington  & Wilson  Co.  as a|
               |shipping clerk in the  sugar department,|
               |subsequently  he had  been  promoted  to|
               |the position  of  cashier,  and for  the|
               |last  23  years  had  received  in  that|
               |position a salary of $5,000 a year.     |
               |                                        |
               | Mr. Williams then  sought to  show that|
               |his client  had no  connection with  the|
               |weighing  of  raw  sugar  on the  docks,|
               |where   the   fraudulent  practices  are|
               |alleged to have taken place.            |
               |                                        |
               | Q.—How much money was paid through your|
               |office in the course of a year?  A.—Four|
               |million dollars.                        |
               |                                        |
               | Q.—So yours was a busy office?         |
               |A.—Decidedly so.                        |
               |                                        |
               | Q.—How long were the  raw  sugar clerks|
               |in your office? A.—About twenty years.  |
               |                                        |
               | Q.—Did you regulate their duties in any|
               |way? A.—No.                             |
               |                                        |
               | Q.—Were you connected with the docks in|
               |any way?  A.—No,  that  was  a  separate|
               |department.                             |
               |                                        |
               | Q.—How  many times a  year would you be|
               |on the raw sugar docks? A.—Twice a year.|
               |                                        |
               | Q.—How  often  were  you  in  the  dock|
               |department offices?  A.—Only five or six|
               |times in twenty-five years.             |
               |                                        |
               | Q.—Were you ever in the scale houses?  |
               |A.—Never.                               |
               |                                        |
               | At  this  point  the   court  adjourned|
               |until  this  afternoon  when  the direct|
               |examination  of   Mr.   Green  will   be|
               |continued.                              |

                                  (3)

               | Mr. Hiller, Mr.  Hart’s attorney,  then|
               |asked Mrs.  Hart why it was necessary to|
               |have so many gowns.                     |
               |                                        |
               | “At Palm Beach I had to change my gowns|
               |three times  a day,  and I  had  to have|
               |outfits of automobile clothes  besides,”|
               |said Mrs. Hart.                         |
               |                                        |
               | “Do  you  wear  the  same  dinner  gown|
               |twice?” said the attorney.              |
               |                                        |
               | “Women who can afford it never wear the|
               |same gown again at the  same place,” she|
               |replied smilingly.                      |
               |                                        |
               | “What  do  you  pay  for   your  dinner|
               |gowns?”                                 |
               |                                        |
               | “Three  hundred dollars; sometimes five|
               |or six hundred.”                        |
               |                                        |
               | “Apiece?”                              |
               |                                        |
               | “Certainly,” snapped back the witness. |

=Court Decisions.= The body of reports of important court decisions
consists of summaries of the decisions with explanation of their
significance, or of quotations from the decision when the language of
the decree is important. The following stories are examples:

                                  (1)

               | The first  decision  of  the  court  of|
               |commerce to be received  by the  supreme|
               |court of  the United States was reversed|
               |in an opinion handed down today.        |
               |                                        |
               | The highest court gave a signal victory|
               |to  the  interstate  commerce commission|
               |by deciding that  it has power to compel|
               |water  lines to report  to  it regarding|
               |intrastate   as   well   as   interstate|
               |business.                               |
               |                                        |
               | The   court  of   commerce   has   been|
               |subjected  to sharp  attack  in congress|
               |because  of  a   series   of   decisions|
               |over-turning  work  of   the  interstate|
               |commerce  commission,  and  a  bill  for|
               |the abolishment of the  tribunal is  now|
               |pending in  the  house  on  a  favorable|
               |report from a committee.                |
               |                                        |
               | While  the   case   before   the  court|
               |concerned  immediately only water lines,|
               |the  government  attorneys declared that|
               |the defeat  of the  commission  in  this|
               |case  would  mean  that  railroads  also|
               |need  not  report  regarding  intrastate|
               |business  and  the   commission’s  whole|
               |system of gathering  reports relative to|
               |commerce would be worthless.            |
               |                                        |
               | The order in question required  reports|
               |regarding    operating    expenses   and|
               |operating  revenues   of   water  lines,|
               |and   affected  principally   lines   on|
               |the  great  lakes.  The  commerce  court|
               |held  that the commission had  power  to|
               |require reports  only  regarding traffic|
               |carried  under  joint  arrangement  with|
               |railroad carriers,  but not as to purely|
               |intrastate and port-to-port business.   |
               |                                        |
               | Justice Day  said  that a  mistake  had|
               |been  made  by  the  commerce  court  in|
               |confusing   knowledge   of    intrastate|
               |commerce  with  regulation  of  it.   He|
               |said  it  was  within  the power of  the|
               |commission  to require  a  “showdown  of|
               |the whole business”,  intrastate as well|
               |as  interstate.   Justices  Lurton   and|
               |Lamar dissented.                        |

                                  (2)

               | Power  of   the   Interstate   Commerce|
               |commission   to   force  “inside  infor-|
               |mation”  from   steamship  lines  as  to|
               |their  earnings  was  affirmed  today by|
               |the Supreme Court.  The  proposed  scope|
               |of  the  commission’s  inquiry into  the|
               |steamship business of  the  great  lakes|
               |to  secure  information  for   adjusting|
               |rates,  was approved,  and  the commerce|
               |court decision in the matter overruled. |
               |                                        |
               | This  is the first of the cases involv-|
               |ing  a   dispute   of  jurisdiction  be-|
               |tween  the   commerce  court   and   the|
               |commission.                             |

Applications for writs, rehearings, and new trials are often worth
reporting at some length, as is shown in the following story:

               | Declaring that the issues  involved  in|
               |the  case  are  of  the “greatest public|
               |importance,” the  department of  justice|
               |today joined in  the application of  the|
               |losers  in the so-called patent monopoly|
               |case,  asking a  rehearing before a full|
               |bench  of the Supreme  Court.  The  case|
               |was  recently  decided  four  to   three|
               |in  favor  of  the contention  that  the|
               |patentee’s  control  of  his  product is|
               |absolute.                               |
               |                                        |
               | The  government’s   application  signed|
               |by   Attorney-General   Wickersham   and|
               |Solicitor-General   Lehmann   vigorously|
               |declares  that   the  court’s   decision|
               |sustaining  the right  of a  patentee to|
               |attach  to  the  sale of  an  invention,|
               |restrictions   stipulating   that    the|
               |purchaser  must use  only  such supplies|
               |which are  not  patented as  are  bought|
               |from  the  patentee  of  the  invention,|
               |seriously concerns the United  States in|
               |a  number  of  civil  and criminal cases|
               |now pending under the Sherman law.      |
               |                                        |
               | The decision,  the government  submits,|
               |“extends  the  power  of  property  held|
               |under letters patent beyond the  warrant|
               |of the constitution  and  the  grant  of|
               |the patent laws,  and publishes it above|
               |authority   of  Congress   to   regulate|
               |commerce  among  the   several   states,|
               |and   above  the  universal   limitation|
               |expressed in the  maxim ‘So use your own|
               |as not to injure another’s.’”           |

=How to Make Court Proceedings Interesting.= The selection and
arrangement of interesting details in legal proceedings is shown in
the following court story of a bankruptcy case, in which the reader’s
attention is attracted by the feature played up at the beginning:

               | How  to start  a furniture  installment|
               |house on less than $1000,  vote yourself|
               |a salary  of  $10,000 a year,  furnish a|
               |mansion and live like  a  prince—all  on|
               |the  income  from the  original  invest-|
               |ment—was  revealed   to  District  Judge|
               |Van Buren  yesterday in  the questioning|
               |of  John  C.  Winifred.  The  court  was|
               |astounded and angered.  When the hearing|
               |ended Winifred was  on  his way  to  the|
               |county  jail to begin  an  indeterminate|
               |sentence for  contempt  as  a result  of|
               |“mushroom” financing.                   |
               |                                        |
               | The  story  of  Winifred’s   remarkable|
               |success at  furniture finance  was  told|
               |during   the  court’s  investigation  of|
               |the  bankrupt  Bijou  Furniture Company,|
               |610  Devine  Street,  of which  Winifred|
               |was owner.  Winifred  had a branch store|
               |at  Plaintown.   Two  days   before  his|
               |creditors  filed an involuntary petition|
               |of  bankruptcy  Winifred sold the branch|
               |“Furniture  Club”  business  to  Frances|
               |Hankow for $1,100.                      |
               |                                        |
               | John Whittle, counsel for the receiver,|
               |thought  the   $1,100  belonged  to  the|
               |creditors.  Judge Van Buren agreed  with|
               |him.  Winifred  was  ordered to  produce|
               |the  money.  When he  appeared in  court|
               |without it,  the judge sent him to  jail|
               |until he changes his mind.              |
               |                                        |
               | Winifred operated  a  “furniture club,”|
               |members  paying from 25 cents to $1 each|
               |week.  Its 2,500  members  had  paid  in|
               |more than $40,000 when the crash came.  |
               |                                        |
               | The “furniture  wizard” said  he  began|
               |business  about  two  years  ago with  a|
               |capital  of less  than  $1000.  He voted|
               |himself  an  annual  salary  of $10,000,|
               |the  money  being  taken  from  the  ac-|
               |cumulated  payments  of  club   members.|
               |Attorney  Whittle   further  found  that|
               |the  residence  at  4621  Oakland  Place|
               |had  been purchased  and  then furnished|
               |without   regard   to   expense.    This|
               |property  rests  in  the  name  of  Mrs.|
               |Winifred.  It  was  admitted  that  this|
               |luxury was paid for by the poor  who can|
               |afford  to buy  furniture only by making|
               |a small payment each week.              |

=Quoting from Publications.= Government publications, pamphlets,
books, and magazines often contain material for good news stories,
particularly when copies can be secured so that the story may be
printed simultaneously with the publication of the book or magazine.
The use that may be made of an article in a scientific publication is
shown in the following story, which in form is like the stories of
speeches and other utterances discussed above:

               | Serious dangers in children’s  parties,|
               |dancing schools,  and even kindergartens|
               |are  pointed  out  by   Dr.   Thomas  S.|
               |Southworth  of  New  York,   writing  in|
               |the  Journal  of  the  American  Medical|
               |association.  He finds  them  agents  in|
               |spreading  infectious colds  leading  to|
               |more serious ailments.                  |
               |                                        |
               | Against  “light  colds”  themselves  he|
               |warns  parents,  and  urges  the use  of|
               |rational   preventive    measures.    To|
               |parental carelessness,  selfishness, and|
               |lack  of common sense he attributes much|
               |of the illness among little children.   |
               |                                        |
               | “The  amount of  injury  done  to young|
               |children each  year  by such  colds  can|
               |scarcely   be   estimated,”   says   Dr.|
               |Southworth.   “During  their  prevalence|
               |the   possibilities  of   infection  are|
               |excellent if the  child rides in  public|
               |conveyances,  or is  taken to hotels  or|
               |crowded shops.                          |
               |                                        |
               | “Children’s parties or  dancing schools|
               |for the very young  come  under the same|
               |ban.  It is an open question whether the|
               |greatly increased opportunity for  major|
               |and  minor  infections  in kindergartens|
               |does  not  more  than  offset  the  real|
               |advantages they offer.                  |
               |                                        |
               | “Excluding  exceptional   cases,  I  am|
               |of  the  opinion  that  safeguarding the|
               |health  of  the young child  is the more|
               |important  consideration,  and that  any|
               |home worthy of  the name should  be able|
               |to furnish  all the  simple  instruction|
               |and  direction of the play instinct  the|
               |child requires.”                        |


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Get advance copies of speeches, statements, and reports when it is
   possible.

2. Give direct, verbatim quotations whenever they are effective.

3. Don’t misrepresent a speaker by “playing up” a quotation that, taken
   from its context, is misleading.

4. Combine excerpts into a coherent, unified story.

5. Select the form of beginning best suited to the subject matter.

6. Set off as a paragraph a direct quotation of more than one sentence
   at the beginning of a story.

7. Avoid too many or too involved “that” clauses in the lead.

8. Put strong direct or indirect quotations at beginnings of paragraphs.

9. Don’t place unemphatic phrases at the beginning of a paragraph, such
   as, “The speaker then said that,” etc.

10. Avoid as far as possible combinations of direct and indirect
    quotations in the same paragraph.

11. Avoid “I believe,” “I think,” etc., at the beginning of sentences
    of direct quotation.

12. Make separate paragraphs of introductory statements like “He said
    in part,” and end them with a colon.

13. Give in the lead of each day’s story of a trial, the essential
    explanatory details concerning the case.

14. Vary explanatory phrases; don’t use repeatedly in the same story
    “he said,” “the report continues,” etc.

15. Don’t fail to enclose in quotation marks every direct quotation.

16. Use single quotation marks for quotations within other quotations.

17. Use quotation marks only at the beginning of each paragraph of a
    continuous quotation of several paragraphs and at the end of the
    last paragraph.

18. Quote important testimony verbatim.

19. Keep yourself out of your interviews.


                             PRACTICE WORK

1. Write a news story of 500 words on the following address by Senator
   William E. Borah of Idaho on “Why We Need an Income Tax,” which you
   may say was delivered before a large audience at the Auditorium last
   night under the auspices of the Progressive Republican Club:

  One of the many unfortunate things imposed from first to last upon
  this country by reason of the existence of slavery was the compromise
  in the constitution of the United States providing that direct taxes
  should be imposed in accordance with population.

  To levy taxes according to population upon any kind of property is
  impracticable and cumbersome even when the tax is confined to the
  kind of property contemplated by the framers of the constitution. It
  is not too much to say that the clause with reference to imposing a
  direct tax would never have found its way into the constitution but
  through the fear which arose out of the belief that the North might
  impose an arbitrary and unjust tax upon slaves.

  The discussion first arose over the protection of the slaves, and
  to guard against this the Southern delegates insisted upon an equal
  representation in Congress with the North. Gouverneur Morris and
  others declared they would never consent to counting a slave equal to
  his master. The discussion finally took a wider range owing to the
  existence of large tracts of land in the South of less value per acre
  than the land in the North; hence it was believed that these lands
  might be taxed unfairly.

  At last, therefore, it was provided that direct taxes should be
  imposed according to population, and direct taxes, in my opinion,
  referred alone to slaves and lands and the improvements on lands.

  The Supreme Court in the Pollock case extended and broadened the
  terms of this somewhat unfortunate compromise so that it now not only
  covers lands but income from land, personal property, and income from
  personal property. This decision was made possible by invoking a mere
  technicality, that is, that a tax upon the rents of land is a tax
  upon the land.

  I am not going to discuss at this time the decision further than to
  say I am one of those who believe that the income tax decision is
  as indefensible as a matter of law as the Dred Scott decision, and
  fraught with far more danger in its ultimate effect, if it is to
  become the settled law of the land, to the Republic.

  The income tax is the fairest and most equitable of all the taxes.
  It is the one tax which approaches us in the hour of prosperity and
  departs in the hour of adversity. The farmer though he may have lost
  his entire crop must meet the taxes levied upon his property. The
  merchant though on the verge of bankruptcy must respond to the taxes
  imposed. The laborer who goes to the store to buy his food, though it
  be his last, must buy with whatever extra cost there may be imposed
  by reason of customs duties.

  But the income tax is to be met only after you have realized your
  income. After you have met your expenses, provided for your family,
  paid for the education of your children for the year, then, provided
  you have an income left, you turn to meet the obligations you owe
  to the government. For instance, according to amendments recently
  pending relative to the income tax, a man with an income of ten
  thousand dollars would pay the modest sum of one hundred dollars.
  “Man as a human being owes services to his fellows, and one of the
  first of these is to support the government which makes civilization
  possible.”

  It seems incomprehensible that anyone would seriously contend that
  property and wealth should not bear their fair share of the burdens
  of the general government. Adam Smith says, “The subjects of every
  state ought to contribute toward the support of the government as
  nearly as possible in proportion to their respective abilities, that
  is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under
  the protection of the state.”

  Notwithstanding our large standing army, our large navy, our all
  but criminal extravagance as a government, men are found who still
  unblushingly argue that this burden must all be laid upon consumption
  and nothing upon wealth, that is, that the man of most ordinary means
  must pay practically as much to the general government as the man
  with his uncounted millions. It is strange indeed that men can bring
  themselves to believe in so unfair and unjust a position.

  They soothe their consciences to some extent by saying that it is
  a just tax, a fair tax, and that the property should indeed bear
  its proportion of the expenses of the general government but an
  income tax causes men to commit perjury! Of course the man who says
  this would resent the idea that he would commit perjury, but his
  evangelical spirit leads him to look with particular care to the
  salvation of his neighbor’s soul. There is not a state in the Union
  today but has laws just as exacting with reference to accounting with
  personal property, just as onerous as an income tax law would be, and
  just as liable to encourage perjury. Yet the tax gatherer does not
  stop gathering taxes.

  They say it is inquisitorial. Do you know of any kind of taxes
  which are not inquisitorial? For instance, under the internal
  revenue system now in existence, the whiskey of the citizen is taken
  possession of by the government, placed in a warehouse, locked up,
  and a key given to a United States official. In the collection of our
  customs duties, packages and the baggage of the citizen are taken,
  opened and inspected, and, male or female though the citizens may be,
  they are sometimes taken into a room and searched. Nothing could be
  more inquisitorial than this.

  All these arguments are put forth in the hope of leading us away from
  the great and fundamental principle of equity in taxation, and that
  is that every man should respond to the burdens of the government in
  accordance with his ability. It is nothing less than a crime to put
  all the burdens of this government on consumption.

  I think those who advocate the income tax merely as a revenue
  producing proposition rob the proposition of its moral foundation.
  We should contend for an income tax not simply for the purpose of
  raising revenue but for the purpose of framing a revenue system
  which will distribute the burdens of government between consumption
  and accumulated wealth, which will enable us to call upon property
  and wealth not in an unfair and burdensome way but in a just and
  equitable way to meet their proportionate expenses of the government,
  for certainly it will be conceded by all that the great expense of
  government is in the protection of property and of wealth.

  A tax placed upon consumption is based upon what men want and must
  have. A tax placed upon wealth falls upon those who have enough
  and to spare and therefore have more which it is necessary for the
  government to protect. “All the enjoyments which a man can receive
  from his property come from his connection with society. Cut off from
  all social relations, a man would find wealth useless to him. In
  fact, there could be no such thing as wealth without society. Wealth
  is what may be exchanged and requires for its existence a community
  of persons with reciprocal wants.”

  The general government, as we have said, has its armies and its
  navies and its great burden of expense for the purpose, among
  other things, of protecting property, protecting gathered and
  accumulated wealth, of enabling men to make fortunes and to preserve
  their fortunes, and there is no possible argument founded in law
  or in morals why these protected interests should not bear their
  proportionate burden of government.

  No man in his right mind would make an assault upon wealth as
  such, or upon property as such, or upon the honest acquisition of
  property—we simply call upon those who have the good fortune to have
  accumulated wealth to respond to the expenses of the great government
  under which they live and thrive.

2. Write a news story of 250 words on the following excerpts from a
   report made by the Division of Education of the Russell Sage
   Foundation on “A Comparative Study of Public School Systems in
   the Forty-eight States,” playing up the feature that you think
   will be of general interest to the readers of a daily paper in the
   metropolis of your state:

  The average annual salary paid to public school teachers in the
  United States as a whole is $485. In one state, North Carolina, the
  average is only $200 per year. In another, Mississippi, it is $210,
  and in South Carolina $212. The wages received by school teachers
  constitute a measure of two things: first, the quality of ability of
  the teacher; second, the value the community puts upon the teacher’s
  services. The fact that the teacher’s wages are lower than those
  paid for almost any other sort of service means that as a nation we
  are neither asking for nor getting a high grade of service, and as a
  nation we place a low valuation on the teacher’s work.

  While it is difficult to get accurate data on wages, the best
  available figures indicate that the average annual wages received by
  workers in five great occupations are about as follows:—

                     Carpenters              $802
                     Coal miners              600
                     Factory workers          550
                     Common laborers          513
                     Teachers                 485

  Throughout the southern states thousands of rural teachers earn less
  than $150 per year. In one New England state hundreds of teachers
  earn less than $6.00 per week. In one county in a central Atlantic
  state the average for all teachers is $129 per year. In one southern
  state convicts from the penitentiaries are let to contractors at the
  rate of about $400 per year, while the state pays its teachers about
  $300 per year.

  The average annual salary of teachers in the public schools in each
  state in 1910 and the rank of the state, based on the average annual
  salary of school teachers, is as follows:—

  1. California, $918; 2. Arizona, $817; 3. New York, $813; 4.
  Massachusetts, $757; 5. New Jersey, $731; 6. Washington, $692; 7.
  Montana, $645; 8. Colorado, $642; 9. Rhode Island, $647; 10. Utah,
  $592; 11. Illinois, $588; 12. Connecticut, $561; 13. Pennsylvania,
  $554; 14. Idaho, $549; 15. Ohio, $524; 16. Indiana, $523; 17. Oregon,
  $516; 18. Maryland, $515; 19. Minnesota, $486; 20. Michigan, $480;
  21. Nevada, $470; 22. Wisconsin, $456; 23. Missouri, $443; 24.
  Wyoming, $439; 25. Kansas, $429; 26. Louisiana, $415; 27. Delaware,
  $414; 28. Nebraska, $411; 29. Oklahoma, $408; 30. Texas, $384; 31.
  New Mexico, $348; 32. North Dakota, $339; 33. Kentucky, $337; 34.
  South Dakota, $329; 35. New Hampshire, $328; 36. West Virginia, $323;
  37. Alabama, $314; 38. Iowa, $302; 39. Tennessee, $293; 40. Arkansas,
  $284; 41. Florida, $276; 42. Virginia, $268; 43. Vermont, $266;
  44. Georgia, $250; 45. Maine, $244; 46. South Carolina, $212; 47.
  Mississippi, $210; 48. North Carolina, $200.




                              CHAPTER VII

                         SPECIAL KINDS OF NEWS


=Special News Fields.= Although practically all kinds of news stories
conform to the general principles explained and illustrated in
preceding chapters, the application of these principles to particular
kinds of news may be considered in detail. On all but small papers
the gathering and the writing of news in such special fields as
sports, society, and markets are regarded as sufficiently different
in character from general reporting to warrant having special
editors for these departments. Each of a number of special kinds of
reporting requires more or less expert knowledge, which a reporter
who specializes in that field acquires as a result of training and
experience. Sometimes, however, a general reporter may be sent out to
cover an athletic contest or a society event, and he should be prepared
to do either successfully. Every reporter should familiarize himself
with the best methods of handling all kinds of news.

=Sporting News Stories.= The constantly increasing importance attached
by newspapers to news of sports, particularly to that of baseball,
makes it important for reporters to know the peculiarities of sporting
news stories. The reporting of athletic contests is not always an easy
task even when the reporter is familiar with all the details of the
sport. In a football game, for example, it is difficult to determine
which of the players carries the ball or makes a tackle in a given play
unless the reporter knows each player and can recognize him quickly
on the field. In baseball games the reporter must be able to keep a
complete score from which to write his story and make his summary
score. Quickness and accuracy of observation are essential in getting
the facts correctly in any sporting event.

=Reporting a Football Game.= A football game affords a good opportunity
for the student reporter to get excellent practice in covering an
athletic contest. In preparing to report a game, he should get from the
coach or the captain the correct line-up of each team and the names of
the officials. If the line-up is written on a piece of cardboard and
arranged so that the exact position of each player can be seen at a
glance, the writer can refer to it constantly in reporting the plays.
The way to arrange the line-up is shown below:

             _Chicago_                         _Wisconsin_

                    Williams—L.E. | R.E.—Halpin
  McDonald—L.H.B.      Frean—L.T. | R.T.—Muldon    R.H.B.—Lynch
                     Johnson—L.G. | R.G.—Peake
Smith—F.B. Pinch—Q.B.     Hool—C. | C.—Du Plain  Q.B.—Keeler  F.B.—Holt
                     Skillub—R.G. | L.G.—O’Neil
    Kidder—R.H.B.     Dillon—R.T. | L.T.—Minton    L.H.B.—Dye
                      Reisen—R.E. | L.E.—Schmidt

The reporter watches both teams carefully to see which men make each
play, and as soon as the teams line up again, he notes the position
that each of these men takes, so that he may identify them from his
line-up card. As the game progresses he is able to recognize some of
the players who repeatedly take prominent parts, and he need not refer
to the line-up so frequently. The reporter may take notes on the plays
as they are made, or, if it is necessary to mail or telegraph the story
very soon after the game is over, he may write a running account as the
game progresses, adding the lead after it is over.

In the choice and the arrangement of details, the story of a football
game is not unlike other news stories. In the lead are placed the
essential facts, which are the result, the score, the causes of
victory and defeat, the teams engaged, the time and place of the
contest, and any important circumstances. Because every reader is
most interested in the result, that fact is usually “played up” as
the feature. Why one team lost and the other won, or why the score
was tied, the second fact in point of interest, is likewise given a
prominent place at the beginning of the lead. A characterization of the
playing of each team, an account of how and when the scoring was done,
mention of the work of star players, and a description of the crowd,
the condition of the field, and the weather, are the other details
which are put in the lead. Following the lead is the story of the game
told in as much detail as the assignment requires. If a short account
is desired, only the important plays are given; if a full report is
wanted, every play is described. After each score is made, and at the
end of the report of each quarter, the complete score up to that point
is given. At the end of the story are placed the line-up, a summary of
the plays, and the names of the officials. The story given below may be
taken as typical:

               | New  Haven,  Conn.,  Nov.   23.—Harvard|
               |trampled  over  Yale  with  a  score  of|
               |20  to  0  on  Yale  field  today,  when|
               |the  crimson  eleven,  taking  advantage|
               |of  Yale’s  back   field  errors,   made|
               |two  touchdowns  and  two  field  goals.|
               |This   victory   carries  the   football|
               |championship of the East to Cambridge.  |
               |                                        |
               | Harvard  scored   a  touchdown  and   a|
               |field  goal   in   both  the  first  and|
               |third  periods.  The  first  score  came|
               |when Storer  recovered  the  ball  which|
               |Wheeler,  the Yale quarterback,  dropped|
               |on   being    tackled,    and   sprinted|
               |twenty-five  yards  to  the  goal  line.|
               |Hardwick kicked  goal.  A  minute later,|
               |another  Yale  muff  gave  Brickley  his|
               |chance to kick the first field goal.    |
               |                                        |
               | A fumble  by  Flynn  at the opening  of|
               |the  third   period  gave  the  ball  to|
               |Harvard,  and in  the scrimmage Brickley|
               |dashed  eighteen  yards for  the  second|
               |touchdown.  He  caught  a  Yale  forward|
               |pass  a   few  minutes   later  and  ran|
               |forty-two  yards,   and,   after  a  few|
               |plays,  kicked the  ball  over the cross|
               |bar for the second field goal.          |
               |                                        |
               | At no stage  of the  game did Yale have|
               |a  chance  to  win,  and  only  once did|
               |the  team  have a chance to score.  That|
               |opportunity   came   during  the  fourth|
               |period,  when  they showed a versatility|
               |of attack that fairly  swept the crimson|
               |eleven  off  their feet and  brought the|
               |ball  in  a  steady   series  of  rushes|
               |over a  stretch  of  sixty yards  before|
               |it  was  lost on  downs.  But  the flash|
               |came too late,  and while it was  at its|
               |height the most optimistic of  the  blue|
               |supporters could see  nothing  more than|
               |a chance  to blot  out the ignominy of a|
               |scoreless defeat.                       |
               |                                        |
               | What  Yale  did  not  do  would  fill a|
               |volume.  Failure to  catch punts was the|
               |great fault,  a  fault which happened so|
               |often  that it might  be called a habit.|
               |Wheeler   muffed  one  in  the   opening|
               |period  which  paved  the  way  for  the|
               |first  Harvard  touchdown; Flynn  missed|
               |one  in the third period and opened  the|
               |avenue  for  the  other.  Between  times|
               |the  ball was dropping  from Eli arms so|
               |often  that  it  seemed strange  when it|
               |was caught.                             |
               |                                        |
               | Harvard’s  splendidly   finished  team,|
               |good in  all around play,  worked to its|
               |limit  a consistent kicking game against|
               |a  team  unable to handle punts.  Little|
               |effort was made to test  the strength of|
               |the blue  line.  The crimson offense was|
               |based  almost entirely  on  getting down|
               |the field  under  Felton’s  high  spiral|
               |punts   and  taking   advantage  of  the|
               |slippery  fingers  of Wheeler and Flynn.|
               |When  stopped  from  tackle  to  tackle,|
               |they  twice used fake  plays  with  wide|
               |end runs for clever gains.              |
               |                                        |
               | As in  all  this  season’s  games,  the|
               |brilliancy  of  Brickley’s  running  and|
               |goal  kicking  outshone  the  individual|
               |play   of  his   team-mates.   Twice  he|
               |intercepted  Yale  forward  passes,  one|
               |of  which  he  turned  into   a  run  of|
               |forty-two  yards.  The second  touchdown|
               |was due  solely to his  speed  down  the|
               |field  and to his keen eye in recovering|
               |Flynn’s  muff,  which  he converted into|
               |a touchdown  in the next  scrimmage.  He|
               |scored two out of  his four  attempts at|
               |field  goals and missed the other two by|
               |a few feet.                             |
               |                                        |
               | Bomeisler, Yale’s  star  end,  although|
               |twice taken out of the  game because  of|
               |the  old  injury  to  his shoulder,  did|
               |the most remarkable  work  seen  on Yale|
               |field since the days of Tom Shevlin.  He|
               |was  down the field  like  a  race-horse|
               |under Lefty Flynn’s punts,  and  besides|
               |tackling  with  unerring  accuracy,   he|
               |threw himself so hard  that  the man was|
               |forced back considerably  from the  spot|
               |where he caught the ball.               |
               |                                        |
               | Yale won  the toss  and chose to defend|
               |the north goal,  the Crimson facing  the|
               |sun.  Flynn  kicked  off for  Yale.  The|
               |ball sailed behind the  Harvard goal and|
               |was  taken out to Harvard’s 20-yard line|
               |for  scrimmage.  Felton,  on first down,|
               |kicked  it  back  to  the  Yale  20-yard|
               |line.  Flynn’s short kick drove the ball|
               |out of bounds  at the Eli 40-yard  line.|
               |Harvard’s  backs  then  crashed  through|
               |irresistibly  until  they   reached  the|
               |20-yard  line.  The  Yale  defense  grew|
               |compact at her 20-yard line,  and two of|
               |Wendell’s  smashes  netted only  a  yard|
               |apiece.   On  the  third  down  Brickley|
               |tried his  first  drop  kick  for  goal,|
               |the ball  going outside of the  upright.|
               |Flynn  punted to Harvard’s 40-yard  line|
               |and   Felton  immediately   returned  it|
               |to the  Yale  20-yard  mark.  A  15-yard|
               |penalty set  Yale  back  to  her  5-yard|
               |line.  Flynn’s beautiful punt was muffed|
               |by Gardner at the  Harvard 40-yard line,|
               |but  it  was  recovered   by   Hardwick.|
               |Felton  punted out  of bounds  at Yale’s|
               |40-yard  line.  Twice  the  Felton-Flynn|
               |duel brought exchanges of  kicks without|
               |gains. The last Felton effort,  however,|
               |dropped the ball  into Wheeler’s lap and|
               |he muffed  squarely.  Storer  seized  it|
               |at the Yale 30-yard line and,  aided  by|
               |splendid  interference  by  O’Brien  and|
               |Parmenter,  tore all the rest of the way|
               |for a  touchdown.  Hardwick  kicked  the|
               |goal. Score: Harvard 6, Yale 0.         |
               |                                        |
               | Flynn  kicked  off  behind  the Harvard|
               |goal,  and,  from  the  Harvard  20-yard|
               |line,  Felton  immediately  returned it.|
               |Yale was now in a panic,  and  Wheeler’s|
               |second muff dropped the ball under three|
               |sliding  Harvard tacklers  at  the  Yale|
               |30-yard line.  Yale  got in hotter water|
               |through a 15-yard penalty, but Wendell’s|
               |plunges were held till third down,  when|
               |Brickley   registered  Harvard’s  second|
               |score  through  a  faultless drop-kicked|
               |goal   from  the   Yale  30-yard   line.|
               |Following  Felton’s  return  of  Flynn’s|
               |kick-off,   the   first  period  closed.|
               |Score: Harvard 10, Yale 0.              |

                 [The  detailed  report  of  the   other
                quarters follows,  and then  the line-up
                is given.]

               | The line-up:                           |
               |       YALE.               HARVARD.     |
               |                                        |
               |L. E.          Avery|Felton        L. E.|
               |L. T.       Gallauer|Storer        L. T.|
               |L. G.         Cooney|Pennock       L. G.|
               |C.           Ketcham|Parmenter        C.|
               |R. G.      Pendleton|Trumbull      R. G.|
               |R. T.      W. Warren|Hitchcock     R. T.|
               |R. E.      Bomeisler|O’Brien       R. E.|
               |Q.           Wheeler|Gardner          Q.|
               |L. H.        Philbin|Hardwick      L. H.|
               |R. H.      Spaulding|Brickley      R. H.|
               |F.             Flynn|Wendell          F.|
               |                                        |
               | Substitutions: Yale—Cornell, for Wheel-|
               |er;  Dyer,  for  Cornell;  Wheeler,  for|
               |Dyer; Sheldon, for Bomeisler; Bomeisler,|
               |for Sheldon; Sheldon,  for Bomeisler; W.|
               |Howe,  for Sheldon;  Carter,  for Avery;|
               |Talbot,  for  Gallauer;  Pumpelly,   for|
               |Philbin; Merkle,  for Flynn; Baker,  for|
               |Merkle; Martin, for Pendleton; Reed, for|
               |W. Warren.                              |
               |                                        |
               | Harvard—T.  Frothingham,   for  Storer;|
               |Wigglesworth,  for  Parmenter; Driscoll,|
               |for  Trumbull;  Lawson,  for  Hitchcock;|
               |Hollister,  for  O’Brien;  Bradley,  for|
               |Gardner; Bradlee, for Hardwick; Lingard,|
               |for Brickley; Graustein, for Wendell.   |
               |                                        |
               | Summary:   Score—Harvard  20,  Yale  0.|
               |Touchdowns—Storer,    Brickley.   Goals—|
               |Hardwick 2.  Goals  from  field—Brickley|
               |2.  Referee—W.  S.   Langford,  Trinity.|
               |Umpire—D. L. Fultz, Brown. Head Linesman|
               |—W. N. Morice,  Pennsylvania. Time—15:00|
               |periods.                                |

=“Covering” a Baseball Game.= The accepted methods of reporting
baseball games and other athletic contests, and the form in which
stories of them are written, are very similar to those described above
for football. The example given below shows the application of the
general principles to baseball:

               | New York, May 6.—New  York  took second|
               |place  from  Philadelphia  in a  3 to  2|
               |game   today  notwithstanding  that  the|
               |Quakers hit Mathewson two  and a quarter|
               |times as hard as the Giants hit Foxen.  |
               |                                        |
               | Of their four  hits  New  York  grouped|
               |three  in  one  inning,  the  sixth,  in|
               |which they made their  three runs; while|
               |Philadelphia  got  three of  their  nine|
               |hits in the eighth with  but  two  runs.|
               |There  was a shade of  difference in the|
               |consecutiveness  of  the  bunched  hits,|
               |and that was  where Mathewson  was  more|
               |effective  than  Foxen.  A comparison of|
               |the work of the  two pitchers,  however,|
               |from  the  point  of   view  of  adverse|
               |runs,  shows that there was an error  by|
               |“Matty”  which  accounted for one Quaker|
               |tally,  a  wild throw  in  running  down|
               |Bates, who soon afterwards scored.      |
               |                                        |
               | The  game  was sharply  played  with  a|
               |good deal  of  snappy  fielding.  Devlin|
               |and Knabe  were  fine  on  ground balls,|
               |each  ranging  swiftly to  the left  and|
               |gathering  up  everything   within   the|
               |limit.  Doyle in the  fifth made  a star|
               |pickup of a hard ball to his right.     |
               |                                        |
               | Poor  base  running lost the Phillies a|
               |run in the fourth.  Grant opened up with|
               |a hit, Magee sacrificed,  and Bransfield|
               |hit  to Doyle,  who  fumbled.  The  ball|
               |went  through  Doyle,   and   had  Grant|
               |been watchful and  kept right  on  home,|
               |he  would  have scored.  As  it was,  he|
               |hesitated,  then started for  the plate,|
               |and  was caught trying  to  get  back to|
               |third.                                  |
               |                                        |
               | New York’s scoring  in  the sixth began|
               |with  Doyle’s liner  to  center.  Murray|
               |laid  down a  bunt and put it  where  it|
               |did the  most good.  Titus  was far  out|
               |when  he  dropped  Seymour’s fly  to let|
               |Doyle and Murray move up  a  base  each.|
               |Fletcher  hit a  fine  one  to right and|
               |brought  Doyle and Murray home.  Seymour|
               |scored on Doyle’s fly to Magee.         |
               |                                        |
               | In  the    eighth   with   Foxen   out,|
               |Philadelphia started  off  on  their two|
               |tallies.  Titus sent a  two-base hit out|
               |along the chalk-mark  to the south-east.|
               |Bates   laced   a   single  through  the|
               |diamond and brought in Titus.  Mathewson|
               |caught Bates napping,  but overthrew the|
               |base in the run  down and Bates scurried|
               |back  to first.  Grant  was  thrown  out|
               |by  Mathewson,  Magee  was  passed,  and|
               |Bransfield   singled,    letting   Bates|
               |score.  Two  were  left  on  bases  when|
               |Knabe went out, Mathewson to Merkle.    |
         |                                                   |
         | The score:                                        |
         |                                                   |
         | PHILADELPHIA.           |      NEW YORK.          |
         |          ab. h. p. a. e.|          ab. h. p. a. e.|
         |Titus, rf   5  1  2  0  1|Devore, lf  4  0  0  0  0|
         |Bates, lf   4  2  2  0  0|Doyle,  2b  3  1  1  6  1|
         |Grant, 3b   4  1  1  1  0|Murray, rf  4  1  1  0  0|
         |Magee, cf   1  0  5  0  0|Seym’r, cf  4  0  1  0  0|
         |B’field, 1b 4  2 12  0  0|Fleth’r, ss 3  1  1  0  0|
         |Knabe, 2b   4  1  0  7  0|Devlin, 3b  2  0  1  4  0|
         |Dool’n, ss  4  1  1  1  0|Merkle, 1b  2  0 18  1  0|
         |Dooin, c    4  0  1  1  0|Meyers, c   3  0  4  2  0|
         |Foxen, p    3  1  0  2  0|Math’on, p  3  1  0  7  1|
         |*Ward       1  0  0  0  0|                         |
         |           __ __ __ __ __|           __ __ __ __ __|
         |    Totals 34  9 24 12  1|    Totals 28  4 27 20  2|
         |                                                   |
               | *Batted for Foxen  in the ninth inning.|
               |Philadelphia         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0—2|
               |New York             0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 .—3|
               |                                        |
               | Runs—Philadelphia—Titus,   Bates.   New|
               |York—Doyle,  Murray, Seymour. First base|
               |on  errors—Philadelphia,  1;  New  York,|
               |1.  Left  on bases—Philadelphia,  8; New|
               |York, 5.  First base on balls—Off Foxen,|
               |3;  off  Mathewson,  2.   Struck  out—By|
               |Foxen, 1; by Mathewson, 3. Two base hit—|
               |Titus.  Sacrifice  hit—Magee.  Sacrifice|
               |fly—Devlin.     Stolen    base—Fletcher.|
               |Balk—Foxen.   Umpire  in   chief—Rigler.|
               |Assistant umpire—Emslie. Time—1 hour and|
               |30 minutes.                             |

=The Style of Sporting News Stories.= The style of sporting news
stories is marked by the use of terms peculiar to the game or sport and
often by the slang that is popular at the time, particularly the slang
that is in vogue among those interested in each sport. Young reporters,
and some older ones, too, seem to think that they can best prove their
knowledge of sports by using in their stories as much as possible of
the slang current among the professionals and their followers in the
sport. On the other hand, some of the recognized authorities on sports
write interesting and readable accounts of contests without indulging
in such sporting slang. A number of sporting editors, in order to give
variety to their daily reports of baseball games, have sought to coin
new phrases and figures of speech, and the result has sometimes been so
clever and amusing that these writers have established a considerable
reputation for novelty of expression. Too frequently, however, the
imitations of the work of the successful, clever few have not been
effective, and consequently have not been so good as simple, direct
reports. Originality of expression is as desirable in sporting news
stories as it is elsewhere, but a style that is marked by little more
than cheap humor and vulgar slang has nothing to commend it.

=Society News.= Society news is usually collected, written, and edited
by the society editor, almost invariably a woman. In order to insure
accuracy, facts for such stories should be obtained directly from
those concerned in the event. Announcements of engagements and of
weddings, particularly, must never be accepted for publication unless
furnished by the persons themselves or their families, as would-be
practical jokers not infrequently undertake to make victims of their
acquaintances by sending to newspapers false announcements of this
kind. Some newspapers distribute printed forms to be filled out by
those giving important social entertainments, and these are sent out
several days in advance so that they may be returned in time and the
facts correctly reported.

The form and style of news stories of many society events are
determined to some extent by social usages. Those who desire to become
society editors, and reporters generally, because they may be assigned
to cover society events, should notice carefully how news of this
sort is written up in society columns. The typographical style often
differs from that of the other parts of the paper. The whole story of
a wedding, reception, or other social event, in many papers is given
in one paragraph, although it may consist of several hundred words.
A concise story giving all the essential details, and avoiding trite
expressions like “charming,” “beautiful,” and “tastily,” is the most
acceptable one.

Conventional forms for such typical events as weddings, receptions, and
announcements of engagements are given below:

                     Announcements of Engagements

                                  (1)

               | Mr. and Mrs. William Gideon Hethrington|
               |of Trenton,  N. J., formerly of Chicago,|
               |announce   the   engagement   of   their|
               |daughter,  Marjorie,  to  Ernest  Wilson|
               |Swan, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl J.  Swan,|
               |of Cleveland.                           |

                                  (2)

               | The engagement  is  announced  of  Miss|
               |Ida  Wellington  Winter  of  St.   Paul,|
               |to  Milton  Gilman  Wells,  son  of Col.|
               |John Ottway Wells, U.  S.  A.,  Military|
               |Attaché in Panama,  and  nephew of Mayor|
               |Stephen S.  Wells,  Military  Attaché to|
               |the  American  Embassy  in  Paris.   The|
               |announcement  was made by Mr.  and  Mrs.|
               |Gordon S.  Stanford of  St.  Paul,  aunt|
               |and uncle of Miss Winter,  at whose home|
               |at Leonard Place the  wedding  will take|
               |place some  time next month.  Mr.  Wells|
               |was graduated from  Princeton  in  1906,|
               |and is in  business  in  this  city.  He|
               |lives  at  the Princeton Club,  121 East|
               |Twenty-first Street.                    |

                               Weddings

                                  (1)

               | Mr. and Mrs.  James H. Hayes of Winton,|
               |N.  Y.,  announce the  marriage of their|
               |daughter Helen to  Eugene  Payson Drown,|
               |formerly of Chicago.  The  wedding  took|
               |place Wednesday  in  Brookville,  N.  Y.|
               |Mr.  and  Mrs.   Drown  will  reside  in|
               |Brookville.                             |

                                  (2)

               | The marriage of Miss Rose Eldred White,|
               |daughter  of Mr.  and Mrs.  Joseph White|
               |of 230  Wilmington Avenue,  to Nathaniel|
               |Robert  Owen,  will  take  place  Monday|
               |evening,  Dec.  9,  at the Hotel Sherman|
               |in   the  presence   of  the   immediate|
               |families.                               |

                                  (3)

               | The  marriage  of  Miss  Ruth   Oswick,|
               |daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.   Pemberton|
               |Hines  Oswick   of  511  North  Highland|
               |avenue,   Pembroke  Park,   to  Franklin|
               |Isquith,  was celebrated  last night  at|
               |9 o’clock  at  the  First Congregational|
               |Church  of  Pembroke  Park,   Dr.   John|
               |Howard    Grosvenor    performing    the|
               |ceremony.  Mrs.  Holton,  sister  of the|
               |bride,  was matron of  honor.  Miss  Ina|
               |Isquith,   sister   of  the  bridegroom,|
               |was maid of honor,  and  there were  six|
               |bridesmaids—the  Misses  Vera  Pynch  of|
               |St. Louis,  Bertha Marquis,  Ethel High,|
               |Marguerite  Winton,   Doris  Hyde,   and|
               |Edna Stone.  Franklin  Williams  Oswick,|
               |brother  of  the  bride,  was  best  man|
               |and  the  ushers  were  W.  W.  Collins,|
               |Leonard   Danzic,   Richard   De   Long,|
               |Pembroke  Johns,  Chester  Danzic,   and|
               |Richard  Lewis  of  Chicago.   Elizabeth|
               |Reed,  cousin of the bride,  was  flower|
               |girl  and  Burton  Davies  of  Oak  Park|
               |acted  as  master  of  ceremonies.   The|
               |bridal   gown  was  of  ivory  charmeuse|
               |satin  with  an  overdress  of chantilly|
               |trimmed  with  pearls,  and  the  bridal|
               |shower bouquet  was  of  lilies  of  the|
               |valley  and brides’  roses.  The  matron|
               |of  honor wore  lavender brocaded  satin|
               |trimmed   with  lace  and  crystals  and|
               |carried  lavender sweet peas.  The  maid|
               |of honor’s gown was of pink  embroidered|
               |Japanese   brocaded  silk  trimmed  with|
               |Venetian  lace.   She  carried  lavender|
               |chrysanthemums.   The  bridesmaids  wore|
               |frocks of  the different  colors of  the|
               |rainbow.   Two  were  in  blue,  two  in|
               |yellow,  and two in green.  They carried|
               |white chrysanthemums.  A  reception  for|
               |500  guests  followed  at  the  Colonial|
               |Club of Pembroke  Park.  The decorations|
               |were chrysanthemums,  smilax and  palms.|
               |Mr.  and Mrs. Isquith will be at home in|
               |Los Angeles after Feb. 1.               |

                      Luncheons, Receptions, Etc.

                                  (1)

               | Mrs.  Wilson  McHain  gave  a  luncheon|
               |yesterday  at the Woman’s  Athletic Club|
               |in  honor  of   Miss   Florence  Raymond|
               |Baugh,  who  is  to be married  to  Dale|
               |Cranford Haynes of Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  on|
               |Saturday.  Covers were laid for six, and|
               |the guests  were Miss  Gertrude  Binton,|
               |Mrs.  Harrison Stanton,  Mrs.  Arthur G.|
               |Nain,  and Mrs.  Willard S.  De  Long of|
               |Buffalo.                                |

                                  (2)

               | Mr.  and  Mrs.  Donald  White  McNabey,|
               |Markham Place,  will give a reception on|
               |Thursday from 5 to 7,  in honor of their|
               |daughter,   Miss  Dorothy  McNabey,  who|
               |will be presented to society.  Following|
               |the reception,  the young  people in the|
               |assisting  party  will be entertained at|
               |a supper and informal dance.            |

                               Club News

                                  (1)

               | The  civics and philanthropy  class  of|
               |the  Highland  Park  Culture  Club  will|
               |hold its first meeting of  the year this|
               |morning  at  10  o’clock  at  the  Hotel|
               |Van Buren.  Mrs.  Arthur  G.  Antwick is|
               |chairman.                               |

                                  (2)

               | An ornamental public  drinking fountain|
               |of  marble  and  granite,   bearing  arc|
               |electric  lights  at  its top,  will  be|
               |erected  by the Woman’s  Outdoor  League|
               |and  placed  in  some  prominent  public|
               |place,   according   to  plans  arranged|
               |at  a  meeting  of  the  league  in  the|
               |Hamilton   Hotel  yesterday   afternoon.|
               |“The   league  has  erected  and  placed|
               |six  small  public   drinking  fountains|
               |in  congested  districts of  the  city,”|
               |said Mrs. Franklin Renton,  president of|
               |the  league,  “and we  will  now erect a|
               |fountain  that  will be a credit to  the|
               |outdoor work of  our  organization and a|
               |beauty  spot for the  city.  As  soon as|
               |we have  determined upon the  site where|
               |the  fountain  will  be  placed  we will|
               |arrange  for  proper  public  ceremonies|
               |dedicating  it  to  the   city.”  During|
               |the  last year the  league  has  erected|
               |a  bungalow in  the  Zoölogical  Gardens|
               |besides supervising other outdoor  work.|
               |Officers chosen for 1913 were:          |
               |                                        |
               | President—Mrs. Dean C. White.          |
               | First vice-president—Mrs. Albert D.    |
               |Halen.                                  |
               | Second vice-president—Miss Willa       |
               |Murray.                                 |
               | Secretary—Mrs. Parkins Greene.         |
               | Treasurer—Miss Clarice Morgan.         |

                                  (3)

               | The Social Economics Club met yesterday|
               |afternoon at 2  o’clock in  the  Woman’s|
               |Temple.  Mrs.  John  Robins  Bell  in  a|
               |paper   on   “Industrialism”   advocated|
               |vocational  training   in   the   public|
               |schools in  connection with  the regular|
               |school course.  Miss Viola Harding sang,|
               |accompanied by Miss Alice Lanning.      |

=Banquets and Holiday Celebrations.= News stories of banquets and
of various forms of holiday celebrations are not usually put in the
society columns and are not covered by the society editor. If at a
banquet after-dinner speaking is the important part of the event, such
portions of the speeches as are of great interest are given the most
space. If the speaking is not a feature, a description is given of the
occasion, and particularly of any interesting incidents or unusual
circumstances. For stories of holiday celebrations, such as Christmas
festivities, a general descriptive lead serves to introduce accounts of
various forms of celebration by societies, at public institutions, and
on the streets.

How such an event as a banquet may be written up at some length in
an unconventional manner with enough life and interest to make it
entertaining reading, is shown in the following news story taken from
the New York _Sun_:

               | If you’ve ever sat in  the enemy’s camp|
               |when  the Blue eleven  lunged  its  last|
               |yard for a touchdown and had  your  hair|
               |ruffled  by  the roar that swept  across|
               |the gridiron,  you can  guess how  1,500|
               |Yale  men  yelled at  the  Waldorf  last|
               |night for Bill Taft of ’78.             |
               |                                        |
               | It  came  all  at  once,   a  terrific,|
               |ear-jarring   crash   of   cheers   that|
               |danced the  glasses  on  the table  tops|
               |and fluttered the  big  flags around the|
               |balconies.  They had ceased the pounding|
               |chant of  “Boola.” The  classes from ’53|
               |to  ’08  had  flung the  Brek-a-kek-kek,|
               |Ko-ax,  Ko-ax  from wall  to  wall,  and|
               |the  orchestra,  away up under the roof,|
               |had  dropped the  horns and fiddles from|
               |sheer weariness.  There was  a moment of|
               |unexpected quiet.                       |
               |                                        |
               | Suddenly  the  electric lights died all|
               |over the grand ballroom.  A  searchlight|
               |sprayed  its rays  squarely  on  a  drop|
               |curtain  which  pictured  the old  Brick|
               |Row  as   it  was  in   the  days   when|
               |President  Taft  was  a  freshman.   You|
               |could  see  the  rail  fence,  even  the|
               |initials  cut along  the  boards—“W.  H.|
               |T.,” “O. T.  B.,” “A.  T.  H.” Tall elms|
               |leaned  toward the ancient buildings and|
               |spread  their  foliage  over  the  dingy|
               |roofs.                                  |
               |                                        |
               | The  broad band  of light moved up  and|
               |down over the picture,  hesitated,  then|
               |fell  squarely  on  President   Taft  as|
               |he  sat  with  President Arthur  Twining|
               |Hadley  of the university  and President|
               |James  R.  Sheffield of  the Yale  Club.|
               |The  President’s  head was  half  turned|
               |toward  the picture  of  the  old  Brick|
               |Row. He wasn’t smiling.                 |
               |                                        |
               | The yell started, spread all  over  the|
               |room and  gathered  force  as man  after|
               |man  opened the  throttle  of  his lungs|
               |and  turned  on  the   full  power  that|
               |was  in  him  and roared  and  thundered|
               |until  the  lights went  out  again.  In|
               |the  darkness  presently the  old  Brick|
               |Row   appeared  and   took  form.   Soft|
               |lights  gleamed  at  the windows  of the|
               |dormitories.   The  chapel  bell  tolled|
               |faintly.    The   cheerful   voices   of|
               |freshmen calling  to freshmen were heard|
               |very faintly.  A  shout only less mighty|
               |than the  salute  to the President shook|
               |the  big  room  and  shortly  passed  to|
               |laughter.                               |
               |                                        |
               | Somebody  started  a  chant.  The  Yale|
               |graduates  took  it up by hundreds until|
               |1,500 of them shouted in rhythm:        |
               |                                        |
               | Oh, Freshman, put out that light!      |
               | Oh, Freshman, put out that light!      |
               | Oh, Freshman, put out that light!      |
               |                                        |
               | That  was  Yale’s   greeting  to   Taft|
               |of  ’78.   The  welcome   to   President|
               |William  Howard  Taft,  who happened  to|
               |have   been   graduated  from  Yale  and|
               |not   some   other   university—Harvard,|
               |say,   or  Princeton—came  later,   when|
               |President  Sheffield  of  the Yale  Club|
               |and  President  Hadley  sent  big  words|
               |over  his  head  and  admitted  that the|
               |character  of the  man had something  to|
               |do with  his rise in the  world  as well|
               |as the Yale training.                   |
               |                                        |
               | But there were  many  moments when  the|
               |graduates put aside the  fact that  they|
               |were  entertaining  the  President.  The|
               |old  men  who  were  graduated a  little|
               |before or  a  little after Mr.  Taft and|
               |had  known  him  in  college  gravitated|
               |toward  the dais  by  twos  and  threes,|
               |laughing  and chuckling and  poking each|
               |other in the ribs.  Mr.  Taft was on his|
               |feet most of the time.                  |
               |                                        |
               | “Bill, I  wonder  if you remember  this|
               |one—”  and Tom  of  ’78 or  Jack  of ’79|
               |would  reel  off  a  story   or  a  joke|
               |that  hadn’t  been  released  maybe  for|
               |thirty years.  There was  the  story  of|
               |the little red hen—but  it  need not  be|
               |repeated.  Mr. Taft remembered it,  that|
               |was certain.                            |
               |                                        |
               | And  while the  handshaking   and   the|
               |reminiscences  and  the  old  jokes were|
               |keeping Mr.  Taft busy  on  the dais,  a|
               |cannonading  of  cheers  and  songs  was|
               |fired at him  from  every table  in  the|
               |room.  They sang him “The Old Brick Row”|
               |and “Yale Will  Win,” and  when they had|
               |run  through these they  took up “Boola”|
               |again and again  until the  sweep of its|
               |rhythm had drawn the  voice of every man|
               |in the room, including the President’s. |
               |                                        |
               | It was the  biggest  dinner  ever  held|
               |in  the  Waldorf-Astoria,   which  means|
               |perhaps  the  biggest  in New York city.|
               |Several   years   ago   the   Republican|
               |Club   entertained  Col.   Roosevelt  at|
               |the  Waldorf  and upward  of  1,200  men|
               |crammed  themselves  in to eat and drink|
               |and cheer.  Last night’s  broke all  the|
               |records.   There  were   exactly   1,448|
               |at the  tables  and  more  than 100  who|
               |came  late were not  able  to  sit  down|
               |at all.  Every  square foot of  space in|
               |the  grand  ballroom  except  the narrow|
               |lanes  for  the  waiters  was  occupied.|
               |The  dinner  overflowed into  the  Astor|
               |gallery,  where  elbow room  was desired|
               |and denied.  There  were  tables in  the|
               |hallways  and  tables  set  in  the  two|
               |levels of  boxes—something  that doesn’t|
               |happen in a generation.                 |
               |                                        |
               | The  stage  was set with  attention  to|
               |detail  shown by professionals.  Besides|
               |the  big  drop  curtain behind the  head|
               |table,  which  depicted  the  old  Brick|
               |Row as it was in  Taft’s time,  they had|
               |strung a section of rail  fence in front|
               |of the  table,  a replica  of  the fence|
               |on which Mr.  Taft  used to whittle  his|
               |initials.  The elms of the  picture sent|
               |their tops as far outward on the  canvas|
               |as possible,  and then the illusion  was|
               |carried out  cunningly  by  the greenery|
               |that   underhung   the   ceiling.    The|
               |ballroom floor  was  the campus of Yale,|
               |and  the  illusion  was  produced pretty|
               |successfully.                           |
               |                                        |
               | All through the smilax and vines of the|
               |ceiling were  thousands and thousands of|
               |pink  roses,  roses past  all  counting.|
               |There were  clusters  and  pots  of them|
               |on   the  table  tops,   hung  from  the|
               |balconies  and  draped  around  swinging|
               |incandescents,  which  glowed pink  when|
               |the lights  were lowered.  All of  these|
               |things  were accomplished  by  Noble  F.|
               |Hoggson of  ’88,  who got  busy  in  the|
               |banquet  room  at  2  o’clock  yesterday|
               |morning after a  ball had  danced itself|
               |out.                                    |

The following description of a newsboys’ Christmas “feast,” as reported
in the New York _Tribune_, illustrates another type of work which the
reporter is called upon to do:

               | A  game  dinner where the  eaters  were|
               |game,—that  was  the newsboys’ Christmas|
               |feast,  provided last night in the Brace|
               |Memorial Newsboys’  Lodging  House,  No.|
               |14  New Chambers street,  by William  M.|
               |Fliess,  Jr.  The happiness  of  poverty|
               |without   responsibility,   of   boyhood|
               |unchecked,  of  sporting  blood untamed,|
               |of  divine independence,  shone from the|
               |eyes of  those noisy “newsies,” thrilled|
               |in  their  laughter,   barked  in  their|
               |shouts.  And envy, not pity, stirred the|
               |hearts  of the  men  and  women who  had|
               |left  comfortable homes,  in  immaculate|
               |attire,  to  watch  the children  of the|
               |street absorb their little mountains  of|
               |food.                                   |
               |                                        |
               | No separate courses,  no cocktails  and|
               |caviar,  no after-dinner  speeches  were|
               |needed to make  that  dinner  palatable,|
               |to  separate  mind   from  stomach,   to|
               |create  buoyancy   of  spirits.   A  big|
               |bowl  of thick,  steaming  soup; a plate|
               |heaped with turkey,  potatoes and mashed|
               |turnips;  a cupful of smoking coffee and|
               |a whole pie,  as  round as  the  smiling|
               |face  of the sun,  greeted each separate|
               |appetite  simultaneously,  and caused no|
               |gorge  to  rise.  Not a bit of space was|
               |wasted  on  those  long,  white  tables,|
               |flanked  by their  narrow,  red benches.|
               |Big  bunches of celery  took  the  place|
               |of  inedible  decorations,  and appealed|
               |infinitely  more  to  the artistic souls|
               |of the  grimy  little guests  than would|
               |flowers or ferns.                       |
               |                                        |
               | All ages   from  five  to  twenty  were|
               |represented,  and big boy and infant sat|
               |side  by  side  in  perfect comradeship,|
               |since  age  counts  for  little  in  the|
               |freemasonry   of   the   street.    Some|
               |pinched,  white little faces there were,|
               |but not many,  to  set off by comparison|
               |the wind  reddened  cheeks  of  most  of|
               |the  throng.  None had an overcoat; some|
               |were  even  without  jackets,  but  they|
               |all  looked warm.  One  young man of six|
               |marched in  with  a drum,  which matched|
               |his countenance for  expansive roundness|
               |and noisy  Christmas cheer.  He sat down|
               |with  it  strapped  to his  side,  which|
               |crowded   his  neighbor  somewhat,   but|
               |there was  no complaint,  for not even a|
               |“newsy” could entertain the  thought  of|
               |separating him for a  moment from such a|
               |present.                                |
               |                                        |
               | The feast  started  at 7  o’clock,  but|
               |at 8  o’clock  there  were  many  places|
               |still  empty and waiting,  for  the late|
               |“extras” with news  of the Johnson-Burns|
               |prizefight detained  many of  the  older|
               |boys  who had important stands.  And for|
               |the same reason there  was little of the|
               |organized cheering  of  former years for|
               |the  benefactor and  for  Superintendent|
               |Heig,  since  “Chicago Tom,”  “Wise Joe”|
               |and  other leaders  were  still  selling|
               |“papes” at  the bridge entrance.  But it|
               |was a “handout till  midnight,” and time|
               |enough to  “stick on de job” and “get in|
               |on de feed,” too.                       |
               |                                        |
               | It was hard, though,  on the shivering,|
               |shuffling  line   of  beggared  outcasts|
               |which    hugged   the   Brace   Memorial|
               |building on three  sides,  waiting until|
               |all  the  “newsies”  had  got  “theirs.”|
               |Here  was  no Christmas  buoyancy,  only|
               |hopeless   patience   in  wasted  faces,|
               |in  huddled  forms,  in  gnawing  hunger|
               |which  sprang not from red  blood.  That|
               |dim,  silent fringe  which pressed tight|
               |up  against  the  brick  walls,   as  if|
               |seeking warmth and sustenance  from  the|
               |contact,  expressed  the  antithesis  of|
               |the scene within.  Emphasis  of this was|
               |not  wanting  as  groups  of  boisterous|
               |“newsies,”  clattering  down  the stairs|
               |and bursting  out  of  the  door,  haled|
               |different members of the company.       |
               |                                        |
               | “Hungry, Bill?”                        |
               |                                        |
               | “Wait till next Christmas.”            |
               |                                        |
               | And the replies, accompanied by wan    |
               |smiles:                                 |
               |                                        |
               | “Say, kid, what dey handin’ out?”      |
               |                                        |
               | “Are ye leavin’ enough fer us?”        |
               |                                        |
               | These   men  were  to  get   what   the|
               |“newsies” left,  and yet not all either,|
               |for   following   them  would  come  the|
               |women,  the tattered hags of  the night.|
               |And  so the feast,  begun in brightness,|
               |would  end  with the saddest chapter  of|
               |civilization.                           |
               |                                        |
               | The women  did not line up. They shrank|
               |from  the  stares   of  passersby,   and|
               |waited until  the  last  before crawling|
               |forth from their lairs.                 |
               |                                        |
               | Two  thousand   newsboys  and  homeless|
               |men  and  women  were  fed  through  the|
               |generosity of Mr.  Fliess,  who provides|
               |such  a  feast   every  Christmas.   His|
               |father   began   giving   these   annual|
               |dinners  forty-five  years ago,  and his|
               |son  is continuing  them in  his memory.|
               |Seven hundred  pounds  of turkey,  three|
               |hundred   of  ham,   four   barrels   of|
               |potatoes and four  of  turnips,  fifteen|
               |hundred  pies  and   countless   gallons|
               |of  coffee,  tea,   and  soup  were  the|
               |principal  items  of  his provision last|
               |night.   Two   hundred  applicants  were|
               |seated at a time. There was no disorder.|
               |                                        |
               | One man, arriving late,  when the  last|
               |dishes  were  being  cleared  away,  was|
               |referred to Mr. Heig.                   |
               |                                        |
               | “Misteer,”  he   said,   “I  came  from|
               |Peekskill,  walking  all the way,  and I|
               |am most famished.  Can I  have something|
               |to eat?”                                |
               |                                        |
               | “There is a cup of tea or coffee  left,|
               |anyway,  and a piece  of bread.  Give it|
               |to him,” Mr.  Heig said,  turning to his|
               |assistants.                             |
               |                                        |
               | Presently  a plate  of  steaming turkey|
               |and  vegetables  was  placed  in   front|
               |of the man.  Mr.  Heig said  one  of the|
               |girls  helping  in   the  kitchen,   who|
               |hadn’t  eaten  anything  since  morning,|
               |had insisted  that her  share  go to the|
               |traveller.                              |
               |                                        |
               | Mr.  Heig  said  the  closing  of  many|
               |manufacturing plants  in  the  last year|
               |had set  thousands  of boys adrift.  The|
               |Newsboys’  Lodging  House had  become  a|
               |haven,  he said,  for  all the  homeless|
               |and friendless  lads  in  the city,  and|
               |in the  last  year had  sheltered  3,844|
               |different boys.                         |

Christmas and other holidays give occasion for accounts of various
forms of celebration, of which the following story from the New York
_Evening Post_ is a good example:

               | Just  when the  afternoon  shadows were|
               |beginning   to   lengthen   in   Trinity|
               |churchyard,  the snow-hedged  paths were|
               |filled  with  children hurrying  to  the|
               |service  known  as  the  “Visit  to  the|
               |Manger.” By  scores  they surged  along,|
               |bearing   banners,   until  the   church|
               |doors  swallowed them  up.  It  was  the|
               |day  of one of  Trinity’s most  hallowed|
               |customs.  Nobody  knows exactly  when it|
               |was instituted,  although tradition says|
               |that it began during the late Dr.  Dix’s|
               |incumbency.  With the passing  years the|
               |“Visit to  the  Manger” has  become  the|
               |recognized prelude to  the Sunday School|
               |feast and Christmas  tree,  on  the  day|
               |before Christmas.                       |
               |                                        |
               | In the church long streamers of  greens|
               |twined the  pillars,  and here and there|
               |gleamed  holly; above the rows  of heads|
               |the  banners   with  their  inscriptions|
               |trembled.  Shrill young voices joined in|
               |the  carols.  Notes of  the processional|
               |rang clearly.                           |
               |                                        |
               | Once in royal David’s city             |
               | Stood a lowly cattle shed,             |
               | Where a mother laid her Baby           |
               | In a manger for His bed;               |
               | Mary was that mother mild,             |
               | Jesus Christ her little Child.         |
               |                                        |
               | Afterward  they  sang “O  Come, All  Ye|
               |Faithful,” and when the address had been|
               |delivered  by the  presiding  clergyman,|
               |the   children    chanted   that   other|
               |wonderful old carol,  “The Snow  Lay  on|
               |the Ground.”                            |
               |                                        |
               | The snow lay on the ground,            |
               | The stars shone bright,                |
               | When Christ our Lord was born          |
               | On Christmas night!                    |
               | When Christ our Lord was born          |
               | On Christmas night!                    |
               |                                        |
               | Then came the  “Visit  to the  Manger.”|
               |Long ranks of children  were  formed  in|
               |the aisles,  and,  led by two trumpeters|
               |from   the  Metropolitan   Opera   House|
               |blowing  “Waken,   Christian  Children,”|
               |they  marched in  solemn  procession  to|
               |the vestibule under the spire,  right in|
               |the main entrance,  where the manger was|
               |situated.                               |
               |                                        |
               | On a platform, raised so that everybody|
               |could  see  it,   was  a  representation|
               |of  the  Night  at  Bethlehem.  All  the|
               |characters  in   that  first   drama  of|
               |Christianity  were  there; the sheep and|
               |cattle  stood  munching  straw—or  so it|
               |seemed.  Lighted candles glowed on them,|
               |and  overhead  boomed  the great  organ,|
               |while the children’s voices sang as they|
               |looked and marched on:                  |
               |                                        |
               |     Waken, Christian children.         |
               |       Up! and let us sing              |
               |     With glad voice the praises        |
               |       Of our new-born King.            |
               |     Up! ’Tis meet to welcome,          |
               |       With a joyful lay.               |
               |     Christ, the King of Glory,         |
               |       Born for us to-day!              |
               |                                        |
               | When  all of  them—and there must  have|
               |been  three  or  four  hundred—had  made|
               |the  “Visit to  the  Manger,”  and  were|
               |back in their seats once more,  so  many|
               |orderly rows of Sunday  school children,|
               |instead of little pilgrims  wandering  a|
               |road far older than that which  leads to|
               |Canterbury, the service was resumed, and|
               |soon came the recessional “O Little Town|
               |of Bethlehem.”                          |
               |                                        |
               | The  service over,  the congregation, a|
               |very much excited array,  was marshalled|
               |to the  parish house in  the rear of the|
               |church  where the  great  Christmas tree|
               |and a gorgeous feast were awaiting them.|
               |There were  moving pictures,  too,  that|
               |showed the  journey of the Wise Men from|
               |the East and the Star that guided them. |

=Writing Obituaries.= News stories of deaths, with the biographical
sketch, or obituary, which usually accompanies such announcements in
the case of men of more or less prominence, constitute another type
that differs somewhat from general news stories. The essential facts
for the lead are the name of the person, his position, his address, the
cause of his death and the duration of his illness, the names of the
members of his family that survive him, and any important circumstances
connected with his death. The significance of his career, or an
estimate of his life work, may often serve to connect the lead with the
biography that follows. Every well organized newspaper office files
biographies of well-known men of the city, state, or nation, when these
are published in newspapers or magazines, or are furnished by news
bureaus, so that they may be ready for instant use when an obituary is
to be written. To this “morgue,” or “graveyard,” as it is called, the
reporter or editor goes to get whatever material is on hand concerning
the person whose obituary he is to write. “Who’s Who,” biographical
dictionaries, city, county, and state histories, and other similar
books of reference, furnish valuable data for biographies.

How a biographical sketch of a well-known man may be written up in the
newspaper office when the news of his death is received, is shown in
the following story of Dr. Koch and his work, which appeared in the
Boston _Transcript_:

               | Baden Baden, May  28.—Professor  Robert|
               |Koch,  the famous  bacteriologist,  died|
               |here yesterday afternoon from a  disease|
               |of the heart.  He was born at Klausthal,|
               |Hanover, Dec. 11, 1843.                 |
               |                                        |
               | The name  of Dr.  Robert Koch is one of|
               |the   most  illustrious  in  that  comp-|
               |aratively  small  group of  the  world’s|
               |great  medical specialists.  He  was one|
               |of  the very  few  men who  have  demon-|
               |strated  entirely  new   principles  and|
               |developed them to practical results.    |
               |                                        |
               | Dr. Koch’s investigation of anthrax, to|
               |which  Pasteur  had devoted a great deal|
               |of  attention,  first  brought  him into|
               |general  recognition  as  an  authority.|
               |A   visitation  of  cholera  at  Hamburg|
               |afforded  him scope  for  experiments in|
               |that direction,  and to Koch undoubtedly|
               |belongs  the distinction  of  specifying|
               |and demonstrating the  cholera bacillus.|
               |He was placed at the head of the cholera|
               |commission,   and  subsequently  visited|
               |Egypt and  India,  when  those countries|
               |were  scourged  by  a  cholera epidemic,|
               |his   services   being   recognized   by|
               |various  decorations of  honor and by  a|
               |substantial honorarium  of 100,000 marks|
               |($20,000).                              |
               |                                        |
               | In   the    course   of   his   cholera|
               |investigations   he   exemplified    the|
               |fact   that  the  bacillus,   or  active|
               |organism of the  disease,  seldom enters|
               |deeper  than  the  living   membrane  of|
               |the  intestines.   His  discoveries   in|
               |demonstrating separately and  specifying|
               |the  bacillus   or   micro-organism   of|
               |disease,   have  also  contributed  most|
               |valuable  knowledge   of  the  cause  of|
               |typhoid fever and erysipelas.           |
               |                                        |
               | In the  popular  mind  he  was  perhaps|
               |best   known  as  the  discoverer  of  a|
               |supposed   cure   for   consumption,   a|
               |remedy  which   failed  to   fulfil  the|
               |hopes   of  an  over-expectant   public.|
               |Yet  the  tremendous   strides  made  in|
               |recent  years toward  the  stamping  out|
               |of  that  supposedly  incurable  disease|
               |are  due,  more  than  to  any other one|
               |man,  to the great  German experimenter.|
               |Medical men today freely  attribute  the|
               |striking  decrease  in  the  death  rate|
               |from tuberculosis  to  Koch’s  discovery|
               |in 1882 that the disease is  infectious.|
               |To this  achievement he  added important|
               |studies  of  malaria,  cholera,  bubonic|
               |plague,   rinderpest,   cattle   plague,|
               |splenic fever and wound poison.         |
               |                                        |
               | Dr.  Koch received  a medical education|
               |at  Göttingen.   After  his  graduation,|
               |in  1866,  he became  assistant  surgeon|
               |in   the   Hamburg   General   Hospital.|
               |Later he  took up  private  practice  at|
               |Langenhagen,    Hanover;   at   Rakwitz,|
               |Posen;  and  at  Wollstein,  Posen.   By|
               |1872 he had  already a  standing in  his|
               |profession which won  him an appointment|
               |to  the Imperial Board  of  Health.  Ten|
               |years later  he  succeeded in  isolating|
               |the tubercle bacillus,  and his standing|
               |as an expert was secure.                |
               |                                        |
               | Honors followed  fast.   He  was   made|
               |privy  councillor  in  1883,  and became|
               |director  of the Cholera  Commission  to|
               |India and Egypt.  In 1884 he  discovered|
               |the  cholera spirillum,  regarded as the|
               |positive  test of Asiatic  cholera,  and|
               |for this signal  service  he received by|
               |legislative act a gift  of $20,000.  The|
               |following  year he  became  a  professor|
               |in  the University  of Berlin,  director|
               |of   the   newly  established   Hygienic|
               |Institute of Berlin,  and also  director|
               |of the Prussian Board of Health.        |
               |                                        |
               | But so  far  the winner  of  scientific|
               |honors had escaped  the  popular notice.|
               |It  was  in  November,  1890,  that word|
               |was  suddenly flashed  around  the world|
               |that a  German scientist had  discovered|
               |an infallible  remedy  for tuberculosis.|
               |“Koch’s  consumption   cure”   became  a|
               |talismanic  phrase of hope to  millions.|
               |Consumptives  rushed  to   Berlin   from|
               |every  corner of the earth.  Men  in the|
               |last  stages  of  the  disease  died  in|
               |railway carriages on  their way  to  the|
               |great physician.  No one  regretted this|
               |tragic  manifestation  more   than   Dr.|
               |Koch.  He had known that his experiments|
               |were  incomplete  and  that he  was  not|
               |yet  ready  to  put  his  tuberculin  to|
               |practical  use.  He  sought  to keep  it|
               |from  the  public,  but  sensationalists|
               |garbled  his  modest  report,   and  the|
               |mischief was wrought.                   |
               |                                        |
               | Nevertheless,  the   student  continued|
               |his  work  undaunted.  The  Robert  Koch|
               |Institute  for   the   investigation  of|
               |tuberculosis  was  founded   in  Berlin.|
               |Andrew  Carnegie   contributed  $125,000|
               |to its work.  From it  has proceeded the|
               |most valuable backing  of the world-wide|
               |war on the white plague.                |
               |                                        |
               | Dr.   Koch’s  latest   work   was   the|
               |investigation   in   South   Africa   of|
               |sleeping  sickness,  in  recognition  of|
               |which  Emperor William  conferred on him|
               |the  title of  Excellency.  From August,|
               |1906,  to  October,  1907,   the  doctor|
               |and  his  assistants  carried  on  these|
               |investigations  on  the  Sesse  Islands,|
               |in  the Victoria Nyanza.  The  work  was|
               |not without its dangers,  as the disease|
               |manifested  itself  there  in  its  most|
               |virulent  form.  Natives  were dying  on|
               |all  sides.  He  discovered  the  origin|
               |of the  disease in  the tsetse  fly.  To|
               |destroy  this  fly  and  thus   end  the|
               |scourge  he recommended the annihilation|
               |of the  crocodile,  on whose  blood  the|
               |fly feeds.                              |
               |                                        |
               | On  one   point   Dr.   Koch   differed|
               |radically  from  most  other authorities|
               |on  tuberculosis.   He  maintained  that|
               |tuberculosis    in   cattle   was    not|
               |transferable  to   man.   This  position|
               |he   held  to  most  vigorously  at  the|
               |Tuberculosis  Congress  in  London,   in|
               |1901.  In 1908, however, when he came to|
               |this country  to attend the  congress at|
               |Washington,  he  was  fated to  hear his|
               |conclusions  voted down by  a resolution|
               |of  the  body.  He  made  no reply,  and|
               |many  believe  his   opinions  had  been|
               |modified.  This journey  to  the  United|
               |States  in 1908  was his  first trip  to|
               |this  country  and   America’s   savants|
               |strove to pay  him  the  honors due.  He|
               |was  the  distinguished guest  at a  New|
               |York  dinner.  It was there that  Andrew|
               |Carnegie called  him one  of the “heroes|
               |of civilization.”                       |
               |                                        |
               | Dr. Koch received  the Harden  medal in|
               |recognition  of   his  eminent  services|
               |to medical  science  and  public health,|
               |the  Nobel  Medicine  Prize,   amounting|
               |to    $40,000,    for   his   researches|
               |looking to  the prevention and  cure  of|
               |tuberculosis, and many minor honors.    |

The following obituary of a writer, though meagre in biographical
detail, is well adapted to convey an impression of her personality and
of the quality of her work. It appeared in the New York _Sun_.

               | Myra  Kelly  (Mrs. Allan  Macnaughton),|
               |affectionately known  to  many thousands|
               |of  readers as  the  writer  of  stories|
               |of  Ghetto children,  died  yesterday in|
               |Torquay, England.                       |
               |                                        |
               | Ten years or so ago a newspaper man was|
               |dining  one  evening  with Dr.  James T.|
               |Kelly,  who asked for  advice concerning|
               |his  daughter’s  troubles  with magazine|
               |editors.  This seemed  like  the preface|
               |to  a  familiar  story—the  young  woman|
               |had literary  ability  which the editors|
               |persistently refused to recognize.  What|
               |was to be done?                         |
               |                                        |
               | But  the  story  was  not   along  that|
               |familiar line.                          |
               |                                        |
               | “My  daughter,  Myra,”  said  Dr. Kelly|
               |when  his companion  asked  how he could|
               |help,  “is  teaching  in a downtown East|
               |Side  school.  All of  us at  home  have|
               |been  entertained by her  stories of her|
               |pupils and I urged her to write  some of|
               |them.  She was timid about it because of|
               |the tales of  often rejected manuscripts|
               |by unknown writers and  did not say that|
               |she would make the trial.               |
               |                                        |
               | “Unknown  to  me she did,  though, and,|
               |determined   to  get   over  the   agony|
               |of   unanimous  rejection   as  soon  as|
               |possible,  she made three  copies of her|
               |story  and  posted  one  each  to  three|
               |magazine editors.                       |
               |                                        |
               | “This  morning   she  came  to   me  in|
               |distress  with  three letters from three|
               |editors,   three   checks,   and   three|
               |requests for more stories.”             |
               |                                        |
               | Dr. Kelly’s  companion  agreed  to  act|
               |as diplomatic agent;  he  saw the  three|
               |editors,  settled the  matter  of  first|
               |choice by lot,  and  gave the bewildered|
               |young  school   teacher’s   promise   of|
               |other stories in  turn to the other  two|
               |editors.                                |
               |                                        |
               | That was the unusual manner of entrance|
               |into the field of  story writing of Myra|
               |Kelly,  then a  teacher in  the  primary|
               |grade of Public School 147.             |
               |                                        |
               | The opinions  of the  magazine  editors|
               |were   speedily    justified.    Readers|
               |demanded  more  stories  about  “Isidore|
               |Belchatosky,”  there  were  enthusiastic|
               |encores for  further comment  by “Morris|
               |Mogilewsky,” subscribers  would  not  be|
               |denied  more  of  the  wisdom of  “Becky|
               |Zalmonowsky,”   and  “Patrick  Brennan,”|
               |whose  father  had   resisted  the  tide|
               |which  had swept  most of  his race away|
               |from Poverty Hollow,  had friends by the|
               |thousands among magazine readers.       |
               |                                        |
               | For the first story Myra Kelly was glad|
               |to  accept  $50; within  a year she  got|
               |$500 for every story she wrote.         |
               |                                        |
               | And all she had  done,  she often said,|
               |was simply  to  write  down  the stories|
               |she  told  at  home of  the queer  deeds|
               |and  views  of the  Ghetto  children  to|
               |whom  she  was  teaching  a,  b,  c,—and|
               |deportment.  But  these stories were  so|
               |very unlike any  others from out of that|
               |world “east  of the  Bowery,” reproduced|
               |so quaintly the dialects,  so accurately|
               |the points of view,  gave  such  a  new,|
               |deep insight  into  that seething  world|
               |where there were  hundreds  of thousands|
               |of citizens in  the making,  that  their|
               |author   quickly   became   famous   and|
               |prosperous.                             |
               |                                        |
               | But Miss Kelly kept on with her work in|
               |that East Broadway school,  and remained|
               |where  she  had  elected  to  teach,  in|
               |the  lower  grade.  She might  have  had|
               |higher grade classes,  for she  had been|
               |specially  prepared  for her  profession|
               |by   post-graduate   studies.   But  the|
               |little folk  from the  tenements  seemed|
               |to  her to  deserve the best instruction|
               |that  could be  given to  them  not only|
               |in  a,  b,  c,  but  in how to look upon|
               |life,  domestic and civil. Also she kept|
               |on  writing  stories  until   they  grew|
               |into  books,  “Little  Citizens,”  “Isle|
               |of  Dreams,”  and  “Wards  of  Liberty,”|
               |and these books,  selling by  many large|
               |editions,   had   a   big  influence  in|
               |shaping the  work  of many societies and|
               |organizations trying to  help make  good|
               |citizens out  of  the  children  of  the|
               |Ghetto.                                 |
               |                                        |
               | “Miss  Bailey”  was  the  name  of  the|
               |“Teacher”  in  those  stories,  and what|
               |teacher had  to  overcome in  respect to|
               |her  pupils’  views   on  some  familiar|
               |aspects of American history is  shown in|
               |this scene from one of her stories:     |
               |                                        |
               |                   ——                   |
               |                                        |
               | “Ain’t  George  Washington made  shoots|
               |mit pistols?” demands Isidore.          |
               |                                        |
               | “Yes, he did,” admitted Miss Bailey.   |
               |                                        |
               | “Ain’t Teddy Rosenfelt  hit  mans?  Und|
               |ain’t  they made him President  over it?|
               |On’y that ain’t how they makes  mit mine|
               |uncle.  They don’t make  him  Presidents|
               |nor papas, neither.  They takes and puts|
               |something from iron on  his  hands so he|
               |couldn’t to talk,  even.  Then they puts|
               |him in a wagon und they  says they sends|
               |him over the water.”                    |
               |                                        |
               | “Where?” asked the teacher.            |
               |                                        |
               | “Over the  river  where  islands is and|
               |prisons stands.  That’s how  they  makes|
               |mit him,  the while he hits somebody mit|
               |pistols.  I  guess they don’t know about|
               |George and  Teddy.  They makes them—mine|
               |uncle  tells you how they  makes  George|
               |and Teddy—Presidents over it.”          |
               |                                        |
               | “But that  was from long,  Izzie,”  Eva|
               |reminded him.                           |
               |                                        |
               | “And altogether different,” added  Miss|
               |Bailey.                                 |
               |                                        |
               | “An’  me  pop  wasn’t  there;  he’d   a|
               |pinched ’em,” said Patrick.             |
               |                                        |
               | “Und   George  had  his   gang  along,”|
               |observed Nathan Spiderwitz.             |
               |                                        |
               | “Und  Izzie,” said  Morris  Mogilewsky,|
               |summing   the    matter   up,    “George|
               |Wash’ton,  he ain’t hit mans in legs mit|
               |shootin’ pistols out  killin’  ’em.  You|
               |couldn’t to be  Presidents or papas over|
               |that.  George Wash’ton he  kills ’em all|
               |bloody  und dead.  He kills  bunches  of|
               |tousens of mans.  Why  ain’t your  uncle|
               |kill somebody?”                         |
               |                                        |
               | “He  hits  him  in the leg,” reiterated|
               |Isidore sadly.                          |
               |                                        |
               | “But he ain’t killed ’em.  Und,  Izzie,|
               |sooner you ain’t killed  somebody bloody|
               |und dead,  you  couldn’t to be President|
               |and papas of countries.”                |
               |                                        |
               |                   ——                   |
               |                                        |
               | In   1905  Miss   Kelly  married  Allan|
               |MacNaughton.  Her  husband met financial|
               |reverses,  her  own health  failed,  and|
               |she was unable to do much more  literary|
               |work.                                   |
               |                                        |
               | Mrs.  MacNaughton,   who  was  born  in|
               |Dublin,   Ireland,  about  thirty  years|
               |ago,  came to this city with her father,|
               |Dr.  James  E.  Kelly,  when  she  was a|
               |young  child and received her  education|
               |in this city.                           |


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Familiarize yourself with the form of all kinds of news stories.

2. Remember that neither slang nor cheap humor is essential to a good
   sporting news story.

3. Be fair in your characterization of the playing of each team.

4. Avoid elaborate descriptions in the average society news story.

5. Don’t use hackneyed phrases in reporting society news.

6. Be accurate in the biographical data of obituaries.


                             PRACTICE WORK

1. Criticize the following football story and rewrite it:

  Mid the strains of “O You Beautiful Doll” with variations of “We
  Won’t Get Home Until Morning” played in the gloaming, wherever that
  is, of a windy autumn eve, Referee Williams judiciously called a
  halt on the annual St. Clair-Winton battle at the Baseball park last
  night, just when the top edge of the moon peeped over Lake Erie and
  the cardinal cohorts were leading in the battle by a score of 25 to 7.

  That’s the official count, three touchdowns, one goal from touchdown
  and two drop kicks against the green and white’s one lone touchdown,
  scored in the final quarter of a hectic struggle featured by good
  open play on the part of both elevens, Harry Hurson’s great kicking
  and marred by the poor tackling of both elevens.

  It was just another St. Clair victory and thus it will go down in
  history. The old hoodoo still abides with the St. Clair boys south
  of the river, and Winton was not so much outplayed as outlucked. The
  cardinals keyed to the minute for the struggle were on their toes
  from the opening whistle. They played football at all times, took
  advantage of every weakness and never lagged no matter how great the
  advantage and as a result they copped the city laurels which are
  theirs by virtue of the victory, in a decidedly easy manner.

  Winton on the other hand, outside of one or two individuals on the
  whole were content to take matters as they came and appeared averse
  to any exceptional effort, combined or otherwise. There was not
  that scrap and pep, that characterizes the annual fight between the
  two teams, and this more than any superior ability on the part of
  Schmidt’s champions, militated against anything like a victory for
  the Wintoners.

  The first quarter was a feeler for both elevens. In an offensive way,
  the green and white did little, playing purely on the defensive,
  being content to punt on every first or second down, keeping the ball
  in cardinal territory. This worked well in the first quarter and the
  Winton men were never in danger of being counted on. The same holds
  true of St. Clair.

  The second period brought a change of goals and although at the very
  start the ball was in St. Clair territory, the advantage of the wind
  now lay with the cardinals and Hurson’s sturdy boot soon made that
  fact known to the defenders of the east goal.

  While Johnson in a measure held his own at this period with the St.
  Clair oval mixer, he was decidedly slow in getting off his spirals.
  A few minutes after the start of the quarter, St. Clair, with the
  advantage of the wind, worked well into their rival’s preserves and
  by sturdy plunges carried the pigskin to the thirty yard line. Winton
  held finally and after three futile flings at the cardinal line by
  the green and white backs, Johnson again stepped back to boot the
  leather into safe ground. He made a miscue, however, in holding onto
  the ball too long, an accident which featured his play in the North
  side game. Devine opposing Franklin at tackle, wormed his way through
  the Winton defense and was on Johnson before the latter was aware of
  his presence. He blocked the attempted punt and followed up the ball
  which rolled well behind Winton’s goal, made one futile attempt to
  corral the oval as it rolled over the grass carpet, hopped to his
  feet again and this time drove true gathering the ball in his arms
  for the first score. A punt out by Hurson was properly heeled and the
  same Hurson booted the ball squarely between the goal posts, making
  the count 7 to 0. [Etc.]

2. Compare the following two reports of weddings and rewrite the first:

                                  (1)

  The beautiful autumn evening Tuesday, was the scene of a happy
  wedding at the pleasant country home of Mr. and Mrs. William A.
  Milton of Pembroke Park, when their only daughter, Ada May Milton,
  was united in marriage to Henry P. Williams, of Harrington, N. Y.
  Promptly at 4:30 p. m., the wedding party descended the stairway to
  the sweet melody of the wedding march, with Miss Kathrine Parker
  presiding at the piano. The procession was led by the small flower
  maiden, Miss Mabel Teller, dressed in pure white with a wreath of
  white daisies on her head and a large bunch of the same flowers in
  her hand. The bride was richly but simply clad in white satin trimmed
  in gold jetted passementerie and gold jetted neck yoke, with a filmy
  bridal veil daintily covering her golden brown hair and falling
  gracefully to the floor.

  She carried fragrant white roses and pink carnations, and she was met
  in the hallway by the groom. The groom wore the conventional attire.
  He was accompanied by his friend Frank J. Norton, of Watertown, N.
  Y. The bride was accompanied by her cousin, Miss Henrietta Strong,
  now a student of Harrington normal. Miss Strong was dressed in pure
  white with a bouquet of pink roses and carnations. Together the bride
  and groom entered the flower festooned parlor to the soft strains of
  music. Rev. Herrin, of Pembroke Park, united the popular young couple
  according to the solemn ritual of the Methodist Episcopal church.

  After a shower of congratulations the wedding party entered the
  dining room where a sumptuous feast of good things was served to
  about seventy guests amidst the usual social conversation whilst the
  Pembroke Park Brass Band played its choicest selections. Later there
  was music by Mrs. Henry Delton and her son, Master Harry Delton,
  on the piano and violin, the latter being a pupil of the bride,
  who is a music teacher in her town. Her education is as follows:
  Harrington, N.Y., for normal course; Baltimore, Md., for business,
  besides Wesleyan College, Middleton, Pa., and Marietta, O., for
  musical education. The groom was for some time a telegraph operator
  at Buffalo, N. Y. but at present, being the last unmarried of the
  family, he has lived with his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Williams. He
  belongs to one of Polk county’s well known families, and is a member
  of the Harrington Brass Band.

  The bride belongs to one of the oldest and best families of her home
  county of Madison. Both are popularly and well known in the home
  circles of many friends.

  Among pleasantly noted friends present were Cashier W. M. Schmidt of
  the Harrington bank, Miss Emma Miles of Harrington normal, James B.
  Rogers, merchant, of Littletown, and brother-in-law of the groom,
  accompanied by his small son, Robert, and Misses Jessie and Nettie
  Williams, cousins of the groom.

  The wedding presents were numerous and of excellent selection,
  several arriving days before from invited guests unable to be present.

                                  (2)

  The wedding of Miss Gladys Virginia Du Frain, daughter of Mr. and
  Mrs. J. Cutter Du Frain, to William Battlesea, adopted son and heir
  of the late William Battlesea, was celebrated at noon yesterday at
  the Hotel Royal, the Rev. George S. St. Clair, rector of St. John’s
  Protestant Episcopal Church of this city, officiating.

  Only relatives and a few intimate friends were present for the
  ceremony, which was performed in the Renaissance room. There was
  a temporary altar erected beneath a bower of palms and white
  chrysanthemums, and standards draped with white satin ribbon and
  topped with clusters of pink and white chrysanthemums formed an aisle
  through which the bridal party passed. An orchestra played during the
  service.

  The bride walked to the altar with her father, who gave her away. She
  wore a gown of white satin trimmed with duchess lace, and a veil of
  old point lace which fell over a court train. She carried a bouquet
  of lilies of the valley and white orchids, and among her ornaments
  was a pearl necklace, the gift of the bridegroom.

  Miss Charlotte Hinchkin, a cousin of the bridegroom, was the flower
  girl. Her costume was of white lace over pink satin. She wore a hat
  to match trimmed with pink tulle and she carried a basket of pink
  roses. Arthur Du Frain, brother of the bride, acted as page, and
  William J. Hinchkin, a cousin of the bridegroom, was the best man.
  There were no ushers.

  After the ceremony there was a reception, followed by a wedding
  breakfast in the ballroom. The bridal party sat at a heart shaped
  table in the centre of a group of five tables. Mr. Battlesea and his
  bride left afterward for a short trip. They will live at 144 West
  Sixty-ninth street.




                             CHAPTER VIII

                     FOLLOW UP AND REWRITE STORIES


=News Possibilities.= The possibilities contained in a piece of news
are seldom completely exhausted by the first story published concerning
it. Causes, results, and significant phases many times cannot be
ascertained when the first story is written. New facts sometimes
develop from hour to hour, and very frequently from day to day. It is
the constant aim in newspaper making to give in each edition the latest
possible phase of every important event. Accordingly, news stories must
be rewritten or must be given new leads as often as the character of
the latest news warrants it. A story is worth rewriting or following up
as long as it is likely to be of interest to any considerable number of
readers.

Even when it is evident that the first story contains all the
significant facts and that additional details cannot be obtained, the
first story may, nevertheless, have sufficient interest to deserve a
rewriting by papers which have not as yet had an opportunity to publish
the news that it contains. A new feature is sought for in the first
story, and this feature, when played up in the rewritten story, gives
it a new turn. New significance, likewise, may be given to the event
in the rewritten story by looking at it from a different point of view
or by showing its relation to other events. Probable causes, possible
results, or striking coincidences may be “played up” as new features.
Often the next development can be anticipated to bring the rewrite up
to the time of going to press. Imagination is necessary for success as
a rewrite man, not in order to invent fictitious details, but to see
the event in all its relations and to select the most significant of
these for emphasis in rewriting.

Whether or not a story is worth “following up,” and how long it
shall be “followed up,” as well as whether or not a story is worth
rewriting, is determined by the newspaper man’s appreciation of news
values. Editors must be keen and accurate judges of popular interest in
current events to know when to continue to give space and prominence to
developments of a piece of news and when to drop it.

The division of the twenty-four-hour day between morning and evening
papers results in editors and reporters on papers of one of these
groups depending, to some extent, on those in the other for part of the
day’s round of news gathering. Consequently when the men on the evening
papers begin work early in the morning, they read with great care all
the morning papers, in order to find out what news has developed since
the last edition of their papers went to press on the preceding day.
The men on morning newspapers, likewise, scan every edition of the
evening papers in order to watch the course of events during the day.
This careful examination of newspapers is not confined to those of the
city; papers published in other cities of the state or of adjacent
states are gone over for any pieces of news that have local phases, or
“local ends.” The reading of all these newspapers furnishes the editors
with many stories that must be rewritten and brought up to the moment.

=Rewriting.= When news is to be rewritten without additional details,
the stories clipped from other papers are turned over to rewrite men
or to reporters to be put at once in a new form for publication. If
the editor desires more facts or later phases, he gives the clipping
to a reporter, who, taking the first story as a basis, proceeds to get
the desired additions before writing the new story. In either case the
first thing to do is to study carefully the first story to see what it
contains and what are its possibilities. Every bearing of the piece of
news on past, present, and future events must be carefully considered.
The importance of every possible relation should be weighed so that the
most timely and most interesting feature may be given due prominence.

Because of the rapid judgments on news values and the hurried writing
of news stories that newspaper making necessitates, the first story
may not bring out at all or may not give prominence to what is in
reality the most interesting aspect of the story, and it remains for
the man who is rewriting the story to take advantage of this neglected
opportunity. In his effort to tell all the details of the event itself,
the reporter who wrote the first story may not have considered ulterior
causes and motives or he may not have had time to see the event in its
relation to other events. With the perspective that a few hours often
gives, the rewrite man can judge more accurately of these elements and
in the rewritten story can give them the emphasis that they deserve.

In the rewriting of stories where no more facts are available, the
possibilities to be considered for the new lead are: (1) some feature
entirely overlooked by the writer of the first story, (2) some element
not given prominence in the first story, that may be made the feature,
(3) the next probable consequence or development, (4) some cause or
motive not suggested or emphasized in the first story, and (5) the
relation of the piece of news to some previous or coincident one.

The rewriting with no new facts but with a new feature played up in the
lead is illustrated in the following stories:

                                  (1)

                        Lead in Evening Paper.

               | After a week’s search of all the cities|
               |of  the state,  the  police  found  Mary|
               |Sheldon,  the  twelve-year-old  daughter|
               |of Roswell  Sheldon,  millionaire  paper|
               |manufacturer  of  Wilton,  at  the  Park|
               |Hotel today where  she  has been  living|
               |for  several  days.   She  had  informed|
               |the clerk  at  the hotel on her  arrival|
               |Wednesday  that she was  waiting for her|
               |mother  who  would arrive in a few days.|
               |When asked by  the  police why  she  had|
               |left home,  she replied that  she  liked|
               |to travel.                              |

                                  (2)

                  Lead of Rewritten Story in Morning
                        Paper of Following Day.

               | “I  like  to  travel,”  was   the  only|
               |explanation  offered  by  Mary  Sheldon,|
               |the twelve-year-old  daughter of Roswell|
               |Sheldon,   millionaire  owner  of  large|
               |paper mills at Wilton,  for running away|
               |from  home a  week  ago,  and coming  to|
               |this city last Wednesday.  She was found|
               |by the police  at the  Park  Hotel where|
               |she  told the  clerk  when  she  arrived|
               |that she  expected  her mother  to  join|
               |her in a day or two.                    |

                                  (1)

                 Lead of First Story in Evening Paper.

               | A giant hippopotamus, a cook,  and  the|
               |ship’s crew,  as principals, enacted for|
               |2,000 passengers  aboard  the  steamship|
               |“President   Lincoln”    which   arrived|
               |here today  from  Hamburg,  a  “near sea|
               |tragedy”  last Tuesday  when three  days|
               |out from Southampton.                   |
               |                                        |
               | Otto  Winkle,  the  fourth  cook,   was|
               |sitting on the rail  forward,  dozing in|
               |the sunshine.  Just then from the nearby|
               |cage  of  the  hippo,  consigned to  the|
               |zoo at  Cincinnati  and the largest ever|
               |brought  to  America,  came a tremendous|
               |sneeze.  The shock of the hippo’s sneeze|
               |was too much for the somnolent  cook who|
               |unceremoniously  toppled  overboard  and|
               |in a  moment  was struggling in the wake|
               |of the  ship.  A  cry from  some  of the|
               |passengers who  saw the  mishap resulted|
               |in  a  boat’s  being  lowered,  and  the|
               |cook’s being rescued.                   |

                                  (2)

                   Lead of Rewrite Story in Morning
                      Paper on the Following Day.

               | To be  blown overboard in  mid-ocean by|
               |a  hippopotamus’  sneeze  was  the  fate|
               |of  Otto  Winkle,  fourth  cook  on  the|
               |President  Lincoln,  which arrived  from|
               |Hamburg  yesterday  with 2,000 witnesses|
               |of  the  narrow  escape of the assistant|
               |chef.  Prompt action in  lowering a boat|
               |saved  the  cook  from   drowning.   The|
               |big  hippo,  said to be the  largest  in|
               |captivity  in America,  went on  his way|
               |to  the  Cincinnati  zoological  gardens|
               |today  without   being   aware  of   the|
               |excitement that his sneeze had caused.  |

=Anticipating News in Rewriting.= One of the simplest ways of bringing
a story up to the time of the edition in which it is to appear in
rewritten form, is to anticipate the probable result or the next
development. In the morning editions of evening papers, particularly,
much of the day’s news can be forecast and the news stories written
accordingly. Persons arrested during the evening and night, for
example, it is safe to say in advance, will have their cases considered
in the police court the next morning. Accordingly, the fact that a
person will be charged in court with his offense “this morning” rather
than the fact that he was arrested “last night,” constitutes the
feature of the first morning edition of the afternoon paper. Stories of
trials, conventions, investigations, legislative sessions, and other
events extending over a number of days or weeks can often be given a
new turn before anything new actually has been done by setting forth
in the lead what is to be done. The early morning resumption of a
search abandoned because of darkness the night before can be played
up in the rewritten story of a drowning, disappearance, or similar
occurrence. A midnight railroad wreck reported in a morning paper, it
is safe to say in the morning editions of the afternoon papers, will
be investigated by the railroad company and by inspectors of the state
railroad commission in order to fix the responsibility. Conjectures as
to his successor may be made a feature of a rewrite story following the
announcement of the resignation of a public official. To look forward
to what will happen is practically to give the news before it actually
happens, and this can frequently be done.

How without any additional facts the next development of a piece of
news may be anticipated and the time changed from “last night” to “this
morning” is shown by the rewritten leads following:

                                  (1)

                 Lead of First Story in Morning Paper.

               | Fire gutted the warehouse of  the L. C.|
               |Whitney Seed Company,  113 Canal Street,|
               |shortly  before   midnight,   causing  a|
               |loss  of $75,000.  Robert S.  Wilber,  a|
               |night  watchman employed  by  the  firm,|
               |was reported missing  and is believed to|
               |have lost his life in the fire.         |

                                  (2)

                   Lead of Rewritten Story in First
                   Morning Edition of Evening Paper.

               | Firemen  this  morning  are   searching|
               |the  ruins  of the  L.  C.  Whitney Seed|
               |Company,  113 Canal Street, for the body|
               |of Nightwatchman Robert S.  Wilber, 1913|
               |3rd  Street,  who  is believed  to  have|
               |lost his life  when  the  warehouse  was|
               |destroyed by fire last  night.  The loss|
               |was $75,000.                            |

                                  (1)

                 Lead of First Story in Morning Paper.

               | As  a  result of an  altercation with a|
               |taxi-cab  driver,  Harold  S.   Parkins,|
               |broker,   17   Hoosac   Building,    was|
               |arrested  last  night  in front  of  the|
               |City  Club  of  which  he  is  a member,|
               |charged by  William Works,  the  driver,|
               |with assaulting  him when  he  attempted|
               |to get the amount of his fare.          |

                                  (2)

                   Lead of Rewritten Story in First
                   Morning Edition of Evening Paper.

               | Harold   S.   Parkins,  a  broker  with|
               |offices  in the  Hoosac  Building,  will|
               |answer in the police court this  morning|
               |to  the  charge  of  assault and battery|
               |preferred  by  William  Works,   a  taxi|
               |driver,  with whom he got into a dispute|
               |last night over  the amount of the fare,|
               |in front  of  the  City  Club,  of which|
               |Parkins is a member.                    |

=Finding the Relation of Events.= What seemed a single and isolated
event when the first story was written may be seen to be part of
a series of similar or related events by the time the story is to
be rewritten, and this fact can be used as a new, interesting, and
important phase of the rewritten story. Several burglaries, as
reported in the morning papers, may be found to have some peculiar
details in common, and this fact may give rise to the conjecture, as
the feature of the rewritten story, that they were the work of the same
burglars. A local storm story when rewritten may have as a feature the
extent of the storm as shown by telegraph stories received after the
first story was written. A fire, the origin of which was unknown when
the first story was written, may be connected with other recent fires
that broke out under similar conditions, and the probability of all of
them being the work of a “firebug” may be pointed out in the rewritten
story. By seeking relations between events, the newspaper worker often
finds important features for stories to be rewritten.

=“Follow-up” Stories.= In “follow-up” stories the gathering of new
details is the first step necessary to rewriting. Not infrequently the
latest details can be obtained by telephone, and the “follow-up” story
can be written in the office in as short a time as a rewrite story that
requires no additional facts. The condition of a victim of an accident,
for example, may be ascertained by telephoning to his home or to the
hospital where he was taken, and the facts thus obtained may be put at
the very beginning of the “follow-up” story. More often the reporter
must go out to get the latest developments of the event, just as he
would for a first story. However obtained, the new particulars are the
important ones to be emphasized in the lead.

Some of the different directions in which a story may be “followed
up” are similar to those suggested for rewrite stories; they are: (1)
causes and motives other than those given in the first story if these
are uncertain or inadequate, (2) results and consequences of the first
piece of news, (3) interviews with prominent persons in regard to
the event and its significance, (4) clues to the identity of unknown
persons or to the unknown whereabouts of those who figured in the first
news story.

Popular interest in the causes of fires, accidents, and disasters
generally, make such causes good “second day” features when the
explanation given in the first story is insufficient or unsatisfactory.
Motives for crimes or for any significant action are to be sought
for by the reporter. The important question always to be asked in
connection with practically every piece of news is, Why? Every result
of an event has new possibilities and should be “followed up.” In
stories of crime the identity of the culprit and his whereabouts, if
not given in the first story, are, of course, of great news value for
a “second day” story. Finally, the opinions of those concerned or in
any way interested in the event, as obtained by interviews, make good
material for stories following the first one.

In writing the lead of a “follow-up” story the reporter must not fail
to give as many of the essential elements of the first story as are
necessary to make the new details intelligible to those who did not
read the first story, and to recall the main facts to the minds of
those who did read it. This explanatory material is made subordinate to
the latest particulars, but cannot well be omitted.

The way in which a story is “followed up” from hour to hour and from
day to day by “featuring” the latest news and reporting in slightly
varied form the same essential details, is made evident in the
following leads of a railroad wreck, the developments of which had news
value for two days.

                                  (1)

                    Lead of Story in First Morning
                       Edition of Evening Paper.

               | Cincinnati, O.,  Nov.  13.—Two  men are|
               |known  to  have been killed  and a score|
               |or more injured when a Cincinnati,  Lake|
               |Huron and  Western passenger train bound|
               |from Cleveland  crashed  into  a freight|
               |on a siding  at Wilmington at  6:30 this|
               |morning.                                |

                                  (2)

                   Lead of Story in Noon Edition of
                              Same Paper.

               | Cincinnati,   O.,   Nov.   13.—Fourteen|
               |persons  were  killed  and  twenty  more|
               |were  injured  when a  Cincinnati,  Lake|
               |Huron  and   Western   passenger   train|
               |running between  Cleveland and this city|
               |crashed head-on into a  standing freight|
               |in  an  open  switch  at  Wilmington,  a|
               |suburb of Cincinnati, early today.      |

                                  (3)

                    Lead of Story in Last Afternoon
                        Edition of Same Paper.

               | Cincinnati, O.,  Nov.   13.—Failure  of|
               |the  head brakeman to close the  switch,|
               |according to  his  own  confession  late|
               |today,  was  the  cause  of  the head-on|
               |collision  between  a   passenger  train|
               |and a freight train on  the  Cincinnati,|
               |Lake  Huron  and  Western  railroad   at|
               |Wilmington,   a  suburb  of  Cincinnati,|
               |early this  morning,  in  which  fifteen|
               |lives were  lost,  and  a  score or more|
               |passengers seriously injured.           |

                                  (4)

                    Lead of Story in Morning Paper
                         of the Following Day.

               | Cincinnati,  O.,   Nov.   13.—Delay  in|
               |installing  a  block system  as  ordered|
               |three   months   ago   by  the  railroad|
               |commission  of   the   state,   in   the|
               |opinion of the  inspectors of that  body|
               |resulted  in  the  disastrous  wreck  on|
               |the Cincinnati, Lake Huron,  and Western|
               |railroad  at  Wilmington,  a  suburb  of|
               |Cincinnati,  early  this  morning,  when|
               |fifteen  persons  lost  their  lives and|
               |fifteen  others were  seriously injured.|
               |                                        |
               | The  wreck  was  caused  by the failure|
               |of the  head  brakeman on  the  freight,|
               |Otto Hansen,  to close the switch to the|
               |siding. [etc.]                          |

                                 (5)

                   Lead of Story in Evening Paper on
                              Second Day.

               | Cincinnati, O., Nov. 14.—Three separate|
               |investigations  were  begun  today  into|
               |the  cause  of the Wilmington  wreck  on|
               |the Cincinnati,  Lake Huron and  Western|
               |railroad,   which  killed   fifteen  and|
               |severely  injured  as  many  more,  with|
               |a view  to  fixing the  blame  on  those|
               |responsible  and to punishing them.  The|
               |Williams County  grand jury  under order|
               |of Judge Hanty began  to investigate the|
               |wreck,  while Coroner Hardy and District|
               |Attorney  Collum  worked  on  the matter|
               |independently.                          |

Lack of important additions to facts in the first story often makes the
lead of the “follow-up” story less striking in new features than those
given above, but the very absence of new facts in itself has some news
value, as is shown by the two following leads:

                                  (1)

                    Lead of Story in Evening Paper.

               | When  Mrs.  Herman  Hansen,   Hampshire|
               |Apartments,  widow of a former  director|
               |of   the   so-called    “bread   trust,”|
               |unlocked  her  bedroom  door  early this|
               |morning  in answer  to a plea “the  baby|
               |is dying,”  she  was faced  by a  masked|
               |burglar,  who pointed a revolver at her.|
               |She  had  supposed  that the  voice  was|
               |that of  her son  and that his child was|
               |very ill.                               |
               |                                        |
               | The  burglar  searched  all   over  the|
               |house for jewelry,  but failed  to  find|
               |anything  of  value,   as  the  diamonds|
               |owned by Mrs.  Hansen were  in a  safety|
               |deposit  vault.   Her  companion,   Miss|
               |Ida  Schnell,   a  trained  nurse,   was|
               |threatened  with  death by  the burglar,|
               |who later made his escape.              |
               |                                        |
               | It  is  believed that  the  burglar had|
               |gained   admittance  to  the   apartment|
               |early in the  evening  and had concealed|
               |himself  until  after   the  family  had|
               |retired.                                |

                                  (2)

                    Lead of Story in Next Morning’s
                                Paper.

               | The identity of the  burglar  who after|
               |concealing  himself  for  hours  in  the|
               |home  of Mrs.  Herman Hansen,  Hampshire|
               |Apartments,   entered  her   room  early|
               |yesterday  morning  and at the  point of|
               |a  revolver  demanded money  and jewels,|
               |remains  a  mystery,  according  to  the|
               |police.                                 |
               |                                        |
               | There  is not a  clew  to  the identity|
               |or whereabouts  of the marauder  and  as|
               |he  had  covered  his  entire  face  and|
               |head with  a  black mask similar to that|
               |placed  on  a  condemned  man,   neither|
               |Mrs.  Hansen nor  Miss Ida Schnell,  her|
               |companion,   could   give  an   adequate|
               |description  of  his face.  He had  also|
               |turned his  coat  inside out,  giving it|
               |the appearance of being ragged.         |
               |                                        |
               | A report  that  one  of   the  servants|
               |was   suspected   of  being  in   league|
               |with  the  burglar  and  that  she  gave|
               |him  entrance during  the  daytime,  was|
               |denied by  both Police  Captain Sullivan|
               |and Henry  Hansen,  a  son.  Mr.  Hansen|
               |visited police headquarters  last  night|
               |to inquire  whether any  clews  had been|
               |found.                                  |

=“Boiling Down” News to One Paragraph.= For some stories the rewriting
consists of “boiling down the news” to a sentence or two containing the
essential facts, in order that they may be used as “fillers” or may
be grouped with similar short items under general headings, such as
“Sparks From the Wires,” “Telegraph Ticks,” “City News In Brief,” “Told
In Brief,” “State News.” Local news stories of this type are rewritten
from other city papers, and state news is often rewritten from daily
and weekly papers received in exchange and known as “state exchanges.”
Some of the news associations furnish brief stories of this kind which
may be grouped under one head or which may be used as “fillers.” A
single cross-line head, or a side head, is often put on these short
“items” by the man who rewrites them. Examples of rewritten stories of
this kind follow:

                                  (1)

                     First Story in Evening Paper.

               | Three  boys, Joseph  Dant,  19; Charles|
               |Herrig,   19;  and  Oscar  Kellin,   19;|
               |were brought  into district  court  this|
               |morning   for  tearing  up  small  trees|
               |recently  planted  on  Hartford  Avenue.|
               |The  boys  attended  a   dance  Saturday|
               |night and on their way  home,  according|
               |to the testimony  of Patrolman  Higgins,|
               |destroyed the trees.                    |
               |                                        |
               | “You  are  each fined  $10  and costs,”|
               |said Judge Bellows.  “You  boys  deserve|
               |even   more  severe  punishment.   There|
               |would  be   slight   encouragement   for|
               |people  to beautify  their  homes,  were|
               |boys like you allowed to go unpunished.”|

                                  (2)

                   Rewritten Story and Head in Next
                           Morning’s Paper.

                         THEY PULLED UP TREES.

               | After  Patrolman Higgins  had testified|
               |that  he  found  them  pulling  up young|
               |trees  on   Hartford   Avenue   Saturday|
               |night,  Joseph Dant, Charles Herrig, and|
               |Oscar Kellin,  each  19 years old,  were|
               |fined  $10  and costs in  District Court|
               |on Monday.                              |

                                  (1)

                     First Story in Evening Paper.

               | Amelia Minkle,  19, 656 Second St., was|
               |run down  and injured  by an  automobile|
               |driven  by  Mrs.   H.  M.   Greene,  931|
               |Hillside   Ave.,   at  7  o’clock   this|
               |morning   at   Eleventh   and   National|
               |Avenues.  The  girl was  on  her way  to|
               |work.   She  alighted  from  a  car  and|
               |started  to cross  the street  when  the|
               |automobile  turning  the  corner  struck|
               |her  and  knocked  her to  the pavement.|
               |Mrs.  Greene  stopped  her  machine  and|
               |called the police  ambulance.  The  girl|
               |was removed to the  Emergency  Hospital.|
               |Although painful,  her injuries  are not|
               |serious.                                |

                                  (2)

                   Rewritten Story and Head in Next
                           Morning’s Paper.

               | GIRL  HURT   BY   AUTO—While   crossing|
               |Eleventh  Avenue  on  her  way  to  work|
               |Monday morning,  Amelia Minkle,  19, 656|
               |Second  street,  was  knocked  down  and|
               |slightly injured  by an automobile owned|
               |and driven by Mrs.  H.  M.  Greene,  931|
               |Hillside Avenue.                        |


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Read all the local papers every day before beginning your work.

2. Remember that few first stories exhaust all the news possibilities.

3. Follow up every story as long as indications point to new and
   interesting developments.

4. Look for ulterior causes and motives as new phases.

5. Look forward for new features to possible results and consequences.

6. Get interviews with persons of prominence and authority on all
   important events, as new features.

7. Look at the event from a new angle before beginning your rewrite
   story.

8. Play up the latest possible phase of the news in the lead.

9. Find a new feature to play up in rewriting when you have no more
   facts.

10. Anticipate the next development of the event in beginning the lead
    of your rewrite story.

11. Bring the rewritten story “up to the minute” by giving prominence
    to features of “to-day.”


                             PRACTICE WORK

1. Rewrite the following story, putting the unusual feature at the
   beginning of the story.

  Samuel J. Willsie, an insurance broker living at 1991 Riverside
  Drive, did not appear in the City Court yesterday for examination
  in the supplementary proceedings in a suit over a loan of $200, and
  Hein & Krug of 281 Broadway, the attorneys who obtained the order,
  concluded that Mr. Willsie didn’t feel that he had been properly
  served.

  The lawyers had turned the order over to Samuel Greenman, a process
  server of 188 East Ninety-Eighth Street. After trying to serve the
  order without success he finally notified the lawyers that he had
  seen Mr. Willsie sitting at his window in the Riverside Drive house
  one night and that he had tied a copy of the order to a brick and
  thrown the brick into the window, hitting Mr. Willsie with it. The
  process server said that when Mr. Willsie picked up the paper and
  looked at it he, the process server, immediately read the original to
  Mr. Willsie at long distance and said “You’re served.”

  Mr. Willsie said yesterday that no attempt, so far as he knew, had
  been made to serve the order on him, and that he could be found at
  his office every day. He said that while he and his family were at
  dinner one night something landed on the floor of the room by way
  of an open window. His son, he said, went in to see what it was and
  threw the stone back into the street. The boy told his father the
  object was a stone wrapped in a piece of paper. That was all Mr.
  Willsie knew of the alleged “service.”

2. In rewriting this story, summarize the essential facts in the
   opening sentence.

  When a Third avenue elevated train reached the 166th street station
  late yesterday afternoon the guards announced that the next stop
  would be 177th street, the intervening stations being skipped.

  At once there was a rush for the platform, which was already full of
  people, and by the time the train was ready to go on, men and women
  were jammed tight against the cars. The conductor was warned not to
  start the train, but he pulled the bell and the moving cars rolled
  the front row of those on the platform along with it. Six panes of
  glass were broken and fully a dozen persons cut or bruised.

  Six men who had been injured went to the Morrisania police station
  and made a complaint. They were R. Nothstein, a clerk of 451 East
  171st street; Frank Schwartz, a mechanic living at 415 East 176th
  street; John Hurley, an engineer of 5415 Third avenue; William Balk,
  a clerk of 3661 Third avenue, Charles Wold, of 1695 Franklin avenue;
  and Thomas O’Brien of 341 West 167th street.

  The police set out to find the conductor who started the train, but
  as none of the complainants had taken his number, they were still
  hunting for him last night.

3. Improve the lead of the following story by playing up a better
   feature.

  Interstate Commerce Commissioner Clark, in a statement issued today
  in connection with the numerous wrecks on railroads in the United
  States, said that conditions are deplorable.

  “Most of the wrecks,” he said, “may be put in the class of avoidable
  accidents. Poor rails, speed craze, and human negligence are the
  causes.”

  Mr. Clark declared that the commission is powerless to prescribe
  adequate regulations to prevent wrecks, and that, though its
  recommendations have been generally observed, they cannot be
  enforced. He intimated that Congress should give the commission more
  power to compel railroads to observe safety rules which are deemed
  necessary from the commission’s many investigations.

4. Give this story an entirely different lead without beginning with a
   summary.

  Julius R. Wein literally sang himself into matrimony, and then sang
  himself into a jail cell. The dulcet tones of his tenor voice won him
  a bride and also caused his arrest on a charge of forgery.

  A few months ago Wein, under the name of Jule LeGrande, was singing
  in theatres in Chicago. Among others who admired his singing was Miss
  Winnie Riley who characterized his singing as “divine.” So much was
  Miss Riley attracted to the voice that she consented to marry its
  owner. After the ceremony the two rented apartments at 1961 Western
  Avenue. As before, the husband continued to sing in local theatres.

  After a few weeks the young wife decided that vaudeville did not
  offer sufficient opportunity and requested Wein to seek employment
  in the field of business. He sought for and obtained a position as
  cashier for the Universal Furniture Company at 1032 16th Street.

  The salary of a young cashier was not so large as that he was
  accustomed to earn as a singer, so Wein is said to have forged checks
  amounting to more than $1,200, signing the name of the firm by which
  he was employed.

  Detectives who sought his arrest determined to use the voice which
  had won Wein’s bride as a “bait” to cause his arrest.

  The following advertisement was inserted in papers throughout the
  United States:

  FOR SALE—A Moving Picture Theatre, cheap. Can be operated to great
  advantage by man or woman who is good singer and entertainer.

  Three days ago an answer was received from Wintonville, Miss.
  The writer signed his name as W. R. Reinhard. The handwriting
  was recognized by experts as that of Wein, and the young man was
  yesterday arrested by operatives of the Pinkerton Detective Agency
  in the Mississippi city. Both Wein and his wife will be brought to
  Chicago tomorrow.




                              CHAPTER IX

                            FEATURE STORIES


=Kinds of Feature Stories.= Most news stories, it has been seen, aim
to be nothing more than concise presentations of the essential facts
concerning current events. They are intended primarily to inform rather
than to instruct or entertain. In a feature story, on the other hand,
the writer takes the day’s events and tries to present entertaining or
instructive phases of them that cannot well be developed in the limited
compass of the news story itself.

For one type of feature story the reporter takes the facts of the
news and finds behind them the real meaning of the event to those who
play a part in it. The event thus becomes an episode in the drama of
human life, sometimes comic, sometimes tragic. Such a story involves
feelings as well as facts. To write it successfully the reporter must
be able to see the picturesque, humorous, and pathetic phases of life
about him; he must feel with those to whom the events mean much. Keen
insight into human nature, and sympathy with its strength and its
weakness, are essential. This type of story, which is often called the
“human interest” story, enjoys no small degree of popularity because it
appeals to the reader’s feelings. In some newspapers it takes a place
of prominence beside the best news stories; in many of them it is given
a less conspicuous position; only a few neglect it entirely.

Another kind of feature story, quite different in character, undertakes
to explain, interpret, and describe fully significant phases of the
day’s news and timely topics generally. Brief news stories often
arouse the reader’s curiosity to know more of the persons and things
that they mention. It remains for the feature story to supply causes,
motives, results,—the full significance of the bare facts of the news.
Accordingly, some newspapers set aside two or three columns on the
editorial pages each day for a feature story of this kind. In magazine
sections of Saturday and Sunday issues such articles are supplied in
greater numbers. These feature stories are frequently illustrated. They
seldom fill less than a column; more often they are several columns in
length.

=“Human Interest” Stories.= Material for the “human interest” type
of feature story is to be found anywhere and everywhere in the
reporter’s daily round of news gathering. The many police court cases
furnish an abundance of humorous and pathetic incidents. Accidents
and minor crimes of all kinds many times are worth only a few lines
as news, but as the basis for feature stories, they contain great
possibilities. An incident in a crowded street car, a mishap on the
street, a bit of conversation between two newsboys, a mistake made by
a person unaccustomed to the ways of the metropolis, or any one of
the hundred little episodes in the daily life of a city may be taken
by the reporter as the subject of his feature story. Little children,
because of the great appeal that they make to men and women of all
classes, often furnish good material. Animals, wild or tame, are always
available as subjects. A visit to the “zoo” is sure to furnish at least
one good story. For the alert reporter with a knowledge of human nature
and an appreciation of the humor and the pathos of life, there is never
any dearth of material.

=Style in Feature Stories.=—Feature stories require some literary
ability beyond that necessary for routine reporting. From the point of
view of its composition the feature story is like a miniature short
story. Therefore no definite rules can be laid down for its treatment.
There need be no summary of essential facts at the beginning as in the
typical news story. Like the short fiction story, the feature story
may begin in any way that will attract the reader’s attention, and may
be developed by conversation, by narration, or by description that
suggests rather than portrays in great detail. A good feature story
frequently tells itself; all that the writer does is to record the
incidents without comment or adornment. A simple, restrained treatment
is far preferable to elaboration of detail. Pathos can easily be made
bathos, and humor can readily descend to cheap buffoonery.

The style of humorous and pathetic feature stories needs careful
attention. Words must be chosen not only with reference to their
general meaning but with consideration for the feelings which have
come to be associated with them and which they therefore arouse in the
reader. One word with the wrong connotation may spoil the whole effect
of an otherwise well-written pathetic story. As in the structure of
the feature story so in its style, no definite rules or principles can
be laid down to guide the reporter. Careful reading of well-written
short stories and novels will show him various methods of producing the
effects that he desires.

The rescue of a small boy from drowning in a cistern would ordinarily
pass unnoticed in the newspapers of a large city and might be worth a
few lines in those of a small one. A reporter with a sense of humor
might see something in the incident that would make good material for a
humorous feature story, as did the reporter on the Chicago _Tribune_,
who wrote it in the following form. The editor gave the story a place
on the front page.

               | “Billy” Dyer, 2 year old son of William|
               |Dyer,  owner  of  the  Dyer  foundry  in|
               |Chicago,  was  playing  in  the yard  of|
               |his home  at 1716 North  Elmwood avenue,|
               |Hyde  Park,  yesterday with  his  little|
               |sister  Mary.   Suddenly  “Billy,”   who|
               |was  standing  on  the wooden  top  of a|
               |cistern, disappeared.                   |
               |                                        |
               | There  was  nothing supernatural in his|
               |disappearance,  because the wood  in the|
               |cistern cover was rotten,  but it struck|
               |little Mary as being  so remarkable that|
               |she  lost  the power  of speech.  She is|
               |little  more than  a year old,  and  she|
               |couldn’t talk much, anyway.             |
               |                                        |
               | Just at  this  moment  a  peddler  came|
               |into the backyard.  He saw  Mary  gazing|
               |fixedly at  the open  cistern  and asked|
               |her what she saw.                       |
               |                                        |
               | “Bruvver’s   down  there,”   vouchsafed|
               |Mary, regaining her tongue and pointing.|
               |                                        |
               | The  peddler  took  a  look  into   the|
               |cistern  and   then  seized  a   near-by|
               |mop.  “Billy’s”  head was  still bobbing|
               |above  the  surface of  the  water  when|
               |the peddler got back with  the mop,  but|
               |when  he looked into  the cistern  again|
               |the  boy slipped  off  the  cover of the|
               |cistern,  which  had gone down with him,|
               |and  went  under.   The  peddler  waited|
               |until  the boy’s head appeared again and|
               |then he  deftly stuck the end of the mop|
               |under Billy’s chin  and pinned his  head|
               |against the masonry.                    |
               |                                        |
               | Meanwhile  the  peddler  had  not  been|
               |silent.  Mrs.  Dyer  heard  his  shouts,|
               |and,  gathering  their  portent,  rushed|
               |to the telephone  and  called  the  fire|
               |department.  Axel Hansen also heard  the|
               |sounds.  Axel  has long  legs.  He  came|
               |running.                                |
               |                                        |
               | When  Axel looked  into  the cistern  a|
               |scheme of  rescue immediately formulated|
               |itself in his  mind.  He got down on his|
               |knees and  told the terrified Mrs.  Dyer|
               |and  some neighbors  to take a good hold|
               |on  his  ankles.  The  peddler was  busy|
               |holding  “Billy’s” head above  the water|
               |with his mop.                           |
               |                                        |
               | Then  Axel  let himself  head  foremost|
               |down into  the cistern.  His  legs  were|
               |just  long   enough   to   reach.   With|
               |outstretched  arms  he was able  to  get|
               |“Billy”  by  the  scruff  of  the  neck.|
               |Having  got  a  good  grip,  he  ordered|
               |“Hoist   away.”  Mrs.   Dyer   and   the|
               |neighbors  hoisted,   and  in  a  moment|
               |“Billy,”  scared  and  much  bedraggled,|
               |was safe in his mother’s arms.  The fire|
               |department arrived about this time.     |
               |                                        |
               | “O,  look  at  the   pretty   firemen,”|
               |exclaimed    Mary,    and   turned   her|
               |entranced gaze away  from the cistern to|
               |the new object of interest.             |

The capture of an unusually large turtle, in and of itself, has little
news value, but out of the incident a New York _Sun_ reporter by simple
literary devices worked up a feature story that holds the reader’s
interest and makes an entertaining little “yarn.”

               | They that  go down  to Gravesend Bay in|
               |fishing  craft  were  talking  about  It|
               |all day yesterday in  the  back  room of|
               |Hogan’s place.  Here,  where  swings the|
               |lantern that  once lighted  emperors  of|
               |China on  their way  to  bed and to  the|
               |rope  of  which there hangs  a  wondrous|
               |tale,  and where  the  pistol that  shot|
               |O’Donovan Rossa  lies in its evil  rust,|
               |the  fishermen gathered  and  roared  in|
               |each  others’  ears  about  It.  Between|
               |whiles they all went  up to Lew Morris’s|
               |barn  and  gazed  at  It.   It  was  the|
               |biggest that any of them had ever  seen.|
               |Also  It  was old.  You could tell  that|
               |by the  barnacles  that  covered It.  It|
               |was prodded over on Its ancient back  by|
               |inquisitive toes and It  slapped  itself|
               |across Its chest like a  cabby on a cold|
               |night.                                  |
               |                                        |
               | Lew told how he caught It. He and Hogan|
               |went out  in  a rowboat about  9 o’clock|
               |yesterday  morning  to  look  over their|
               |weakfish nets.  It was  flopping  around|
               |in Lew’s best net.  Lew leaned  over and|
               |got hold of a flipper.  He found himself|
               |in all  sorts of trouble right away  and|
               |called  for  Hogan.  The  latter changed|
               |position too  quickly and they both went|
               |in.  Lew  had  hold  of the  flipper and|
               |never let  go.  If  Al  Girard and Nelse|
               |Williams hadn’t come along  in  a launch|
               |just  then  there  is  no  telling  what|
               |would  have happened.  Al and Nelse  got|
               |Hogan and  Lew  out and Lew  had hold of|
               |the flipper.                            |
               |                                        |
               | It is the  biggest  turtle—there,  it’s|
               |out  now—that  ever  has  been caught in|
               |Gravesend.  A deep  sea  turtle  at that|
               |and  weighs  anywhere  from 150  to  200|
               |pounds.                                 |
               |                                        |
               | Lew  hasn’t  said yet  what  he will do|
               |with the turtle,  but he hints darkly of|
               |soup. Maybe it isn’t a soup turtle.     |

How a bit of information gleaned from a janitor may furnish the basis
for an amusing little story, developed almost entirely by conversation,
in this instance with the added flavor of Irish brogue, is well
illustrated by this example taken from the New York _Tribune_:

               | Mike, one of the  cleaners  at the Hall|
               |of  Records,  beamed  with  satisfaction|
               |yesterday  afternoon—so  much  so   that|
               |every one  noticed  it.  The corners  of|
               |his mouth wrinkled upward,  and he acted|
               |as if  he  had found  a  pocketbook  for|
               |which there would be no claimant.       |
               |                                        |
               | “It’s  all  about  thim  clocks,”  said|
               |Mike.                                   |
               |                                        |
               | “The clocks in this building?”         |
               |                                        |
               | “The  same—the  same,” said  Mike.  “Ye|
               |see,  we’ve  had  the divil’s  own  time|
               |wid  these  clocks,   but  they’re   all|
               |right now.  They’re  all together,  like|
               |people at the  pay  window  on  Saturday|
               |afthernoon.  I wisht I had the wurrud to|
               |fit  what  has happened  to thim clocks.|
               |They’s  a  rare  wurrud for  it,  an’  I|
               |heard  wan  of   the  assistants  up  in|
               |Pendleton’s office spit it out  careless|
               |like whin he went  out to  lunch to-day.|
               |But thim clocks is near killin’  all  av|
               |us. They’re run by electricity,  an’ the|
               |city paid enough  f’r thim  to have thim|
               |right.  But  not till to-day  have  they|
               |all  struck  together,  like bricklayers|
               |on a  job  wid  the contract  time limit|
               |two days off.  To-day they all  got busy|
               |to wanst,  and now  they’re runnin’ dead|
               |heats.  But  I  wisht  I had the  wurrud|
               |that tells what happened to thim.”      |
               |                                        |
               | “Didn’t  they  keep  correct  time till|
               |to-day?”                                |
               |                                        |
               | “They did  not,”  said  Mike, emphatic-|
               |ally.  “In  the  Register’s  office  the|
               |clock  took itself  for  a  six-cylinder|
               |auto goin’  to  the  Polo  Grounds,  and|
               |rushed the  clerks  out  of  the  office|
               |an hour  and a half  ahead  of time.  Up|
               |in  the  Corporation   Counsel’s  office|
               |it  was usually 6  o’clock  p.  m.  whin|
               |the  honest  old  City Hall  clock  gave|
               |the  hour  of  10  in the morning.  Down|
               |in  Captain Bell’s  office  in  the  tax|
               |department the  clock made such a record|
               |for itself as  a liar  and a chate  that|
               |the  captain had  to  hang  a paper over|
               |the  dial.  He said he  was  ashamed  to|
               |have  an honest  man  look  the clock in|
               |the face.  An’  so it was all around the|
               |buildin’.  The  clock winder  wuz  doin’|
               |the windin’  by conthract,  an’ he  near|
               |went plumb crazy.  But  now thim  clocks|
               |is  all  right,  fur  a  wonder.  But  I|
               |wisht I had the wurrud  that  tells what|
               |happened.  Here comes Captain Davis,  of|
               |the  armory board.  He knows the  wurrud|
               |that fits  thim clocks when they all got|
               |together.”                              |
               |                                        |
               | Captain Davis was  held up by Mike, who|
               |explained what he wanted.               |
               |                                        |
               | “An’ I’ll  buy  a perfecto cigar-r-r if|
               |ye’ll give me the wurrud  that fits thim|
               |clocks.”                                |
               |                                        |
               | “I guess  you  mean the  clocks have at|
               |last   been   synchronized,”   said  the|
               |captain, politely.                      |
               |                                        |
               | “That’s   it—that’s   it—that’s     the|
               |wurrud!” shouted Mike.  “Thim clocks has|
               |been syn—syn—syn”—                      |
               |                                        |
               | Mike paused and the joy died out of his|
               |eyes.                                   |
               |                                        |
               | “Say,  captain,” said  he, “phwat  the|
               |divil is the rest of it?”               |
               |                                        |
               | “Synchronized,” repeated the captain.  |
               |                                        |
               | “Yes, that’s it,  whativer it is,” said|
               |Mike.                                   |

The adventures of a trained elephant that escaped in the streets of
New York furnished a reporter on the _Sun_ with an opportunity for a
humorous animal story that he took every advantage of, as is seen in
the following result:

  An East Indian elephant weighing a couple of tons or so and bearing
  the Anglo-Saxon name of Nellie, moved into the tenement house at 336
  East Thirty-fourth street early yesterday morning carrying her trunk
  with her. At or about the same hour most of the other tenants of the
  house moved out. Shortly afterward the tenants of the house at 338
  followed suit, and it was only a few moments later that the tenants
  in 340 emulated the example of their neighbors in 336 and 338.

  Andrew Diehl, the owner of the tenement, did not welcome Nellie with
  any enthusiasm. He said later that he did not cater to elephants,
  and anyhow all the flats in his house were occupied. He seemed a bit
  peevish about the whole affair, apparently having conceived the idea
  that if it got around the neighborhood that he made a practice of
  entertaining elephants unawares it might prejudice his house in the
  eyes of prospective tenants.

  In short, he spoke quite sharply about the matter, did Mr. Andrew
  Diehl. But several thousand persons who saw Nellie moving in at 336
  appeared to be having a really good time.

  Before Nellie moved into 336, and thence through the backyard fence
  into 338, and thence through another backyard fence into 340, her
  place of residence was quite a number of blocks further uptown. But
  she is hard to suit with regard to her surroundings. In fact, before
  she consented to move into 336, 338 and 340 she insisted on making a
  number of extensive alterations.

  Nellie’s uptown residence was the Hippodrome. She wasn’t exactly an
  old resident there either, the janitor says, for she moved in there
  no longer ago than Friday morning, coming directly from the steamship
  Georgic on the recommendation of a travelling companion, one Alfredo
  Rossi, who told her that it was a good place to live and that he
  thought that between them they could do themselves some good there
  in the way of making a living. This sounded pretty good to Nellie,
  and as soon as they had hoisted her out of the Georgic’s hold in an
  enormous sling and deposited her on the island of Manhattan, she
  started directly for the Hippodrome on Prof. Rossi’s recommendation.
  Besides, Prof. Rossi had a good sharp goad and some disposition to
  use it.

  In addition to Prof. Rossi, Nellie’s companions of the voyage
  included three more elephants, Petie, Rosa and Pierrette. Prof. Rossi
  having some influence with them too, they also went along to board
  with Nellie at the Hippodrome. The new tenants behaved themselves so
  admirably at first that the neighbors had no complaints whatsoever to
  make.

  Prof. Rossi came around very early yesterday morning to put the
  elephants through a little drill preparatory to going into the
  performance regularly to-morrow afternoon. All would have continued
  well had Nellie been accustomed to having pigs in the house. But such
  was not the case. At least the Hippodrome janitor says so. He blames
  it all on Marcelline’s pig, though he declares that no other tenants
  of his apartment house ever have complained about the pig.

  But Nellie was clearly of the opinion that a pig was out of place in
  the same house with herself. At all events when she heard that pig
  squeal and saw him come romping in his usual debonair manner over
  the stage, she gave one wild blast of her trumpet and determined
  to go elsewhere. In fact she went elsewhere, did Nellie, and that
  forthwith. But she went out, as a perfect lady should, by the
  customary stage entrance, taking most of it with her and subsequently
  accumulating large portions of the storm door as well.

  Once in Forty-third street Nellie turned toward the east. She was
  closely pursued by Bill Milligan, a Hippodrome groom, who endeavored
  with the aid of a shovel to dissuade her from her intention to
  travel. Mr. Milligan was subsequently reproached severely by Prof.
  Rossi because he did not use a goad. But Mr. Milligan rejoined with
  some asperity that he was shaving at the time Nellie tiptoed past
  him and it was only by the merest chance that he happened to notice
  her. “And,” added Mr. Milligan, “I don’t use no goad to shave with,
  anyhow.”

  Putting this aside for the moment, the fact remains that Nellie
  proceeded eastward as far as Fifth avenue. Here she turned to the
  south. As she approached Forty-second street Traffic Policeman John
  Finnerty raised one commanding hand, thereby stopping all traffic
  that had been previously headed in Nellie’s direction. But Policeman
  Finnerty complains that Nellie did not obey his order to stop. He
  says he can prove it, too, because there were a number of persons
  around and several of them in all probability noticed the elephant
  and can swear that she did not stop when he raised his hand. For a
  moment, he says, he thought of arresting her, but abandoned the idea,
  thinking perhaps it would be making too much of a trifling infraction
  of the traffic rules by a stranger in the city.

  At all events Nellie turned to the eastward again when she reached
  Forty-second street and moved along as far as Second avenue without
  meeting a soul she knew. In fact she didn’t meet so very many persons
  face to face, though there were quite a number of people in the lobby
  of the Manhattan Hotel and the Grand Central Station, and a little
  group now and then shinning up a casual lamp post or roosting on the
  top of a subway pagoda. And there weren’t more than 10,000 or 20,000
  behind her either.

  It looked so lonesome in Forty-second street that Nellie turned
  southward again when she got to Second avenue out of sheer yearning
  for human companionship. As a matter of fact there were several
  persons in Second avenue until a few seconds after Nellie turned the
  corner, but they all seemed to be in some haste and went away from
  there before Nellie could come up to them. In fact Second avenue was
  so solitary a place that when Nellie got to Thirty-fourth street she
  thought she would try that just for luck.

  She would probably have continued right on to the ferry because
  nobody thereabouts appeared to have any objection, had it not been
  for the fact that a fire engine and hose cart galloped through First
  avenue to answer an alarm turned in from the box at First avenue and
  Thirty-second street. Nellie was not interested in fire engines. So
  she took to the sidewalk in front of 334, and at 336 she seemed to
  say to herself: “This is the place I’ve been looking for.”

  At all events she entered the doorway at that number. On the ground
  floor is Henry Gruner’s barber shop. Henry was shaving a customer
  when Nellie passed his window and turned into the hall next door. The
  customer left the chair so promptly that he nearly got his throat cut
  and disappeared down the street with the towel still about his neck,
  in the direction of the East River. Nellie walked right through the
  narrow hall, taking with her a segment of the balustrade. The door
  that leads into the back yard was not built to accommodate elephants,
  as Mr. Diehl explained some time later, but Nellie managed to wiggle
  through it, though she knocked down about half the coping in the
  process.

  High board fences separate 336 from 338, and 338 from 340. That is
  to say, they did. They don’t now, because Nellie walked through them
  as if they had been paper. But before this she took a look in at
  the kitchen window on the ground floor of 336, where Mrs. Gruner,
  the barber’s wife, and their children, Tessie, Henry and Louisa,
  were eating breakfast. The happy family looked up from their oatmeal
  and beheld an uncommon face at the window, the face of an elephant
  seeking companionship.

  Mrs. Gruner and all the little Gruners experienced spots before the
  eyes and a sudden loss of appetite. In fact, they beat it for the
  street. It was then that Nellie, again abandoned, moved into 338.
  There was nobody there either, except up above on the fire escape. So
  she moved through the fence into 340. Every one had gone away from
  there too. It was then that the elephant broke down and wept. At
  least, she lifted up her trunk and trumpeted to the high heavens.

  Meantime Prof. Rossi and his staff of assistants had been trailing
  the wandering Nellie. She was never out of their sight, but they
  never could quite catch up with her because there were so many
  people in the streets who had important engagements and were trying
  their best to fill them. But by the time Nellie had moved into 340
  Rossi and his force had arrived. There were also the police reserves
  from three stations, several fire companies with hooks and ladders,
  a squad of mounted cops, the entire force from the Grand Central
  Station, and enough mere spectators to do credit to a Chicago-New
  York baseball game at the Polo Grounds.

  Vainly did Prof. Rossi endeavor to coax Nellie out by the way in
  which she had made entrance. Nothing would budge her, and if, as
  might well have been the case, the courtyard had been entirely
  surrounded by houses, it might have been necessary to pull one of
  them down to get her out. Fortunately, however, there’s a vacant lot
  behind 340, but it was needful to break down two high board fences
  from the Thirty-third street side in order to get at her.

  In the meantime Rossi’s assistants had thoughtfully led the other
  three elephants, Petie, Rosa and Pierrette, down from the Hippodrome
  and lined them up in Thirty-third street, and when Nellie looked
  through the broken fences and saw her merry companions, she let out
  trumpet peals of delight and all but fell on their necks. So they
  marched her out into Thirty-third street and back to the Hippodrome
  without further incident of note. And considering the pains she
  took to get into her Thirty-fourth street tenement she left it with
  extraordinarily little apparent regret.

  When Prof. Rossi was asked last evening how he accounted for Nellie’s
  performance, he replied in part:

  “Name of a name! Name of a dog! Name of a pig! Sacred thousand
  thunders! Holy blue!”

In the separation of an old colored couple a reporter might see little
to record in a news story, but, with an appreciation of the human
interest in the event or with insight into the lives and feelings
of the persons concerned, he might write a pathetic story like the
following one adapted from the Pittsburgh _Gazette Times_:

  They had climbed the hill together; well on the tottering way down
  they decided that they must travel the rest apart. Sylvester and Eva
  Hawkins signed papers to that effect yesterday. They are black folk,
  these two, old and black, but they have in their natures a meed of
  proper sentiment. When the parting came they both wept and the tears
  were not maudlin.

  They have lived for the most part as good citizens should; they
  reared a family that numbers even more than the Rooseveltian figure;
  they saved their little earnings until they had their modest home
  in addition to having given their children better than they had
  themselves.

  But the husband and father, it was alleged, was cruel. It is not
  denied even by himself that Sylvester was wont to give way to
  outbreaks of temper. He always was sorry afterward, but sometimes
  regret did not make up for the harm done. It is charged that once
  he almost killed his son and only last Saturday choked his daughter
  nearly to insensibility. This last act was the cause of the son’s
  making the information against the old man. A preliminary hearing
  was held last Tuesday and the old man was committed to jail until
  yesterday.

  The son, Sylvanus, wanted his father committed to jail for a term,
  but the mother would not agree to this. She admitted that she feared
  her husband when he became violent and that his abuse of her and her
  children had become unbearable. But she said she still loved him and
  she did not want him behind the bars. When a bill of separation was
  suggested she agreed.

  Hawkins wept then, as did his wife. He begged to be given another
  chance, but between her sobs the woman said he had promised to reform
  so often, all to no effect, that she could trust him no longer. She
  thought it best for all that they should part.

  “I love you still, honey,” the old man murmured, and to show his
  statement true, he bravely agreed to sign over their little property
  to her. She bade him a tender good-bye.

  The old man walked out alone, over the steps of the municipal
  building, where he sat down. He saw the family that had renounced him
  come up, watched them as they took a car, and looked longingly as it
  rolled away. Then he wiped his eyes again, put his head between his
  hands and stared vacantly at the ground.

=Special Articles.= The second type of feature story, that prepared
for the magazine sections of Saturday and Sunday editions or for the
editorial pages of any issue, usually consists either of a detailed
narrative or of an exposition of some interesting and timely subject.
In the news columns there is room for only concise announcements of
such events as a scientific discovery, an important invention, the
destruction of a landmark, the death of an old actor, a new design
for coins or postage stamps, an auction of rare books or paintings, a
new theory of the origin of life, the results of an investigation of
child labor conditions, a report on decreasing soil fertility, or the
adoption by a state of a plan for government life insurance. Any one of
these and thousands of other news stories whets the reader’s curiosity
for more details. It remains for the editors of magazine sections to
try to satisfy their readers’ curiosity and to supply interesting
reading matter, by publishing feature articles that are based on these
news stories or are suggested by them. Feature stories may also be
given timeliness, not by particular pieces of news, but by such events
as Christmas, college commencements, the exodus to summer resorts, the
opening of the hunting or fishing season, the beginning of a session
of Congress. Timeliness, although not absolutely essential if the
subject or the treatment has sufficient interest to attract readers, is
regarded by editors as an important asset.

These special articles for newspapers are written by regular reporters,
by “free lance” writers not connected with any publication, or by
men and women in other professions whose special knowledge and whose
ability to write make them particularly well equipped to prepare
articles on subjects in their own fields. Former newspaper writers, as
well as reporters and correspondents in active service, are qualified
to do good work of this type because their training has developed
a keen appreciation of what is interesting, important, and timely
in current events. Reporters and correspondents also have ample
opportunity in the course of their daily round of news gathering to get
valuable material which may be worked up into special articles. Editors
of magazine sections often suggest or assign subjects to reporters,
correspondents, or “free lance” writers, but they are glad to have
suggestions from members of the staff or to get well-written articles
suitable for their purpose.

=Subjects for Feature Articles.= Material for special articles is
obtained in a variety of ways. Interviews with persons who can furnish
the desired information are an effective means of getting facts and
impressions, and they have the advantage of giving the reporter
material for the “human interest” element which not infrequently
adds to the readableness of the article. From books of reference can
be gleaned historical and biographical data. Reports and official
documents, such as government publications, can frequently be used
to secure detailed information. In fact, printed reports of such
government work as that of agricultural experiment stations, divisions
of the department of agriculture, various testing laboratories,
the geological survey, the departments of commerce and labor, or
the interstate commerce commission, and reports of corresponding
work carried on by various cities and states, furnish quantities of
valuable data that need only to be presented in popular form to be of
general interest. Some of these reports are summarized briefly in news
stories; others receive no mention at all. Although they are called
public documents, the general public does not know of their existence.
Personal observation also furnishes material for feature stories. An
assignment that takes the reporter to the state penitentiary may at
the same time give him the opportunity to get facts and impressions
for a special article on some phase of prison life. Statistics, if not
too numerous and if skillfully handled, add to the effectiveness of
the presentation. Photographs and other forms of illustration make an
article attractive. In short, every available source of information can
at different times be used to advantage, and often a single article
requires interviews, books of reference, personal observation, and
printed documents to make it complete and accurate.

Some examples of different kinds of feature articles and their sources
will suggest how to find subjects and what to do with them. A reporter
whose regular work takes him daily to the mayor’s office may get from
the mayor’s secretary some of the hundreds of letters containing
complaints and requests for assistance that are sent to the mayor
constantly, and may make them the basis of a good feature story. Or, if
the mayor writes characteristic replies to these letters, he may secure
these answers and make an article out of them, as did a magazine writer
recently out of those of Mayor Gaynor of New York. From the reports
that he hears from day to day of the devious devices used by burglars
and sneak thieves to gain entrance to homes, a police reporter may
write an interesting article on how to protect homes against robbery.
A sign, “Canaries and Parrots Boarded Here,” may give a reporter a
suggestion that he can follow up by visiting the birds’ boarding-house
and getting material for an article on those who leave their pets at
this house during their absence from the city. From the real estate
column a news story to the effect that an old building is to be torn
down may suggest a feature story on this landmark and its history,
the material being obtained partly from local histories and partly
from interviews with “old inhabitants.” A brief announcement of the
death of an old-time circus clown might lead the reporter to write an
entertaining “human interest” story of his career from facts secured
from the clown’s friends. By spending a few hours watching the building
of a big tunnel under a river, and by talking to the superintendent and
the workmen, a reporter could work up a good story on the undertaking.

The popularizing of scientific and technical material affords excellent
opportunity to a writer whose college training or practical experience
has familiarized him with special fields. A new theory in regard to
the construction of airships presented before a learned society in a
paper on “Some Principles of Aerodynamics,” might make an excellent
popular article if the reporter were able to present the new idea in a
simple, concrete, and interesting manner. The effect of using up the
phosphorus in soil under cultivation, as discussed in an agricultural
experiment station report, may seem to be a subject of little interest
to the average reader, but an explanation by specific examples of the
results of this exhaustion of phosphorus upon the cost of living and
upon the welfare of the race, may be made a readable story. To explain
clearly how the transmission of the germ of infantile paralysis by
means of the ordinary house fly is being determined by laboratory
experiments, requires knowledge of bacteriology. For a writer familiar
with electricity and its application in the telephone, the problem of
explaining in an interesting manner a new device for wireless telephony
is less difficult than for one who knows little about the subject.
Many writers specialize in the particular field in which they are most
interested, and present in popular form all the available new material
in this field.

To those interested in social, political, and economic problems there
is an abundance of good material for feature articles. A report of
the interstate commerce commission on railroad accidents or on safety
devices can be worked up into a good article at the time that the
report is issued or after a disastrous wreck, when such information has
peculiar timeliness. Proposed legislation for state life insurance,
mothers’ pensions, workingmen’s compensation for accidents and
illness, or old age pensions, gives opportunity for timely articles
with concrete examples of the workings of these measures elsewhere and
discussion of their probable effects under local conditions. A story of
child labor in certain industries as reported by a social worker at a
legislative investigation, may be followed up by a feature story with a
strong “human interest” element developed from further material secured
from the investigator. The printed report of a committee of a state
teachers’ association on rural schools and the remedies proposed for
their defects, has possibilities for an article on these problems.

=The Personality Sketch.= The personality sketch, or article that
undertakes to present a vivid impression of the character and
individuality of some person who plays a part in the news of the day,
is another type of feature story that is popular. The interest of most
readers in the human, personal side of famous or infamous characters
in current events is so great that they eagerly read articles of this
kind. Dates and facts of biography have little attraction for them;
they want the man to be portrayed so vividly that they can see and know
him. Not infrequently it is an unusual, quaint, picturesque character
who has not appeared in the current news at all that lends himself to
such a sketch. Every city furnishes plenty of examples of persons
who make good subjects for feature stories. Incidents, anecdotes, and
characteristic utterances, if well chosen and effectively presented,
make the best reading and give the most definite impression of
personality.

=The Style of Special Articles.= The style and manner of treatment
of the feature story deserve careful consideration. Simple, concrete
expression, free from technical or learned terms except when they
are fully explained, is always desirable. Specific examples serve
most effectively to bring home to the reader a general principle
and its application. To lead from these concrete illustrations to
generalizations is to follow the natural order of inductive reasoning.
Furthermore, the story-like character given to an article by an
incident or anecdote at the beginning catches the reader’s attention
and interests him at once. Striking statistics in the opening sentence
may have a similar effect, although, of course, they lack the “human
interest” of the story form. A vivid bit of description is sometimes
used to advantage at the beginning. Exposition by narrative methods
throughout the article is popular because of the story form thus
given to the subject. If, instead of merely describing and explaining
a mechanical process, the writer portrays men actually performing
the work involved in the process, he adds greatly to the interest of
the article. The effectiveness of an explanation of a new surgical
operation can be increased to a marked degree by picturing a surgeon
as he performs the operation upon a patient at a clinic. The method
of procedure and the benefits under a workingmen’s compensation act
are best made clear by telling the experiences of several typical
workingmen and their families who have come under the operation of the
law. Every legitimate literary device for catching and holding the
reader’s attention may be employed to advantage.

How a current event, in this instance the opening of a trial, gives
opportunity for an interesting feature article explaining the
situation, picturing vividly the persons involved, and developing
the “human interest” element in the case, is well illustrated in the
following story written by a correspondent of the New York _Tribune_:

  Union City, Tenn., Dec. 13.—Clad in rough homespun, with ragged
  trousers tucked deep into cowskin boots innocent of polish, with
  straggling beards and huge slouch hats, but always with the
  inevitable long barrelled rifle or big pistol in plain view, the
  denizens of the Reelfoot Lake region are assembling in this quaint
  little town to-night for the opening scene to-morrow of the Night
  Rider trials.

  They are friends and relatives of the men who are held under military
  guard at the barracks. They ignore the townspeople, or look at them
  with scowls. When they meet one another a silent nod or a whispered
  word is all that passes. Silently and singly they wander through the
  streets, or stand for hours outside the barracks, gazing curiously
  up at the windows of the room in which their friends are held
  incommunicado. Sometimes they approach the trim young sentries on
  guard, taking careful inventory of the glistening bayonets and rifles.

  They feel keenly this trouble, these rough but simple men of the
  Tennessee backwoods. They believe that they are persecuted and that
  the entire world is against them. “Old Tom” Johnson, who, the state
  says, was the first leader of the band, but was deposed because his
  immense stature and huge hand easily identified him, expresses the
  belief of most of them when he says:

  “It’s like this heah, stranger. God, He put them red hills up theah.
  An’ He put some of us pooh folks, that he didn’t have no room foh
  nowheah else, up theah, too. An’ then He saw that we couldn’t make a
  livin’ farmin’, so He ordered an earthquake, an’ the earthquake left
  a big hole. Next He filled the hole with watah an’ put fish in it.
  Then He knew we could make a livin’ between farmin’ and fishin’. But
  along comes these rich men who don’t have to make no livin’, an’ they
  tell us all that we must not fish in the lake any mo’, ’cause they
  owns the lake an’ the fish God put theah foh us. It jus’ nachally
  ain’t right, stranger; it ain’t no justice.”

  This is the Night Riders’ original view, but the primary object of
  the band was forgotten by many, officers say, and the organization
  began to use its persuasion to vent the personal spites of members
  and to regulate private affairs of many persons for miles around.

  For instance, merchants whose total sales did not exceed $2 a
  day were ordered to sell goods at cost, plus 10 per cent profit;
  tenants of farms were ordered to pay no cash rent, but to insist
  on working the ground on shares; growers of grain or tobacco were
  ordered to plant only so many acres of soil; landlords were bidden
  by advertisement not to lease their property for cash rents. A woman
  who had left her drunken husband was ordered to return to him, and
  when she refused she was taken to the woods, stripped, tied to a
  tree and lashed with a cat-o’-ninetails until her back and shoulders
  were one big wound. Other women, fond of pretty clothing, were told
  to cease wearing it. And every case of refusal to comply instantly
  was followed by a visit of the black-masked crew, a swift, violent
  seizure of the recalcitrant, a rapid ride to the depths of the forest
  and an awful whipping.

  For nearly two years these terrors of the wilderness rode nightly.
  For two years no man not a member ever retired to rest without
  breathing a silent prayer that he and his family be spared the
  terrors of a midnight visitation.

  Then the riders extended their operations. They began to visit the
  larger towns, such as Troy, Dyersburg, Union City. This extension was
  followed by the murder of Captain Quentin Rankin. Finally the people
  became enraged, the Governor interfered, and in frenzy many persons
  said:

  “We will stamp out this organization, legally or by mobs, or we will
  be stamped out by it.”

  And so came a special grand jury, instructed by Judge Jones and
  advised by Attorney General Caldwell. Quickly, too, came the defiance
  of the Night Riders:

  “Dismiss the grand jury, stop the investigation or we will send jury,
  judge and prosecutor to join Captain Rankin.”

  The answer was the numerous arrests of alleged Night Riders by the
  militia and 125 indictments for capital offences. For the trials on
  these indictments, which will open to-morrow, the issue is clearly
  drawn. It is a struggle between organized lawlessness and the forces
  of order.

The proposed destruction of an historic landmark recorded in a news
story and subsequently made prominent by protests against the action,
furnished a reporter on the New York _Evening Post_ with an occasion
for the following article, in which he blends suggestive description,
emotional coloring, and historical background into an harmonious whole:

  Mellow notes from an old organ filled the nave of St. John’s Chapel,
  on Varick Street, to-day. It was Stainer’s “Nunc Dimittis in A” that
  the organist was playing. Somehow it seemed peculiarly appropriate,
  for, as every one knows, they are going to discontinue the work of
  this chapel, which has stood for more than a hundred years. This
  means that, unless present plans are abandoned, the stately church
  will be sold within a very short time, and then razed to make place
  for factory or office building.

  There is little doubt that this will occur, although Trinity
  Corporation has received numerous protests from those to whom the
  place of worship has meant much, who still regard it as one of the
  few links connecting them with things that are gone. The corporation
  cannot see its way clear to provide for a chapel officially regarded
  as unnecessary. And yet old St. John’s, with its towering brown
  spire, its richly colored stones, its heavy columns, and chipped,
  time-stained façade—a replica of old St. Martin’s in the Fields, of
  London—stands benignly, bearing its past with a genuine dignity.

  The peal of the organ ebbed and flowed over the pews with their faded
  crimson cushions. In one of them sat the priest in charge, listening,
  very young; until he talked of the church he loved, he seemed
  strangely apart from the all-pervading atmosphere of things that were
  old.

  Near by was an earnest woman in the garb of the Episcopal sisterhood,
  and the under-sexton had paused in his work about the pews. When
  St. John’s organist is at the keys, the roar of the street is
  repulsed. The rumble of freight cars, the shouts of the handlers
  of merchandise, the beat of horses’ hoofs enter but gently, mere
  suggestions of outer confusion.

  Inside, to-day, all was harmony and peace. Sunshine flowing through
  plain glass windows lay athwart the floor of choir and chancel; when
  the music ceased there came a twittering of birds on the window
  ledges. Yes, agreed the priest, it was a beautiful old organ. In a
  few years, he said, it would be a hundred years old. Then he told a
  story concerning it. He could not vouch for it himself, although he
  had heard it vouched for by reliable persons.

  At the time of the war of 1812, when the church was comparatively
  new, it had sufficient money in hand for a pipe organ, which was
  ordered of a company in Philadelphia, and when completed was shipped
  to New York by water. On the way the vessel which bore it was
  captured by a British frigate, and the organ was taken to London.
  Here it remained two years, and was then yielded up after the payment
  of two thousand dollars. Time has imparted to it a rare tonal
  richness. It is just the organ for this edifice, so suggestive of
  things that once were.

  Men who know say that you will find such chapel interiors only in
  the old Sir Christopher Wren churches in London. The cruciform
  architecture of more modern houses of worship is not here in St.
  John’s. Lines are sweeping, stately. Heavy fluted columns support the
  gallery. The windows are of the older sort, unstained, and the walls
  and ceilings are an even gray, undecorated.

  Notes of color are confined to organ pipes and choir stalls, which
  are red and blue and white, with gilding. But these are not as bright
  as they once were; neither are the blue-starred arches above chancel
  and choir.

  Years ago, when St. John’s Park was not covered by a freight
  station, and when many of the “first families” lived hereabouts, the
  congregations bore comparison with those of any church in the city.
  But tide of travel made uptown before encroaching commerce, which
  eventually flowed over the district, converting it utterly.

  Congregations which gather here each Sunday are not so fashionable
  as in years gone. But they are none the less faithful and earnest
  and devout. You will find ’longshoremen and their families here
  now—dwellers of the Laight and Vestry and Hudson Street tenements;
  you will find their children in the Sunday-school. To-day there are
  nearly, if not quite, 500 communicants in this parish—no indication,
  it might be thought, that the church has outlived its usefulness.

  This year, according to a parishioner who should know, this
  congregation of the lowly contributed $300 to the diocesan mission
  fund, and that, he asserted, was a better showing comparatively
  than St. Thomas’s twelve or fifteen thousand dollar contribution.
  Certainly, as he said, the St. John’s parishioners gave all they
  could afford, probably more; and since the teachings of the church
  hold that it is the spirit in giving rather than what is given that
  counts, St. John’s has no need to be ashamed.

  It has been suggested by the Rev. Dr. Manning, rector of Trinity,
  that St. Luke’s Chapel can adequately attend to the needs of the
  parishioners of the older chapel. But, as a matter of fact, St.
  Luke’s is a mile above, and is more a Sunday-school room than a
  church edifice at best. Those who attend service on Varick Street
  say that congregations average from two hundred and fifty to three
  hundred each Sunday morning. The breaking up of a company of
  worshippers of this size presents a problem in parish economics and
  ethics that the Trinity Corporation has probably seriously considered
  in contemplating abandonment of the chapel.

  Many houses in the vicinity of the chapel, formerly the abodes of
  wealthy parishioners, now shelter four and five families. Huge
  warehouses adjoin each side of the parish property, but there is no
  impression of crowding. The churchyard is wide. On one side is a
  playground for children. There are many shade trees here, and bushes
  which in summer bear flowers, making of the place a beauty spot
  amid a grimy environment. Directly across the street is the great
  New York Central freight station, where dummy trains receive and
  deposit freight. The station site was formerly a private playground,
  as Gramercy Park is to-day, but those who lived in the houses which
  surrounded it had begun to move away before the depot was erected in
  1868.

  St. John’s Park was laid out in order to attract persons to the
  chapel, which, when built, in 1807, had been spoken of as “too far
  uptown,” small congregations for the first year or so justifying
  this contention. As a means of attracting dwellers to the vicinity,
  the park was planned, and took the name of the chapel. This design
  succeeded beyond all expectations. Alexander Hamilton and Gen.
  Schuyler were among the early migrants north of Great Jones Street,
  and the section soon received the stamp of fashionable approval.

  Many of these old dwellings still stand. You may see them on Hudson
  Street, on Laight Street, on Vestry Street, with their dormer
  windows, their fanlight doorways, and high porches, flanked by tall
  iron posts. In those days, St. John’s vied with Trinity itself, and
  with St. Paul’s.

  In 1839, when Trinity Church, deemed unsafe, was pulled down and work
  on the present structure was begun, many communicants of that church
  came to St. John’s, following their great organist, Dr. Hodges, who
  played here during the seven years occupied in the building of the
  new Trinity. Organists who followed were devoted to the task of
  maintaining St. John’s excellent repute in music.

  In 1876, long after the environment of this chapel had been given
  over to commercialism, George F. Le Jeune came to the chapel as
  organist, and under his ministrations the chapel was famous as a
  place where the most excellent sacred music in the city was to
  be heard. Le Jeune it was who introduced the cathedral form of
  service in this city. In 1877 he instituted a series of musical
  services which continued at St. John’s for ten years, and served to
  familiarize the public with a large number of cantatas and oratorios
  not generally known. Old residents often speak of the music they
  used to hear at St. John’s, and there is not a Sunday morning that
  does not find some one of them here, reviving old memories. This is
  not difficult, because the music at St. John’s is still altogether
  excellent.

  South of the church stands the vine-clad parish house. Here, each
  Saturday morning, year in and year out, rain or shine, sixty-seven
  loaves of bread are distributed to the poor women and children of the
  district, in accordance with provisions of the will of Gen. Leake, a
  wealthy communicant of the parish, who died in 1792, leaving $5,000
  to be put out at interest, the income to be laid out in sixpenny
  wheaten loaves, to be distributed among the poor. This charity, known
  as the “Leake Dole of Bread,” has been faithfully observed for more
  than a century.

  Back of the chapel there was a little street called St. John’s Lane,
  a beautiful tree-shaded bypath in the old days. In the course of
  years the city advanced, blotting it out of usefulness. Few know it
  still exists. It is a quiet, deserted, odd little nook of a place, a
  harbor where shelter may be found from the roar of the city.

By noticing the various odd ways in which some men make a living in
New York, a reporter on the _Sun_ secured interesting material for
an article which the editor entitled, “Little Wants of a Big City.” A
selection from the article follows:

  Anybody can be a clerk or a clergyman or a bank president or a
  teamster. It takes more individuality to strike out in a career like
  that of the man who works but one week in the year. This man is Santa
  Claus. His head is covered with a mass of snow-white hair. It falls
  down over his venerable shoulders and mingles with his equally white
  beard. The latter falls far down his chest and the old gentleman
  looks for all the world like the pictures of Santa Claus. Every
  holiday season he can be found working in some store, posing as the
  holiday saint, rattling shiny toys before the fascinated gaze of New
  York’s million children.

  Fifty-one weeks in the year he works not at all, and how he subsists
  and has enough money to buy his little red drinks no man can tell.

  The line-up man is a product of New York and of nowhere else. He
  belongs to a clan of agile, sinewy legged brethren who infest back
  yards, and his business is to shin up the poles from which are
  suspended innumerable clotheslines, to fix up frayed out lines, tie
  on new ropes and get the courtyard rigging into shipshape condition
  against the Monday wash. He will climb the highest pole in Harlem
  without the aid of a net and fix your ropes for 25 cents.

  “Lady, it is decidedly unsafe to trundle your baby about in that
  rickety carriage,” is the greeting of the vender of rubber tires for
  perambulators.

  After convincing a startled mother that she has been carelessly
  subjecting her child to terrible danger from capsizing, the crafty
  salesman swoops down upon the carriage, tacks on a set of new tires,
  tinkers up a rickety spoke, slaps a cracked hub together and goes on
  his way with a merry quarter in his jeans. It’s another odd job.

  Take the industrious sellers of keys. They come up to your tenement
  home, knock at the door and ask whether you need a new key to the
  chateau. If you have just lost your last key the keyhole genius
  stoops down, twiddles around with a blank key and some beeswax, files
  a couple of notches in the blank, and presto—you have a shining new
  key all for ten cents. A locksmith would take two days and charge you
  a quarter.

  Precisely speaking, the man with the camera cannot be included in
  this list of people who make a living out of curious jobs. Most folks
  have seen him anchored on a bright corner of a Sunday afternoon
  taking the pictures of one and all for the small sum of 10 cents.

  When you have on your best bib and tucker you strike a dignified
  pose, with your smaller sister leaning against you, and in two jerks
  of a lamb’s tail your likeness is slipped upon the post card, which
  is kept forever after in the family album, where in years to come you
  gaze upon it and wonder how two such spindly legs supported such a
  large child.

  The man with the telescope doesn’t make a handsome income, and he
  usually looks unhappy and ill at ease, but for a nickel he will show
  you the ridges in the moon and the canals on Mars, and if the bulbous
  top piece of the Metropolitan tower gets in the way it’s your own
  fault and your nickel is lost.

  Next comes what is in reality a woman’s calling, but strangely enough
  it is followed by a large man with an extremely red face and a stubby
  mustache. Children must like him because his business is checking
  them while bargain seeking mammas thread their ways through the
  aisles of stores.

  He stands at the head of a line of baby carriages, soothing his round
  faced charges and waving a tinkling strapful of ragged edged checks.
  Upon delivery to him of the check which he gave you when you entered
  the store you may receive again your baby. No check, no baby, just as
  in the Chink’s place.

  You mightn’t think that a man could eke out an existence selling
  catnip. One does, though. He stands at an uptown corner with a
  basketful of cat’s delight, selling it for two cents a bunch, and the
  old maids in the vicinity make daily trips to his corner. When you’re
  inclined to growl about your present salary, think of the man selling
  catnip for two cents a bunch.

  Here’s another funny occupation. A man goes around through the
  sweatshop district mending shoes. If you are a sweatshop employee you
  generally have one pair of shoes, and of necessity they are on your
  feet. You can’t leave them with the cobbler when the roof springs a
  leak or the uppers secede from the lowers. You haven’t time to sit
  around his shop in your stockings.

  So this itinerant cobbler hunts you up at your shop, takes off your
  shoes while you sew and caulks up the seams, tacks on soles and
  heels, and you pay him with a cheerful smile and some small change.

  People who go downtown at night rarely miss seeing the man who
  advertises various things through an electric sign on his chest. He
  presses a button at intervals and a light flashes urging you to buy
  a cigar or a stick of gum or something else. The right thing to say,
  because everyone says it upon passing this individual, is, “That’s a
  fine thing for a grown man to be doing.”

  Down the bay there is another industry most people never hear of.
  Enterprising venders owning their own boats meet incoming tramp
  freighters and sell the crews everything from a pair of mittens to
  a cough cure. They load their craft with most things you find in a
  department store and they drive fine bargains with the sailors.

  Among the newly arrived immigrants a number of men manage to scrape
  a living by selling first lessons in English to the strangers
  struggling with the tongue. These lessons are in the form of simple
  English sentences followed by the translation in the tongue of the
  foreigner. Five cents will buy enough assorted conversation to last a
  new immigrant several weeks.

When in the course of his regular work the reporter comes upon a
picturesque bit of local color, as did a writer on the New York
_Evening Post_ in going through the Italian quarter of that city, he
may use it to as good advantage as the _Post_ reporter did in the
following feature story:

  Under the tinsel, gilt, and colored paper shrine erected before a
  café in Mulberry Street, just north of the Bend, there is a picture
  of St. Mary of the Virgin Mount, and the devout who pass by drop
  their mites into the plates. The clinking of pennies, nickels, and
  quarters rings fair and true through the medley of sounds which rise
  from the crowds about the push-carts, and it is music to the ear of
  Michel Siniscalchi, giver of this year’s festa in honor of the saint.

  A year ago they gave a festa in honor of Maria SS. di Monte Vergine,
  as the placards and lithographs displayed in the shop windows style
  her, and it proved a financial failure. It costs money to give a
  festa—that is to say, a festa of the style and extent which are
  necessary in doing adequate honor to this saint. In Italy, in the
  villages from which the people who live about the Bend come, it is
  customary to have a festa in honor of the saint every year. And it
  seemed hard when the people who got up last year’s festa decided that
  they did not again wish to have to shoulder the burden of the festa’s
  bad debts.

  At this time, when everybody else had backed down, Michel
  Siniscalchi, who deals in colored glass bulbs and similar
  decorations, stepped to the fore. He said it seemed a shame that they
  could not honor the saint. Indeed he was so pained by the thought
  that he would be willing to bear the expenses of the festa himself.
  He would, of course, furnish all the decorations himself, and his
  name would appear as president of the comitato on the banners and
  placards.

  This offer was accepted with glee by the men and more especially by
  the women, who would have taken to heart the loss of a chance to
  honor their saint. And Michel Siniscalchi set to work to organize his
  festa. It was, by the way, part of the agreement, that the offerings
  placed in the saint’s shrine should go to help Siniscalchi.

  Colored lights were strung in arches over the narrow street at
  frequent intervals, banners and yards of bunting draped the house
  windows, the confetti men and peddlers of fruit and sweetmeats came
  from blocks around, and on Saturday night the festa opened with much
  braying of music and no little religious devotion.

  The most important decoration was the shrine of the saint’s picture.
  In a niche of the shrine the picture was placed, and rows of candles
  were set before it and the tasseled cloth of gold on which it rests.
  Then there were the plates and certain lithographic reproductions of
  the picture.

  Since Saturday night the festa has held full sway. There is a
  preliminary celebration in the morning, and then everybody stops
  until two o’clock in the afternoon. For a brief spell around dinner
  time, every one but the band rests, and after dinner the people turn
  out to listen to the music and to gossip. It is a great occasion for
  gossip, the festa.

  At present everybody is talking about the amount of money Michel
  Siniscalchi may lose by his speculations. The old men sit before
  the banca across the street from the shrine and chuckle over his
  discomfiture, for, while yesterday and Saturday night the coins
  clinked in the dishes with merry rapidity, now they barely dribble,
  and, when a clink is heard, by its very novelty it strikes through
  all other noises.

  “Caught,” they chuckle. “Yes, our Michel is caught this time. A
  cute one, he is. Yes, a cute one, Signor. No, not a politician. But
  cute, so cute. Ay, and this time he has been caught. Has the signor
  heard? The signor has but to cross the street and examine the blessed
  saint’s shrine. ’Tis bare, Signor. Nought but pennies.”

  But there are others who are not so sure that Michel Siniscalchi is
  going to lose by his speculation. Among the younger generation of
  Italians his scheme is treated with considerable respect, and his
  Bowery friends wink when Michel’s intelligence is aspersed.

  “Lose?” queried Jack Gallagher, sitting with a group of friends in
  the café behind the shrine. “Lose, did you say? Aw, g’wan. Say,
  Michel wasn’t born yesterday. He’s got his brains in his head. He’s
  too rapid for dese wops. Michel’s got a business eye, he has. He’s
  thinking of advertisin’. See that sign up there? See Michel’s name on
  it, good and big? See them lights? All from Michel’s store. Aw, he’s
  a wise guy. He knows his game.”

  While Gallagher talked, the infrequent pennies, with an occasional
  nickel, dropped into the plates, and presently the figure was carried
  toward Spring Street, with at least 150 women and children and a band
  in the procession.

Simplicity and naturalness may be given to an explanatory article by
putting it in the form of an interview with the person from whom the
information is obtained; this was done in the following story from the
New York _Sun_:

  “For the last three years I have devoted my summer to making balanced
  aquariums to order,” said a woman who is now in middle life. “I earn
  enough by this work to keep me comfortably during the winter, so I
  call myself a successful woman wage earner.

  “I make my aquariums as nearly a perfect reproduction of natural
  conditions as possible. It is only since the discovery of balanced
  aquariums that the full decorative effect of displays of aquatic
  life has begun to be realized. Now many architects and interior
  decorators include them in their plans. This is true not only of
  country places but of many of the newest city homes. Certainly there
  is no easier and cheaper way to keep some living thing about the
  house. The care of the balanced aquarium amounts to so little that it
  may be practically disregarded.

  “The cost of the vessel depends entirely upon the wishes of the
  person who is filling it. It may be an ordinary fruit jar with a wide
  mouth or a glass tank costing $20 or more. The simplest tanks cost
  about $1 and are of something more than one gallon capacity. They may
  be had either rectangular in shape or globular. For an eight gallon
  tank of domestic glass I have paid as little as $2.50. The main
  essential is to have a tank perfectly tight and clean, with no paint
  or other injurious material to contaminate the water.

  “To begin with, the water should be as pure as the water we drink.
  The bottom should be covered with pebbles and sand to the depth of
  two inches with the plants rooted in it. There is a great variety of
  aquatic plants that may be had at a cost of from 10 cents to half a
  dollar a bunch. Of them all fanwort is the most valuable. Hornwort,
  water starwort, tape grass, water poppy, willow moss, milfoil and
  a number of floating plants such as lemma, duckweed, salvinia,
  hydrocharis and hyacinth are among the most important varieties. If
  one has lived long enough on any water course in the country to know
  these plants, taking them from their native soil and transplanting
  them to the sand of the aquarium is a simple matter.

  “The most important occupants of the aquarium are the fish, and great
  care should be taken not to put in too many for the size of the tank.
  The basis of the balanced aquarium is one fish, say three inches in
  length, to each gallon of water. If your tank holds five gallons of
  water you could not make a well balanced aquarium by putting ten fish
  three inches long in it. If the fish are smaller the number to the
  gallon can be very greatly increased.

  “Gold fish or golden carp are the most popular stock for an aquarium,
  and the common varieties can be had for ten cents each. This price
  means the best fish of these varieties. If there is more money to
  be spent I would advise purchasing some of the really marvellously
  colored Japanese varieties.

  “These fish have wonderful flowing tails with colors that change
  as though by magic from week to week. In the case of the variety
  known as the telescope fish the color to begin with is velvety black
  and gradually becomes silvery, then white, and after three years a
  wonderful orange red. Nearly all varieties of goldfish are constantly
  changing their colors, which range from black to silver and many
  shades of amber and golden red.

  “There is an almost endless variety of these beautiful Japanese
  fish to choose from, the more common of which include the fantails,
  fringetails and comets. Good specimens of these varieties may be
  bought at from 25 cents to $5 each. The bulgy eyed telescope fish,
  the aristocrats of the aquarium world, will cost from $5 apiece up,
  according to size, color, shape and eyes.

  “In addition to the Japanese fish there are many other rare varieties
  suited to balanced aquariums. Among the most popular are the banded
  tench, the banded sunfish, the paradise fish, the bitterling and the
  golden tench. Besides these I have orders for many varieties of our
  own native waters.

  “Such orders usually come to me singly, and the one giving the order
  is quite willing to pay the cost of having his taste suited. These
  people, usually men, want an aquarium with the fish of their boyhood
  days. They candidly admit that they wish them as reminders of the
  happy days long past.

  “Where native fish are wanted I usually use sunfish, dace, catfish,
  minnows, sticklebacks, chub, mirror carp, rockfish, small eels,
  alligators, newts, frogs and turtles of all sizes and shapes and
  colors. I always when possible have a snail, tadpole or a few newts
  in my aquariums, as they are scavengers and will consume much of the
  decaying matter thrown off by the plants, besides preventing the
  green scum that will form in still bodies of water.

  “Beginners must be particular not to mix their fish indiscriminately.
  They must always remember that goldfish cannot live in peace with
  catfish, sunfish, eels, turtles, crawfish, rockfish or sticklebacks.
  If this rule is not observed, the goldfish will eventually lose the
  battle for life and be killed.

  “Goldfish if properly cared for live to a great age. There is an
  aquarium in Washington where the goldfish are known to be more than
  fifty years old.

  “Balanced salt water aquariums are as easily made and kept as those
  of fresh water. Of course they must be filled with sea water fresh
  from the sea and all the inhabitants must be the young of various sea
  creatures, such as crabs, starfish, shrimps, and anemones. The plant
  life also must be the varieties that flourish in the sea, and where
  possible I believe in taking the pebbles and sand from a sea washed
  beach.

  “Beginners must be careful about two points. First, in making
  aquariums they must not overcrowd them by trying to have too many
  fish for the volume of water. Second, they must not overfeed their
  pets. Failure to observe these two rules causes more trouble than all
  other points connected with the making and care of aquariums.

  “In a balanced aquarium the daily care consists in feeding the fish
  with prepared wafers, dried ants’ eggs, or fish food. Fish should
  never be fed more than they will eat up clean at the time.

  “Fortunately fish are subject to few diseases. The amateur has only
  to remember that salt water is the cure-all for sick fish. If a fish
  is out of health and the trouble is caused neither by overcrowding
  nor by overfeeding, a five minutes bath in salt water every day for
  a week will in nine cases out of ten restore it to its usual good
  health and spirits.

  “All that is necessary to catch the sick fish is a small net that can
  be conveniently handled in the aquarium. Though I have been making
  aquariums of different sorts ever since I was a small country girl, I
  still use a net and avoid touching the inmates with my hands unless
  it is positively necessary.

  “When I catch my own fish from their native waters I use a small net,
  very little larger than the one used in the aquariums, and a minnow
  bucket. These are my only tools.

  “I find a ready sale for all the aquariums I have time to make after
  filling my special orders. Of course there are seasons when the
  demand is more brisk than others. When those times come I always have
  a dozen aquariums on hand which I have stocked either for my own
  satisfaction or to try some new theory.”

The interview form may be combined with a character sketch and
biographical material in order to give the reader a glimpse of the
speaker’s personality as well as an account of his or her work. The
selection from the New York _Times_ given below is the first part
of a long article which is in the form of an interview after this
introduction:

  Even when Mrs. Alice Stebbins Wells fishes about in her bag and
  produces her policeman’s star for verification one can hardly
  believe that she is the famous first “policewoman” of Los Angeles.
  Scarcely five feet in height, slender, with a mild, almost timorous
  voice and a pair of very round blue eyes, Mrs. Wells presents an
  appearance about as formidable as that of a kitten. Yet she has been
  permanently appointed as a regular member of the police force of a
  city of 400,000, subject to the same regulations, vested with the
  same authority, and under civil service, as any male member of Los
  Angeles’ bluecoat squad. She makes arrests and prefers charges in the
  same way and with as much success as any policeman, and is a very
  substantial vindication of the power of personality in an institution
  where brute force and a six-foot stature have formerly been thought
  to be indispensable prerequisites. Here is what she says of a phase
  of police work:

  “And do I carry weapons? No, indeed. That is something which I do not
  feel called upon to do. I am very firmly convinced that under the
  right conditions a policeman would not have to carry a weapon at all.
  But before the policeman can give up his gun and his stick, weapons
  must not be sold indiscriminately to citizens. The only reason now
  that a policeman requires a weapon is because the other fellow may
  have one, and the law must enforce its demands against all objection.
  It is a very sad commentary on our civilization that guns and brass
  knuckles are displayed openly for sale, and that almost the only
  restriction in our most careful communities is a provision for a
  license, which is easily obtained.”

  Mrs. Wells is the first woman to be appointed to a police force
  in any city of the United States. The woman detective, the police
  matron, the probation officer, the district nurse, are all places
  which have been filled by women, and were of course the forerunners
  of the policewoman. But while they were vested with partial
  police authority their power was greatly restricted along certain
  well-defined lines, and they did not work in recognized co-operation
  with the police department.

  Before entering her work on the Los Angeles police force Mrs.
  Wells had been in active training as a social worker. The general
  attitude which she takes toward that stratum of society with which
  she comes most in contact is hinted at in her adaptation of the
  philanthropist’s, the cheery social worker’s, vocabulary. Mrs. Wells
  never resorts to the threadbare term of “uplift,” but puts in its
  place that rather more welcome “upbuilding.”

  Returning to California from social work in the East, Mrs. Wells
  entered upon a scientific study of crime. She became impressed with
  the importance of the police department in its capacity to prevent
  crime as well as to punish it, and was convinced of the need of
  women workers on the inside of the police department to strengthen
  the emphasis on the side of prevention. She set to work to obtain
  signatures to a petition for a woman police officer, which resulted
  very promptly in her appointment to the police force of Los Angeles,
  where she has been at work for the last three years.

  In addition to her regular police duties, Mrs. Wells conducts a
  bureau of information to which clubs and civic organizations which
  are working to obtain women on the police force of their home cities
  may apply. She is now on a six months’ leave of absence, not only to
  investigate conditions throughout the country, but to carry on her
  “campaign” for women police. She is speaking before city clubs and
  organizations of every sort, and is visiting the mayor and chief of
  police in every city.

  “I have spoken all the way across the continent and I shall speak all
  the way back. I realize that I am in a way doing propaganda work.
  When I applied for my appointment in Los Angeles I thought chiefly of
  the immediate work to be done right there by a woman. But when I was
  appointed, then came this—this terrifying publicity—and I realized
  what it meant.

  “I realized that I should have to stand behind a sort of ‘movement’
  for women in the police departments of other cities, just because I
  was the first in the field.”

Effective presentation of the life and the character of a man who has
“done things” is illustrated by the following “personality sketch” by
Mr. Brand Whitlock, published in the _American Magazine_, but equally
well adapted for newspaper publication:

  Those citizens of Ohio who a dozen years ago used to throng the
  big circus-tent in which Tom L. Johnson was then making his first
  campaigns in the country districts will recall the figure of the
  slender youth with the Grecian profile and the fair hair who used
  to stand there under the flaring light and speak of fundamental
  democracy. They, or those of them who were accessible to such
  impressions, caught something of the spirit of youthful idealism that
  was in the young man; if they did not, his presence and personality
  gave them reassurance, for attendance on one of Tom Johnson’s
  meetings in those days was, in Ohio, an enterprise to impart the
  thrill of a spicy and dangerous adventure. Time flies, and time has
  flown fast in this last decade, and the political ideas that Herbert
  S. Bigelow was helping Tom Johnson to disseminate, though they were
  flouted and scorned then as heretical, insane, and wicked, have since
  become, by the inevitable and monotonous operation of the universal
  law of progress, conventional, respectable, orthodox, and popular.

  Herbert Bigelow was then not many years out of Lane Theological
  Seminary—strange spectacle in Ohio, that of a minister addressing
  Democratic meetings!—and he was pastor of the Vine Street
  Congregational Church, in Cincinnati. Vine Street Congregational
  Church was in itself an instance of the operation of the old law.
  Before the Civil War it was a hotbed of abolition when abolition was
  unpopular and unorthodox even in Ohio, though everybody in Ohio is an
  abolitionist to-day, and, if he is old enough, claims to have been so
  then. But after the war the Vine Street Church became respectable,
  with a cold and formal atmosphere of black walnut and musty cushions
  of a magenta shade, and when Herbert Bigelow began to preach a
  somewhat too literal application of the social ethics of Jesus, not
  to Hankow or Kordofan, but to Cincinnati, there was a disconcerting
  rustle in the pews, the tendency of that doctrine being to decrease
  the revenues of the church in an inverse ratio to the increase in the
  number of human beings in the congregation.

  It is an interesting story, not to be told here in detail, of how
  Herbert Bigelow struggled, of how they tried to get him out of his
  pulpit, and of how he worked for a long time without salary, until
  Daniel Kiefer devised means of financing the institution, so that it
  lost its ecclesiastical atmosphere, became a People’s Church or forum
  for free speech, and moved into a theater where radicals preach their
  various and conflicting heresies on Sunday afternoons, after moving
  pictures have illustrated the progress of the species.

  Meanwhile Herbert Bigelow was increasingly prominent in political
  reform movement; he lectured everywhere, wrote articles for radical
  publications, organized the Ohio Direct Legislation League, and
  poured all his energy into the propaganda of the initiative and
  referendum. The privileged interests opposed him, of course, and
  still oppose him. One way they did it was to call him Reverend;
  whenever it was necessary to frighten “good” people, by holding
  up his image, they printed the Reverend with the subtle and
  sinister implication of quotation-marks; whenever it was necessary
  to influence “bad” people, printing the Reverend without the
  quotation-marks.

  But Herbert Bigelow was an idealist growing day by day more
  practical. He had had hard knocks in boyhood; he knew what it was
  to be poor; he had a love of his fellow man; he was saddened and
  appalled by the shadow of poverty everywhere, the shadow which so
  many are too blind to see, or too selfish and cowardly to admit. But
  this spirit of sympathy and of pity in him had been somehow ordered,
  organized, and made coherent by the philosophy of Henry George, and
  when that vision came to him, as does nearly every other who has a
  vision, he went to work for social justice.

  His great opportunity came when, last year, a convention was called
  to draft a new constitution for Ohio, and he set out to impress the
  people with the fact that it was their opportunity. He organized the
  Ohio Progressive Constitution League, with subsidiary leagues in
  every county; he worked all summer; and through that league, aided
  and inspired by what the lecturers call the Spirit of the Times, a
  majority of delegates elected to the convention were pledged to the
  principles of direct legislation.

  And for the first half of the year Mr. Bigelow was at Columbus,
  presiding over the constitutional convention as its president. At
  forty his figure is no longer slender; it has taken on the rotundity
  of the middle years; but as he sat there in gray tweeds, with the
  yellow hair hanging over his forehead, smiling, it must have been
  gratifying to him now and then to reflect that his old heresies had
  become so orthodox in his own time. The convention adopted articles
  providing for home rule for cities, for a license system to control
  the liquor traffic, for equal suffrage, for verdicts in civil cases
  by a three-fourths vote of the jury, for the welfare of labor, and,
  under Mr. Bigelow’s leadership, a clause adopting the initiative and
  referendum in the State. When the vote was taken, and Herbert Bigelow
  had the satisfaction of announcing the triumph of the principle he
  had so long advocated, it was a moment that all his friends were glad
  to have him experience. The irony in which the fates usually award
  their laurels was not wanting in that instance, for in the clause
  there is a proviso that the initiative and referendum shall not be
  used by the people to adopt the single tax, supposed, in Ohio, to
  be a method of despoiling farmers by taxing land according to its
  superficial area. But Herbert Bigelow, whom fate taught long ago,
  like Josh Whitcomb, to accommodate himself to circumstances and to
  take what he can get, smiles and is happy; and his friends are happy
  with him.


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Find the “human interest” in current events.

2. Notice the comedy and tragedy in life.

3. Look for good subjects for character sketches.

4. Look to future events as well as to current news for subjects for
   feature articles.

5. Jot down suggestions for feature articles.

6. File news clippings, statistics, and other material bearing on good
   subjects.

7. Write your feature article while it is new and timely.

8. Give your article timeliness by connecting it with topics of current
   interest.

9. Don’t forget that the story that touches the reader’s heart is the
   story he remembers.

10. Make your pathetic story simple and restrained.

11. Don’t confuse sentiment with sentimentality.

12. Avoid cheap humor and vulgar slang.

13. Don’t ridicule another’s religion, race, or nationality.

14. Make your explanation clear to a reader who knows nothing about the
    subject.

15. Use incidents, anecdotes, and concrete examples for clearness and
    interest.

16. Avoid technical and scientific terms.

17. Let your first sentence arouse interest and curiosity.


                             PRACTICE WORK

1. Write a humorous animal story based on the material in the following
   news story:

  Just because they thought an ostrich was a timid, harmless sort
  of creature, two men, one white and one black, were badly hurt at
  Mineola, Long Island, yesterday. Each of the men tried to catch and
  hold an ostrich at the Mineola Fair Grounds. The negro was kicked in
  the face, and landed about 20 feet from the bird; the white man was
  kicked in the chest and knocked down and had his clothes torn off him.

  The ostrich that did all the damage is named Fleetwing. He and
  another ostrich, named Fleetfoot, arrived from Florida in two
  crates yesterday morning. They were brought to Mineola to race on
  the fair grounds this week at the fair of the Queens-Nassau County
  Agricultural Society. The birds have been trained to run races and
  pull light sulkies to which they are harnessed.

  They are bad tempered, however, and are kept blindfolded frequently
  when they are not racing. A blindfolded ostrich is gentle as a lamb.

  The blinding hood slipped off the eyes of Fleetwing at the fair
  grounds yesterday morning and in an instant the big bird was out of
  its crate, which was not covered. It started off on a run, and about
  two hundred persons ran after it. There was a merry chase around and
  around the racing track, and finally the ostrich was cornered.

  A big negro looked at the ostrich and said:

  “I reckon there ain’t no chicken ever were raised that I couldn’t
  hold, boss. I’ll hold his laig, an’ then you grab his haid.”

  The negro wrapped his arms about one of Fleetwing’s legs and in a
  second was lifted into the air and landed about 20 feet away, with an
  ugly wound in the side of his face. Then Keeper Ford approached the
  ostrich from the front, and got an uppercut on his diaphragm, cutting
  his chest and tearing his clothes. Finally the ostrich was roped and
  recrated.

  “That ain’t no chicken,” said the negro as he watched these
  proceedings from a safe distance. “That there’s a two-laiged mule.”

2. Make a more entertaining “Zoo” story out of the facts in the
   following article:

  The Chinese wildcat in the Central Park Zoo has received a new lease
  of life, according to the keepers there, and a graphophone may be
  used now to make life seem more worth while to him. If this plan is
  adopted one of the machines will collect sounds in Mott Street that
  are expected to help to cure the cat’s recurrent fits of nostalgia,
  which is the dictionary name for homesickness.

  There is a box nailed to the wall by the side of the quarters of the
  lady hippopotamus and her young son, and on a shelf of this lies all
  day long a slim and long-bodied little animal with green eyes and a
  sweeping tail. The yellow sign says that it is a “Felis Chinensis.”
  He may take exercise at night, but all day he is motionless, still,
  apparently melancholy, noticing nothing.

  He is in surroundings that offer little congeniality. The lady hippo
  and her young son are out of his class. The capybara not only is from
  South America, but is like a rat magnified some two hundred times.
  The lions across the aisle are from climes unknown to the Chinese
  wildcat. Practically everything in the Central Park Zoo has long
  ago learned how to eat peanuts, and has thus become more or less
  Americanized. The Felis Chinensis will not have peanuts.

  Last week a couple of Chinamen, rare visitors at the Zoo, strayed
  into the lion house, stopping before the home of the wildcat. The
  minute he heard their talk he jumped from his shelf and began purring
  and rubbing himself against the side of his box. He played ball with
  a chicken bone on the floor, and had a good time. The uplift he got
  from this rode him along joyously for two days afterward.

  And there is a plan on foot, say the keepers, to collect Mott Street
  sounds in a graphophone for the Felis Chinensis, if more laundrymen
  don’t visit the Zoo. There is some apprehension, however, as to how
  the lions and the tiger will take the graphophone.

3. Use the facts in the following clipping as the basis for an amusing
   hunting story:

  A rabbit that residents of Sayville, L. I., declare plays on the
  piano has taken possession of a big house near Oakland, owned by
  Alexander H. Hunter. Mr. Hunter and his family are in Europe, and
  until they return bunny will lord it over parlor and pantry.

  The rabbit didn’t go into the house because it wanted to. It was
  chased there by men with guns and dogs intent on taking its life, and
  the rabbit, unwilling to yield itself up for stew, bolted into the
  Hunter house via a drain pipe.

  This was the way of it:

  Herman Schmidt and a friend went out with dogs and guns yesterday for
  a hunt, and the hounds soon started the particular Br’er Rabbit who
  is making faces at the hunters from the front window of the Hunter
  place. When the dogs got close Br’er Rabbit didn’t hesitate. He laid
  his ears back and was away like a streak, with dogs and men in hot
  pursuit.

  Toward the Hunter home ran the hunted and hunters, and it looked as
  if Schmidt would have a rabbit stew for supper. But the hunters had
  not calculated on a drain pipe which stuck out of the ground about
  150 yards from the house, and great was their chagrin when cunning
  Br’er Rabbit whisked into it and disappeared.

  Now that pipe leads right into the Hunter house, and pretty soon the
  hunters saw bunny at one of the windows. When they approached he
  retreated to the piano and kept running back and forth over the keys,
  making soft music.

  There is no caretaker in the house, and the possibility of the damage
  that the rabbit will do, for which the hunters may have to pay, is
  appalling.

  On the other hand, the rabbit may have to come out of the house to
  get something to eat. If he does he will get a warm reception at the
  end of the drain pipe. A couple of dogs are lurking about there. They
  tried hard to get into the pipe but they were too wide.

4. Write a pathetic story, using the particulars given in the following
   narrative:

  Dog Catcher Larson visited the Home for the Friendless with his
  little blue wagon Thursday afternoon, and he left behind him one
  hundred little tots with saddened hearts and cheeks that burned with
  scalding tears.

  The bewhiskered dog catcher is no respecter of persons or of
  dogs. The high and low are the same to him, and he recognizes
  no distinction between the poodle and the fice. And so Thursday
  afternoon he gathered in the little pet of the children of the Home
  of the Friendless.

  True, it was the pet of these little unfortunates. True, that they
  had raised this little dog, and that now it was only seven months
  old—not old enough to know about Atlanta’s dog law. Still, Jerry had
  no tag, and tagless Jerry therefore must take his place in the blue
  wagon and must await his turn to be ducked to death.

  The children had no money and so could not pay the dollar for the
  tag. Now that the dog was arrested, still less did they have the
  $2.25 necessary to save him from a watery grave.

  One and all they went to bed with heavy hearts, and as they knelt
  down beside their beds they did not forget to put in a word for “Poor
  Jerry!”

  Friday morning the pangs of sorrow were too great, and their grief
  burst forth in wails. Jerry had been a companion to them, a faithful
  friend and a source of solace and comfort. He had never deserted
  them—and then Jerry was theirs, had been fed by them, raised by them,
  taught by them.

  They knew it was not their fault he had not been tagged, and also
  they knew that Jerry was not to blame. And so they appealed to the
  superintendent. They begged, pleaded, cried. Nothing would suffice
  but the restoration of their fice.

  The superintendent appealed to the mayor, the mayor to the probation
  officer, and now the probation officer is trying to touch the heart
  of the dog catcher.

  All of the children are writing letters to city officials. “The cook
  got mad with Jerry,” writes little Ruth Wilson, “because he stole two
  of Mother Henry’s chickens, but Jerry didn’t mean any harm. Cook gave
  the dog to the dog catcher. We have got all the cats we want, but
  only one little dog—and that is Jerry. Please give him back to us,
  for we love him very much.”

5. With the facts given in the news story below as a basis, write a
   pathetic feature story.

  Moving pictures inspired ten boys to “lynch” Harry Werner, their
  9-year-old playmate, in Glencoe yesterday. So serious are his
  injuries that he may be crippled for life.

  It was a “wild west” picture, absurd to the practical mind in its
  unrealities, that gave the boys their idea.

  They saw in the flickering pictures a score of “cowboys,” their
  revolvers strapped on the wrong side, while they mounted their horses
  also from the wrong side, and rode with the grace and skill of wooden
  Indians.

  The boys did not notice these details. They saw only the rakishness
  and swaggering daredeviltry. They applauded vociferously the
  “stringing-up” of the actor-cowboy.

  “Let’s play wild west,” one 10-year-old enthusiast proposed after the
  show. The vote was unanimous.

  Wooden revolvers were fashioned. Fathers’ discarded hats took the
  place of sombréros. Broom sticks served as prancing bronchos.

  “Who’ll we lynch?” one asked. Harry Werner was selected. His dark
  hair and eyes led to his unwilling selection by them for the rôle of
  “villain.”

  They tied a clothes-line under his arms and threw the rope over a
  branch of a tree. Whooping madly, in true moving-picture-wild-west
  fashion, they pulled him up until his feet were far from the ground.

  The thin rope cut into his tender flesh. He struggled and implored
  his comrades to let him down. His pleas brought renewed whoops. Had
  not the “villain” in the moving-picture struggled and cried for mercy?

  For half an hour they kept him there. Then they cut the rope and let
  his body fall to the ground. Their childish eyes did not see that he
  was unconscious. They seized the rope and dragged him for several
  minutes, leaving him on the ground to find his way home alone.

  Physicians who examined him declared that he may be disabled
  permanently.

6. Rewrite the following humorous story, making it more effective in
   every way possible.

  Tommy is a hero to-day. All his playmates that live on Greene
  street, near Wolcott avenue, are envious, and speak to him in awed
  whispers, for did he not go to hunt a Saracen and return covered with
  bean-juice and glory? All their mothers, too, are keeping a sharp
  watch on the family crockery.

  This is how it happened:

  Papa Devine had told Tommy about a lot of men who called themselves
  Crusaders, who went to lick a lot of other chaps known as Saracens.
  And when papa told him how the Crusaders wore armor plates on their
  chests and backs and arms and legs and big helmets on their heads,
  Tommy decided that he would take a crack at the Saracens himself.

  When Papa Devine went out, and Mamma Devine was busy upstairs, Tommy
  thought it would be a good time to start on his crusade.

  Going into the kitchen, he tied a frying pan about his neck so that
  it hung down over his stomach, strung the lid of the clothes boiler
  over his back, and then sought a helmet that would resist the swords
  and battle-axes of the enemy.

  As he pondered he sniffed the air. Then a bright idea came.
  Cautiously he opened the stove door. Mamma Devine was cooking beans à
  la Boston and Tommy Devine drew forth a big round stone pot full of
  the delicious fruit. Carefully he emptied the contents into the sink
  and thrust the pot on his head.

  The bean juice ran down into his eyes and ears, but that
  didn’t matter—he was going to hunt Saracens. Then the pot felt
  uncomfortable, and Tommy decided to take it off and refit it to his
  head.

  Horrors! The pot would not budge. It was stuck on his head. Pull as
  he might he could not get it off. He sat down in the corner to plan
  a campaign of action, and consoled himself with licking the dripping
  bean treacle from his nose end. That got tiresome after a while, so
  Tommy sought his mother.

  Mrs. Devine scolded over the lost beans at first, and then tried
  to remove the pot, but she, too, was unsuccessful. Then she became
  alarmed. In desperation she started for the doctor’s with the pot
  still on Tommy’s head, the pans jangling around his neck, and the
  bean juice running down his back.

  Passengers in the street car dropped their papers in amazement, for
  they did not know that Tommy was a crusader, while Mrs. Devine
  looked out of the window and tried to make it appear that crusading
  was an every day affair.

  But Tommy’s tears and wails attracted the attention of an old man. He
  stopped the car and called the motorman, who came with his controller
  handle in his hand.

  “Crack the blamed thing off,” ordered the old man.

  The motorman cracked, and off fell the jar. Tommy set up a whoop of
  joy, and Mrs. Devine hurried home to give the erstwhile crusader a
  bath—and a spanking.




                              CHAPTER X

                             EDITING COPY


=What Copy-Reading Means.= All news stories, whether written by
reporters, sent through the mail by correspondents, or received by
telegraph or telephone, must be read and edited before they are set up
in type. This work is done either by the editor in whose department
the news belongs or by a copy-reader. The reading and editing of copy
consists of:

 (1) Correcting all errors whether in expression or in fact.
 (2) Making the story conform to the so-called “style” of the newspaper.
 (3) Improving the story in any respect.
 (4) Eliminating libelous matter.
 (5) Marking copy for the printer.
 (6) Writing headlines and subheads.

The good copy-reader must be able to catch instantly, and correct
quickly, errors of all kinds. Good copy, or “clean copy,” as it
is called, should be free from mistakes in spelling, grammar, and
rhetoric; but rapid writing too often leads to carelessness, and the
copy-reader’s work is correspondingly increased by the necessity of
doing what the writer has neglected to do. The correction of such
errors, however, is not the most important part of his work. He must
be able to detect and correct errors of fact. As every art, science,
business, occupation, sport, recreation,—in short, every form of
activity, is the subject of news, the copy-reader should be able to
pass intelligent judgment on the accuracy of stories written about
these various activities. He must also be familiar with proper names
that appear in the news, such as names of prominent persons and places
the world over, the titles of well-known books, plays, pictures,
and musical compositions, the names of railroads and important
corporations, and special trade-mark names. To no one in the newspaper
office and to few outside of it, can the words of Terence more truly be
applied than to the copy-reader, _humani nihil a me alienum puto_, “I
consider nothing human to be outside of my sphere.”

Like the good reporter, the copy-reader must be an accurate judge of
news values. He must be able to see the significance of the news in the
story. He must be able to decide how much space it is worth. If the
real point of the news has been buried by the writer, the copy-reader
must get it out and give it the prominence that it deserves. The
ineffective lead must be rewritten, the needless details cut out, and
the parts of the story rearranged for the best effect.

To improve the style of the story, he must consider carefully the
construction of paragraphs and sentences, the choice of words and
figures. Each paragraph should be given an effective beginning that
will catch the reader’s eye in rapid reading. Close connection should
be maintained between the sentences in the paragraph. The copy-reader
must transform the weak, rambling sentence into a firm, coherent
statement with an emphatic beginning. For the trite, colorless word
or phrase, he must substitute the fresh, picturesque one. The too
figurative flights of exuberant fancy in one young reporter’s copy
must be toned down, and the bald, prosaic narrative or description in
another’s given life and interest. In short, the copy-reader’s work is
constructive as well as critical; it is as important for him to rewrite
and rearrange as to cut out and boil down.

The responsibility of determining whether or not any statements or
implications of the story as written are libelous also rests upon
the copy-reader. He must know the law of libel, therefore, as it is
construed in his state, and must prevent violations of it in the matter
that he edits. Less often he is called upon to decide whether or not
anything in the news story violates laws regulating the transmission of
printed matter through the mail. Whenever the copy-reader is uncertain
on any important point involving the management of the newspaper, he
refers the question to his superiors.

=Some Common Errors.= In reading copy rapidly the beginner will do well
to be on the lookout for certain kinds of common errors in spelling,
grammar, and punctuation. The quick eye of the copy-reader will catch
the frequently misspelled words without difficulty, but uncommon proper
names are more likely to cause trouble, and in cases of doubt, books
of reference should be consulted. To prevent errors in grammar from
slipping through in a story, the copy-reader should note such points as
(1) the agreement of the verb with the subject, particularly when they
are separated from each other by words or phrases; (2) the relation
of pronouns to their antecedents; (3) the position of participles in
relation to the words that they modify; (4) the use of coördinate
conjunctions to connect elements of the same kind; (5) the position
of correlative conjunctions with relation to the elements that they
connect.

In punctuation, not infrequent errors are (1) the use of a comma
instead of a semicolon to separate independent, grammatically
unconnected statements; (2) the omission of apostrophes in the
possessive case and in contractions; (3) the omission of a period
after abbreviations; (4) the use of double instead of single quotation
marks; (5) the failure to put quotation marks at the beginning of each
paragraph of a continuous quotation and at the end of only the last
paragraph.

=Following the “Style Book.”= As each newspaper has its peculiar
“style,” so-called, the copy-reader must learn the rules set forth in
the “style book” which his newspaper prints for the guidance of its
reporters, editors, copy-readers, and compositors. These rules have to
do with capitalization, abbreviation, hyphenation, punctuation, use of
numerical figures, and also with the use of certain words and phrases.
The form and size of each kind of headline and the number or letter by
which it is to be designated in the copy, are sometimes included in the
style book. Every newspaper office has its own method of designating
the heads, either by number or letter, whether or not the method is
printed in the style book. Almost every style book has a long or
short list of “Don’ts,” which includes common errors to be avoided
and frequently those words and phrases that are pet aversions of the
editor-in-chief or of the managing editor.

=How the Copy-Reader Works.= In all this work of the copy-reader the
important element is speed. Every minute is valuable in the newspaper
office, and only those who can work rapidly as well as accurately
can expect to hold a position long. To rearrange, to reconstruct,
to correct, rather than to rewrite, and to do this quickly and
skillfully, is the real work of the copy-reader. To putter over details
is an inexcusable fault. The combination of speed and accuracy in a
copy-reader is the ideal of the editor.

On large newspapers under the plan of having all news copy read at one
desk by copy-readers under the direction of a head copy-reader, every
news story goes to the head copy-reader, who, after deciding on its
value, determines how much space it is worth and what size head it
shall have. Before passing the story over to one of the copy-readers,
the head reader gives it a catch-line, or “slugs” it, to indicate its
character and to serve as a means of identification. He also indicates
by means of a number the size of head to be written for it; for
example, “No. 1 Wreck” indicates the name of the story and the style of
head.

If the copy is being read page by page as fast as it is written rather
than after the whole story is completed, the guide or catch-line may
be repeated at the top of each page, thus “4 Storm,” which means that
this is page 4 of the storm story. The head copy-reader also keeps a
record of all copy that passes through his hands, the entries in which
may be something like this, “Walters—Wreck—500—No. 1—11.15 A.M.—more,”
which means that from one of the members of the staff named Walters,
he received a story of a wreck that contained about 500 words; that he
gave it a No. 1 head; that it went to the composing room to be set up
in type at 11.15 A.M.; and that more of the story is to follow.

When the head copy-reader passes over the story to the copy-reader who
is to edit it, he may give verbal directions in regard to cutting it
down, “playing up” important facts buried by the writer, or improving
the form or expression as he thinks best; or he may leave all these
details to the discretion of the copy-reader. The latter begins to
correct and improve the story as soon as he has finished the piece of
work that he has in hand. It is not unusual during the rush hours when
time is very valuable to send stories to the copy desk as each page
is written, and as the page is edited, to send it up to the composing
room to be put into type, without waiting for the complete story. Under
these circumstances a copy-reader is often editing alternate pages of
several entirely different stories, all the details of which he must
carry in mind in order to handle them intelligently and to write a
complete and accurate headline if, as is sometimes the case, this is
written only after the last page of copy on the story has been read.

=Use of Guide Lines.= Catch-lines, such as “Society,” “State,” “Sport,”
aid in assembling news that is to go on one page or in one department.
When several independent stories, each with a separate head, are to
be assembled so that one will follow the other, the catch-lines may
indicate this thus: “Lead Convention,” “Follow Convention,” “First
Follow Convention,” “Second Follow Convention,” etc. In making up a
report of a state or national political convention, these catch-lines
are of considerable assistance. When, on the other hand, copy is being
edited that is to follow immediately upon the lead or any part of the
story without a separate head, the copy is marked “Add Convention,”
“First Add Convention,” “Second Add Convention,” etc.

Not infrequently after the story has gone to the composing room new
facts of sufficient importance develop to warrant the writing of a
new lead or of a new paragraph or two to be inserted somewhere in
the story. In the case of a new lead the copy is marked “New Lead
Convention,” and the copy of the inserts is marked “First Insert
Convention” or “Insert A Convention.” Whenever it is known in advance
that there are to be additions to the story later, the copy-reader
writes “more” at the end of the piece of copy, instead of the end mark
(#). If the head is not sent to the composing room with the copy, the
copy is marked “Head to Come.” This is often done when it is known that
important news is coming that should be embodied in the head. If this
later news is to be put into the lead, the story may be sent up without
a lead and with the explanation “Lead to Come.” Stories to be used in
a particular edition are marked “Noon Edition,” “Market Edition,” etc.
All these catch-lines should be taken out when the type is assembled in
the forms in making up.

The typewritten copy of telegraph news furnished by news distributing
agencies like the Associated Press and the United Press has guide lines
on stories for the benefit of the editors whenever such explanatory
matter is necessary. In order to keep their newspaper clients informed
of the latest phases of the news, these associations send brief
bulletins and “flash” statements, which they follow with more complete
stories as the news develops. The first news of an accident, for
example, comes as a bulletin, and later more details are furnished in
one or more additions to the original bulletin or in substitution for
it. The following example taken from the United Press telegraph news
service illustrates how news stories, the parts of which are furnished
at intervals during the day, are supplied with guide lines:

                                  (1)
  BULLETIN
   Norfolk, Va., Nov. 2.—Six men have been reported injured, two
  probably fatally, in an explosion on the battleship Vermont, early
  today.
                                ———————

                                  (2)
  (ADD BULLETIN ... NORFOLK)
   The Vermont is now in Hampton Roads and only meagre details of
  the reported accident were received by the navy yard here. It was
  understood that the explosion occurred in the boiler room of the
  vessel.
                                ———————

                                  (3)
  (SUBSTITUTE)
   Norfolk, Va., Nov. 2.—In an explosion in the boiler room of the
  battleship Vermont last night, six men were scalded, two receiving
  possibly fatal injuries. While the ship was cruising a short distance
  off the capes which form the entrance to Hampton Roads, a part of the
  boiler burst, filling the engine room with scalding water and steam.
  Captain Hughes immediately sent a wireless message to the hospital
  ship Solace and the wounded men were transferred at sea to that
  vessel, which brought them to the Norfolk hospital to-day.

   The injured men are:

   R. M. Wagner, fireman second class.
   M. C. Horan, coal passer.
   J. R. Newberry, fireman first class.
   M. T. Green, fireman first class.
   C. A. Hoteling, coal passer.
   P. W. Cramer, coal passer.
  (MORE)
                                ———————

                                  (4)

  (ADD ACCIDENT VERMONT ... NORFOLK)
   The accident occurred while the Vermont was anchored off the southern
  battlefield drill grounds, where the annual fall target practice
  began today. The head of the boiler burst and a torrent of boiling
  water and steam poured out over the firemen and coal passers. Wagner
  and Haran (correct) who were nearest the boiler head, were the
  most seriously injured, both being scalded from head to foot. The
  hospital ship Solace asked that the navy hospital here make ready
  for the injured men and said that she expected to reach Norfolk this
  afternoon. It was reported, but without confirmation, that Haran had
  died of his injuries.
                                ———————

                                  (5)

  BULLETIN
  (LEAD)
   Norfolk, Va., Nov. 2.—Two men are dead and four others this afternoon
  lie swathed in bandages suffering terribly from scalds, as a result
  of a boiler explosion on the battleship Vermont early today. R. M.
  Wagner, a fireman, first class, and M. C. Haran, a coal passer, are
  the dead.

   The hospital ship Solace brought the dead and wounded to the naval
  hospital here today. The Vermont broke all her former speed records
  in a run
  (MORE)
                                ———————

                                  (6)

  (ADD BULLETIN LEAD ... NORFOLK)
  in a run from the southern drill grounds, outside the capes, to
  Hampton Roads, arriving here late this afternoon.

   Wagner and Haran both died on the Solace, suffering terribly from the
  scalds that covered them from head to foot.
                                ———————

                                  (1)

  FLASH: Salem, Mass., Nov. 26.—Ettor, Giovannitti, and Caruso
  acquitted.

                                  (2)

  BULLETIN: SUBSTITUTE FLASH ALL
   Court House, Salem, Mass., Nov. 26.—Ettor, Giovannitti and Caruso,
  the three labor leaders who have been on trial nearly two months
  charged with murder as the result of the killing of a woman striker
  during the textile troubles at Lawrence, were acquitted to-day
  (MORE)

=Sizes and Kinds of Type.= Editors and copy-readers need some knowledge
of type in order to do their work efficiently. The size of type
is measured by the point system. The unit of measure, a point, is
one seventy-second of an inch. Six-point type, accordingly, is six
seventy-seconds of an inch, 10-point is ten seventy-seconds of an inch,
and 36-point is thirty-six seventy-seconds, or one half, of an inch
in size. Before the point system was adopted, each size of type had a
name, and these names are still in common use. Thus, 5½-point type is
known as agate, 6-point as nonpareil, 7-point as minion, 8-point as
brevier, 9-point as bourgeois, 10-point as long primer, and 12-point
as pica. Nonpareil, or 6-point, is the size commonly used by large
newspapers, and minion and brevier by smaller papers.

Type is classified as body type and display type. Body type is that
which is used in newspapers for all reading matter; display type is the
large sizes, or “faces,” of type used in headlines and in advertising.
As distinguished from the light-face body type, the heavy faces,
that print blacker than the body type, are known as bold-face type
(abbreviated, “b.f.”). Thus the boxed summaries and lists on pages
86–88 were marked to be set in 6-point bold-face type (abbreviated,
“6-pt. b.f.”).

Type is further classified on the basis of the proportion of the height
of the letter to its width, as extra-condensed, condensed, regular or
medium, and extended. Extra-condensed and condensed faces are used in
the top deck of large headlines, and medium, or regular, faces are
usually used for banner heads extending across the page, as well as in
underline and overline heads for cuts. As distinct from slanting or
Italic type, the usual perpendicular type is called Roman.

Different kinds, or faces, of type are given names by type founders,
such as “Caslon,” “Cheltenham,” “De Vinne,” “Ronaldson.” Each kind or
face is generally made in different sizes, body sizes commonly ranging
from 5½-point to 12-point, and display type from 8-point to 120-point.

A “font” of type of a particular size and kind consists of a complete
set of letters, figures, etc., each character being furnished in
numbers proportional to the frequency with which it appears in ordinary
printed matter. Type is kept in shallow wooden trays, or “cases,”
divided into compartments, or “boxes,” one for each character. Capital
letters (abbreviated “caps.”) are often called “upper case,” and small
letters are always known as “lower case” (abbreviated “l. c.”), because
the capital letters are in the upper of the two type cases and the
small letters in the lower one.

The amount of type set is measured by the number of “ems” (from the
letter “M”). An “em” is a square of a given size of type; i.e., an
em in 8-point type is eight seventy-seconds of an inch square. The
standard unit of measure for type matter is usually the 12-point, or
pica, em. A column of a newspaper that is thirteen ems wide, therefore,
is thirteen 12-point ems, or thirteen picas, in width; i.e., it is one
hundred and fifty-six seventy-seconds of an inch, or two and one sixth
inches wide. Advertising space is measured by the so-called “agate
line,” on the basis of fourteen agate lines to one inch.

In setting type by hand, the compositor has a small metal tray, or
“stick,” inclosed on three sides and adjusted to the width of a column
or a line, into which he places the type, letter by letter, as he picks
it out of the case before him. As a stick holds about two inches of
type, a “stickful” has come to be a common expression for about two
or two and one half inches of printed matter. A news story is spoken
of by editors and compositors as being two or three “stickfuls” long,
and an editor often tells a reporter to “write a stickful or two” on
a particular story, or directs a copy-reader to “cut it down to a
stickful.”

Type is “leaded” when thin strips of lead or brass are placed between
the lines, these “leads” being two points in thickness. When two
of these 2-point leads are placed between the lines, the type is
“double-leaded.” If no leads are used, the type is said to be “solid.”
The first paragraphs of news stories are often leaded, and very
important news, particularly short bulletins for extra editions, are
frequently double-leaded. In most parts of a newspaper, however, the
type is solid. All type and cuts are made of the same height—that is,
they are “type-high”—so that when used together they will present an
even surface for printing and stereotyping.

=Marks Used in Copy Reading.= The marks used in editing copy are a few
simple time-saving devices to indicate to the compositor how the matter
is to be set in type. They are as follows:

  [Illustration: Three short lines under a letter or word indicate that
  it is to be set in capital letters.]

  [Illustration: Two short lines under a letter or word indicate that
  it is to be set in small caps.]

  [Illustration: One line under a letter or word indicates that it is
  to be set in Italics.]

  [Illustration: A circle around figures or abbreviations indicates
  that they are to be spelled out.]

  [Illustration: A circle around a word or numbers spelled out
  indicates that they are to be abbreviated or figures used.]

  [Illustration: A caret is placed at the point in the line where the
  words written above the line are to be inserted.]

  [Illustration: The paragraph mark (¶) or the sign ⅃ is placed at
  the beginning of each paragraph.]

  [Illustration: A cross (×) is used for a period.]

  [Illustration: Quotation marks are often put in half circles to
  indicate clearly whether they are beginning or end marks.]

                 Elements to be transposed are marked thus:
                                              [Illustration]

                 A line is used to connect the end of one line with
                 the beginning of another when both are to form a
                 continuous line of  print.

                 The end mark (#) or the number 30 in a circle is
                 written at the end of every complete piece of copy.

The application of these marks and the catch-lines in the editing of
copy are shown by the following typical pages:

  [Illustration:]

  [Illustration:]


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Familiarize yourself thoroughly with all details of the
   typographical style of your paper.

2. Read every word of copy carefully.

3. Work as rapidly as is consistent with accuracy; don’t putter over
   corrections.

4. Make all corrections and changes so clear that the compositor can
   not misunderstand them.

5. Revise and rearrange whenever possible instead of rewriting.

6. Cut out all needless words and phrases.

7. Don’t think that your own way of expressing an idea is the only good
   way.

8. Scrutinize carefully all participles, pronouns, conjunctions,
   correlatives, and “only’s.”

9. Watch for the omission of the apostrophe in possessives and
   contractions.

10. See that all quoted matter is properly enclosed in “quotes.”

11. Be sure to put single “quotes” on quotations within quotations.

12. Verify names, initials, addresses, dates, and facts generally.

13. Be on the lookout for libelous matter.

14. Give every story a distinctive guide line.

15. Don’t confuse “add’s” and “follow’s” in marking copy.

16. Keep a record of all copy read with size of head, length of story,
    author, and time.

17. Draw a line around all directions intended for the compositors.

18. Consult your superior when in doubt about the propriety of anything
    in copy.


                             PRACTICE WORK

Point out all changes that should be made in editing the following
piece of copy and show how each change should be indicated:

  Washington, D. C. August 21—

           According to a statement issued here to day by the treasury
  department the first deposits of the Governments fifty million dollar
  fund to aid crop movements will be made in the Southern States in
  Aug. and Sept. All deposits in all states, declares William B.
  MacAdoo, secretary of the Treasury and who orginated the plan of
  assisting banks of the South and West, will be made in 2 equal
  allottments. He outlined the Treasury Department’s requirements for
  security in to-days statement

   While all deposits may be recalled without notice the treasury
  expects to recall 25 per centum Dec. 15th, another 25 per centum on
  Jan. 15th, another February 15 and the final portion on March 1. The
  banks will pay two per cent. interest and all expenses

   Secretary McAdoo’s statement says the government expect by making
  the deposits in National Banks in principle cities the funds will
  be used in good faith for releiving stringancy and not to speculate
  with and that it will be distributed to smaller banks at moderate and
  reasonable interest. Deposits only will be placed with banks who have
  forty per cent of their circulation of banknotes out standing.

   10 per cent of the security must be in Government Bonds and the
  remaining 90 per cent. may be high class state, municipal and other
  bonds at 75 per cent of their market value and approved by the
  secretary. Prime commercial or business paper will be excepted at 65
  per cent. of their face value when indorsed by the bank, approved by
  the Secretary and unanimously approved by a “securities committee”
  of 6 members in the clearing house district in which it comes. The
  secretary of the treasury will name one member of each comittee.
  Commercial paper the statement point out must represent legitinate
  commercial transactions preferably endorsed with two names and
  the borrowing bank but single name paper will be accepted in the
  judgement of the Treasury.

   Any of the banks may return the deposits at any time before Mar. 1.

   The Secretary’s statement of to day outlined many details which are
  chiefly of interest to bankers concerned.




                              CHAPTER XI

                       THE WRITING OF HEADLINES


=The Function of the Headline.= Headlines as developed by the American
press during the last half-century have come to be, next to the news
itself, the most important part of our newspapers. From mere labels to
indicate the kind of reading matter to be found in the columns under
them, headlines in this country have developed into bulletins giving
the substance of the articles to which they are attached. By presenting
conspicuously in large type the important facts of the story which
it precedes, the headline serves a double purpose: it makes possible
rapid reading of the news thus outlined in the head, and it becomes an
advertisement of the news to attract the purchaser.

=Heads Promote Rapid Reading.= As concise summaries of the facts of the
news, headlines fill an important place in contemporary American life,
for, by reading only the headlines, the busy man or woman can get in
brief outline the news of the whole world. The size of the type and
the arrangement of the parts of the headline aid in a marked degree
this rapid reading. Well-written heads that give clearly and accurately
the information of greatest significance in the stories under them are
an integral part of the newspaper, the function of which, as has been
said, is to give the readers in a clear and interesting form the news
of the day.

=How Heads Advertise News.= By their form and position, likewise, the
headlines act as advertisements for what the paper contains. Like all
good advertisements, headlines should create interest and lead to
the sale of the paper. By arousing the reader’s curiosity and at the
same time partially satisfying it, the head, when skillfully written,
attracts the reader’s attention and influences him to read the story.

A newspaper that aims to have large street sales will naturally take
advantage of the advertising element in the heads, by making them as
attractive as possible. In fact, the efforts of some newspapers of this
class to make the most powerful appeal possible, have led to extreme
forms of headlines with great black type and with varicolored effects.
In general, morning papers and evening papers with regular subscribers
are less inclined to employ large heads for advertising their news than
are those evening papers with several street editions that seek to have
large sales. Large heads extending across several columns and printed
in green, red, or black ink set forth the latest phases of the news in
a manner well calculated to catch the eye as the paper is displayed on
the news stand or in the hands of the newsboy. As in advertising in
general there is always a temptation to make alluring statements at the
expense of truth, so in headline advertisement there is a tendency to
exaggerate and magnify in order to catch the unwary reader.

=Large Heads and “Yellow Journalism.”= Since the more sensational
papers have taken advantage of this advertising element and have
yielded at times to the temptation to exaggerate or even to
misrepresent, as is not unheard of in advertising generally, large
display effects in headlines have come to be associated in the popular
mind with so-called “yellow journalism.” The connection between the
two is by no means inevitable, however, for large headlines need not
be any more sensational or inaccurate than smaller ones, and may
legitimately be used to attract attention to the real features of the
news. Conservative papers that do not depend to any considerable extent
on street sales tend to keep up the smaller headlines long used in
American newspapers, which, while giving the substance of the news in
outline, do not attempt to advertise prominently the contents.

=Clearness and Conciseness.= Regarded as a bulletin of the most
important facts in the news, the headline should present these facts
in a clear and concise manner. To be clear the form should be one that
can be taken in by the eye at a glance. The relation of the divisions,
or “decks,” of the head should be evident, so that the reader may get a
clear idea of the bearing of one statement on another. The statements
should be concrete and specific. The limitations of space make it
necessary for the headline to be concise so that the maximum number of
important facts may be included.

=Action in Headlines.= As news is largely concerned with activities,
headlines should express the action related in the news story. In
defining oratory Demosthenes said that the three essential elements
are: first, “action”; second, “action”; and third, “action.” The same
characteristics may well be ascribed to the most effective headlines.
Life and vividness of expression give interest to heads as they do
to the news story. Freshness and originality of phrasing are also
successful provided the uncommon form is clear. Short, crisp, specific
words constituting definite statements that can be readily grasped in
rapid reading, generally make the best headlines.

=Headlines are Impartial.= Headlines, like the news stories of which
they are summaries, should be impartial. It is possible to “color”
headlines so that they give a false impression of the news in the
stories to which they are attached. The reader tends to carry over into
the news story the impression which he gets from the headline, and a
“colored” head, therefore, tends to “color” even an impartial, accurate
news story. Headlines likewise should not comment on the news; comments
on the news should be made in the editorial columns.

=Divisions of Headlines.= The headline is composed of one or more
divisions called “lines,” “decks,” or “banks.” These divisions are
separated by dashes and are frequently different in form and in size of
type. In the following head, each deck has a distinct form and size of
type.

    3-part              |ONE GIRL’S ACT     |
   drop-line            |  PREVENTS 60,000  |
                        |      FROM  WORKING|
      ———                      ———————

     3-part       |She Refuses to Join the Union and|
    pyramid       |   Every Mill Owner is Against   |
     “bank”       |           Closed Shop           |
      ———                      ———————

   cross-line          |WEEKLY LOSS $2,500,000|
      ———                      ———————

                 |Says She  Quit  Organized Labor Be-|
 4-part hanging  |   cause She Does Not Believe In It|
   indention     |   and Declares She Will Not Return|
                 |   Despite All Threats.            |

Headlines are constructed on the basis of the four forms that appear
in the above example, which may be called respectively, (1) the
drop-line; (2) the pyramid; (3) the cross-line; and (4) the hanging
indention. Graphically these forms may be represented thus:

                                  (1)

               |               Drop-line                |
               |——————————————————————————————          |
               |          ——————————————————————————————|


                                  (2)

               |                Pyramid                 |
               |————————————————————————————————————————|
               |   ——————————————————————————————————   |
               |      ————————————————————————————      |


                                  (3)

               |               Cross-line               |
               |————————————————————————————————————————|


                                  (4)

               |           Hanging indention            |
               |————————————————————————————————————————|
               |      ——————————————————————————————————|
               |      ——————————————————————————————————|
               |      ——————————————————————————————————|

=Drop-Line Heads.= The drop-line head may consist of two, three, or
four parts arranged as in the following three heads:

                                  (1)

                        |MOVING PICTURE MEN   |
                        |   START WAR ON TRUST|

                                  (2)

                        |LOWELL MEN  WANT    |
                        |  CANAL TO CONNECT  |
                        |    CITY WITH BOSTON|

                                  (3)

                        |SEVEN CHILDREN       |
                        |  SAVED  AS  HOME    |
                        |    AND BIG FACTORY  |
                        |      IN EVERETT BURN|

=Cross-Line Heads.= The cross-line head consists of but one line which
may or may not fill the whole space between the column rules. In the
following examples, the first head fills the line, and the second only
part of the line.

                                  (1)

                       |POSTAL  BANK BILL PASSES|

                                  (2)

                       |  SEES PERIL IN TARIFF  |

=Pyramid Banks.= The pyramid head may consist of two, three, or four
parts, graduated in length to produce the inverted pyramid effect. The
following “bank” illustrates the pyramid of three parts:

                   |Promoters of International Av-|
                   |   iation Tournament Decide   |
                   |      to Use Race Track.      |

=Hanging Indention.= The hanging indention head consists of several
parts, the first of which begins at the column rule on the left, while
all the others are indented the width of one or two letters.

                  |Immense  Wealth  is  Stored   Up|
                  |  in Vaults  of Country’s Repos-|
                  |  itories for Coin, Bullion, and|
                  |  Other Precious Metals.        |

The drop-line, cross-line, or pyramid may be used in any deck, whereas
the hanging indention head is used only for a deck other than the first.

=Combinations of Forms.= Various combinations of these four forms
may be used to give the variety required for all kinds of stories.
For large heads a combination of a two part drop-line, a three part
pyramid, a cross-line or another drop-line, and a second pyramid,
constitutes a frequent form, as is seen in the following example:

                    |FRENCH  STRIKE  ENDS         |
                    |          AFTER  DAY OF CRIME|
                    |            —————            |
                    |Railroad Men’s  Union  Orders|
                    |  Work  Resumed  on  All Tied|
                    |       Up Lines To-day.      |
                    |            —————            |
                    |BOMB     OUTRAGES    CONTINUE|
                    |            —————            |
                    |Attempts to Blow Up Passenger|
                    |  Trains and Bridges Arouse  |
                    |     Public and Police.      |
                    |            —————            |

A large three part drop-line head may be followed by a hanging
indention line and by a cross-line, as in the following case:

                    |TREASURY    CHANGE           |
                    |     CAUSES  A   RECOUNT     |
                    |          OF  NATION’S  FUNDS|
                    |            —————            |
                    |Amazing  Wealth  is Stored Up|
                    |  in the  Vaults of Country’s|
                    |  Repositories  for Coin  and|
                    |  Bullion.                   |
                    |            —————            |
                    |WEIGHING      MONEY      BAGS|

For smaller heads there are several sizes of two part drop-heads, or
of cross-lines combined with pyramids or hanging indentions of two or
three parts; for example:

                                  (1)

                 |COLLEGE    BOYS    TURN     WAITERS|
                 |               —————               |
                 |Break Strike in Evanston Restaurant|
                 |       When Girls Walk Out.        |
                 |               —————               |

                                  (2)

                  |BURGLARS    BUSY    IN     NEWTON|
                  |              —————              |
                  |Houses Ransacked by Gang Which Is|
                  |  Thought to Have Had  Rendezvous|
                  |  In the Old Post Office.        |
                  |              —————              |

                                  (3)

               |AIRSHIP      STANDS      FINAL     TEST|
               |                 —————                 |
               |Baldwin  Machine Stays Aloft Two  Hours|
               |  and is Accepted by Signal  Corps as  |
               |     the Most Proficient Of  All.      |
               |                 —————                 |

                                  (4)

                |EMPLOYERS’    LIABILITY              |
                |        UPHELD    BY    OHIO    COURT|
                |                —————                |
                |Act Providing for Benefits in Case of|
                |    Death or Injury Is Declared      |
                |       to Be Constitutional.         |
                |                —————                |

Practically every symmetrical arrangement of the four forms of heads
can be found in various newspapers, but the principles underlying the
writing of any of the combinations are the same.

=Type Limits of Heads.= The typographical limitations are the most
important considerations governing the writing of headlines. These
limitations are determined by the size of type and the form of each
deck of the head. The possible variation in the parts of the first deck
is not more than a letter or two from the normal form. So small is the
variation possible within the column width that the size of the letters
used has to be considered. Thus the letters “M” and “W” are one and
one-half times the size of all the other letters except “I,” which is
only one-half as large as the others. In the counting of unit letters
in a headline, the writer must consider “M” and “W” as one and one-half
units each, and the letter “I” and the figure “1” as half a unit each.
Each space between words is counted as one unit. Since the form and
symmetry of a head are marred or entirely destroyed by having too few
or too many units in any part, great skill is necessary in the choice
and the arrangement of words to secure as nearly as possible the exact
number of units required for a perfect head.

The effect produced by having too many units is shown in the following
heads for which 18 units is the normal number in each half of the
two-line drop head.

                                  (1)

                        |GOVERNOR NAMES FIRST|
                        |OF MUNICIPAL REFORMS|

                                  (2)

                       |TWO FIRES IN ONE HOUSE|
                       |INSIDE  OF THREE HOURS|

When the number of units is less than that required for the best
effect, the headline is not so unsatisfactory as when too many units
are crowded into it, because the short line is more legible than the
long one. In each of the following heads the first half contains only
15 units instead of 18, and as a result there is too much space at the
end of each of these halves. Both, however, are much more easily read
than the crowded ones given above.

                                  (1)

                         |STATE  SECRETARY  |
                         |  ON TRIP TO COAST|

                                  (2)

                         |WEISS REASSURES   |
                         |    BUSINESS WORLD|

That much better results are produced by having each half contain more
nearly the required number of units is shown by comparing the next two
heads with those preceding.

                                  (1)

                        |STORY OF DYING MAN  |
                        |  REOPENS GRAFT CASE|

                                  (2)

                        |MAY LOSE EXTRA PAY  |
                        |  FOR NIGHT CAR RUNS|

In headline writing a number of points must be borne in mind. It should
be remembered, however, that these are not hard and fast rules but
general principles based on newspaper practice.

=Why the Head is Based on the “Lead.”= As in the normal type of news
story all the important facts are given in the lead, the headline, as
the bulletin of these facts, is based largely, if not entirely, on the
material in the lead. One reason for giving all the essential details
in the lead, as has already been pointed out, is that the story may
be cut down before or after it is in type. This possibility that the
story may be cut down is an additional reason why the headline should
be based on the first part of the story, for if the headline contains
only the substance of the lead, it need not be rewritten when any part
of the story is cut off.

=The Tone of the Head.= To adapt the character of the headline to
the tone of the story is important for the best effect of both. The
head should prepare the reader for what is to follow. A humorous or
witty headline is well adapted for a story written in a light vein but
usually is out of keeping with a plain news story. A suggestion of
pathos even may be given in the headline when the story warrants it.
Efforts to be funny or tearful, however, ought always to be carefully
considered and should not be made unless the circumstances justify them.

=Avoiding Repetition.= It has come to be a generally recognized point
that there should be a minimum amount of repetition of words throughout
the head. The same word should not be used more than once either in the
same deck or in different decks unless the lack of synonyms makes it
absolutely necessary, or unless emphasis is gained by so doing. This,
of course, applies in only a limited degree to the necessary connective
words, such as conjunctions and prepositions, and parts of the verb
“to be.” The writer of heads should have at his command a number of
synonymous words and expressions, so that, when he must refer to the
same person, object, or action a second or third time, he may be able
to vary the expression.

=The Interrelation of the Decks.= If the grammatical subject remains
the same in statements made in two or more decks, it need not be
repeated, as it will be understood with the verbs in the following deck
or decks. In the head given below, the subject of the verb “stricken”
in the first deck, serves as the subject of the verbs “found” in the
second deck, “is” in the third, and “will be taken” in the fourth.

                   |GUARD     STRICKEN            |
                   |          ON    PRISON    WALL|
                   |           —————              |
                   |Found in His Sentry Box at the|
                   |    Penitentiary Helpless     |
                   |       From Paralysis         |
                   |           —————              |
                   |IS   A   CIVIL   WAR   VETERAN|
                   |           —————              |
                   |Will be  Taken  to  His  Meigs|
                   |   County  Home  Unless  He   |
                   |        Grows Worse.          |
                   |           —————              |

Since the subject, when suppressed in any deck, is understood to be the
same as that in the deck just preceding, care must be taken to have the
verb agree with it grammatically. There is a not unnatural tendency,
for example, to use in one deck a singular verb with a collective
noun like “common council,” or “faculty” (of a college), and then,
changing the idea to the members of these bodies, to use in the next
deck a plural verb with the subject suppressed. Thus, in the following
head, “tariff board” should not be made the subject of “reports” and
“declare.”

                 |TARIFF    BOARD    REPORTS        |
                 |      ON    ALL   WOOL   SCHEDULES|
                 |              —————               |
                 |Declare That Many of the Rates are|
                 |            Too High.             |

Failure to remember that a verb without a subject is assumed to have
the same subject as the statement in the deck immediately preceding,
not that in any other of the preceding decks, also leads to confusion.
The following head, for example, is poor because it is not clear that
“president” is the subject of “gives,” since “governor” is the subject
of the statement in the preceding deck; nor is it evident that “troops”
of the first deck is the subject of “to camp” in the fourth.

                  |PRESIDENT     ORDERS            |
                  |       TROOPS      TO     REMAIN|
                  |            —————               |
                  |Governor Undecided About Calling|
                  |  Special Legislative Session.  |
                  |            —————               |
                  |GIVES   TWELVE   DAYS  OF  GRACE|
                  |            —————               |
                  |To   Camp   Here   Three   Weeks|
                  |      While  State  Decides     |
                  |          Its  Course.          |
                  |            —————               |

The subject is sometimes incorrectly suppressed in one deck when there
is no subject in the preceding deck that can be understood for that
verb; for example, in the following head there is no word in the first
deck that can be taken for the subject of “was” in the second.

                  |ARREST   REVEALS   DOUBLE   LIFE|
                  |             —————              |
                  |Was Both Traveling Man  and Bur-|
                  | glar at Same Time, Say Police. |

Often it is necessary to repeat in other decks with additional details
or in more definite form the statement made in the first deck; for
example:

                 |TO   TIE   UP  WHOLE   OHIO   LINE|
                 |               —————              |
                 |Shopmen on Strike Threaten to Pre-|
                 |   vent Running of All Trains.    |

When such repetition is necessary for greater clearness, there is no
objection to it, but to make several decks merely repetition in other
words of the first is a not uncommon fault that should be avoided.
If, for example, the foregoing head had been expanded into four decks
by mere repetition, the result might have been the following head, in
which but one fact is presented.

                |TO   TIE   UP   WHOLE   OHIO    LINE|
                |                —————               |
                |Shopmen   On   Strike   Threaten  to|
                |         Prevent  Running  of       |
                |             All  Trains            |
                |                —————               |
                |TRAFFIC  TO   BE  AT  A   STANDSTILL|
                |                —————               |
                |Strikers Say That No Freight or Pas-|
                |   senger Service Will Be Possible  |
                |       Over the Road Affected.      |

Most newspapers prefer to have the statement in each deck grammatically
independent of that in the preceding deck; that is, they avoid
extending a statement through two decks. How such a continuous
statement is sometimes made, however, is shown in the following head
from the New York _Sun_:

                   |MORSE   SAYS  IT   WASN’T  FAIR|
                   |             —————             |
                   |_TO PUT HIS STORY IN THE HANDS_|
                   |    _OF GOVERNMENT AGENTS_     |

One peculiar form of headline, some of the best examples of which are
found in the Cincinnati _Enquirer_, depends for its effect upon this
continuation of a statement through several decks. Only one word is
used for the first deck of large heads of this type, and only one or
two in the first deck of smaller heads, as is seen in the following
examples:

                                  (1)

                     |         ENGINEERS         |
                     |           —————           |
                     |Favor      Lock       Canal|
                     |           —————           |
                     |Work   of  Goethals   Meets|
                     |   Praise  of Experts,     |
                     |           —————           |
                     |Who,  With  Taft,   Inspect|
                     |    the  Panama  Ditch,    |
                     |           —————           |
                     |And  They  Find  Gatum  Ac-|
                     |   cident  Was  Trivial.   |
                     |           —————           |
                     |No Further Trouble With the|
                     | Dam Is Anticipated—Plans  |
                     |     of the President      |
                     |           Elect.          |

                                  (2)

                   |           PANCAKES             |
                   |             ————               |
                   |Wife  Baked  Tempted  Soldier To|
                   |  Freedom, But Sirup To Put on  |
                   |    Them Caused His Arrest.     |
                   |             ————               |

=Style in Heads.= Rhyme and alliteration may be used to advantage on
rare occasions, but generally this similarity of sound produces a
jingling result that is not pleasing. Originality and novelty can be
given by choice and combination of words much more effectively than by
the artificial means of similar sounds.

To make headlines as concise as possible the articles “a,” “an,” and
“the” are omitted, and auxiliary verbs not absolutely necessary are
suppressed. When articles and auxiliaries are convenient to fill out
the line to the required number of units, they may be retained, but
should not be used at the beginning of a deck.

To give freshness and vividness to the head, the verb is usually
put in the present tense even though the action is in the past; for
example, “Roosevelt Speaks in Cleveland.” Future action is expressed
by the infinitive or by the regular future form with “will”; for
example, “Roosevelt to Speak in Cleveland,” or “Roosevelt Will Speak in
Cleveland.”

The active voice of the verb is preferred to the passive because the
active is more vivid and more concise. “Cornell Wins Intercollegiate
Regatta,” is better than “Intercollegiate Regatta Won by Cornell.”
When, however, the passive is required to give the more significant
part of the statement prominence in the first part of the top deck it
should be used in preference to the active. In the following head the
important point is that the post office has been robbed, rather than
the fact that it was robbed by tramps.

                       |POST OFFICE ROBBED    |
                       |     BY BAND OF TRAMPS|

This head would be less effective with the active verb, since the
robbery of the post office would then go into the second part of the
deck, thus:

                       |BAND OF TRAMPS ROB    |
                       |      POST OFFICE SAFE|

News value rather than rules must determine in any case whether the
active or passive voice is desirable.

The use of abbreviations, likewise, cannot be fixed by rule. In
general, only commonly used abbreviations, like “Dr.,” “Prof.,” “Mrs.,”
“Mr.,” “St.,” “Co.,” are to be found in headlines. In particular cases,
however, others are employed because they are convenient and clear.
In Boston, for example, “Tech” as an abbreviation for “Massachusetts
Institute of Technology,” is common, and the Boston _Herald_,
therefore, used it to advantage in the head:

                         |200 TECH MEN SEE  |
                         |    YULE LOG BLAZE|

During a long campaign for “immediate municipal ownership” in Chicago,
the newspapers of that city used almost daily the abbreviation “I.M.O.”
So “L” for “elevated railroad” is perfectly clear to readers in
New York, Boston, and Chicago. The names of states are not usually
abbreviated, although “U.S.” is frequent. Abbreviations like “auto,”
“taxi,” and “phone” are so general that they are used without question
in headlines.

Colloquial contractions like “can’t,” “we’re,” etc., although not
common, may give the life and naturalness often well suited to a story,
as for example in the following head:

                  |ROCKEFELLER,   HE’D   HELP    HER|
                  |           —————                 |
                  |So Mary Mayogian, Who is 12, Came|
                  |        Here to See Him.         |

In the first deck short words are preferred, because in rapid reading
they are more easily grasped than long ones, and because two or three
words in each part of the line make a better looking, more symmetrical
head. To meet the need for short equivalents for long words that are
generally accepted terms, new words have been coined and new functions
given to old ones. For the long noun “investigation” and the verb
“to investigate,” the words “probe” and “quiz” are favorites with
the headline writer, and are often used to excess. Long words like
“criticize,” “censure,” “rebuke” give way to shorter ones like “hit,”
“rap,” and “score.” The concise but inelegant “nab” is a headline
substitute for “arrest.” The verb “peril,” rarely used elsewhere,
appears in heads as an equivalent for “imperil” or “endanger,” as in
“Shipwreck Perils Many.” The verb “wed” is a convenient short form for
“marry.” Words condemned by good usage, such as “to suicide” and “to
kill self,” have found a place in the headlines of some newspapers
because of their clearness and brevity.

Slang, likewise, on account of its conciseness, novelty, and colloquial
character, is not infrequently found in heads, although some newspapers
have a rule against its use. If the slang word or phrase is put
in quotation marks, it is considered by some newspapers as less
objectionable. All that may be said for or against slang in newspapers
as a whole, applies with equal force to its use in heads. If the
question of good taste is involved in the use of a slang word, the safe
course is to avoid it.

Some newspapers have a rule that numerical figures should be put into
headlines only when they are absolutely necessary, an injunction that
implies a very limited use of them, whereas the general practice
clearly is to employ figures when they are the most effective means of
conveying the important facts. The advantage of figures is seen in the
following heads taken from representative newspapers:

                                  (1)

                       |TO SELL 81 PICTURES   |
                       |  VALUED AT $2,000,000|

                                  (2)

                       |5,000 WOMEN  MARCH    |
                       |   IN  SUFFRAGE PARADE|

                                  (3)

                       |50-CENT  BUTTER       |
                       |   SOON  TO  FOLLOW   |
                       |     MILK  PRICE  RISE|

                                  (4)

                       |40    MORE    GRAFTERS|
                       |  TO   BE   ARRESTED  |
                       |    IN  PITTSBURG     |

Figures for numbers under ten appear less frequently in headlines,
particularly at the beginning of a deck, but again the practice in
regard to this usage is not uniform. Newspapers, like the New York
_Evening Post_, that have but one line in the top deck of their large
headlines, not infrequently use figures below ten at the beginning or
anywhere in the first deck. With the greater space of the drop-line
head it is easier to avoid small figures.

The division of words in headlines so that one syllable is in one part
of the deck and one in another part, is to be avoided. Similarly,
hyphenated words, or two words constituting a name or term each word
of which is not clear alone, should not be divided between parts of
the top deck. The following four heads illustrate these undesirable
divisions:

                                  (1)

                        |TROOPS SOON TO EM-  |
                        |   BARK  FOR  PANAMA|

                                  (2)

                        |CAMP  PICKS  ALL-   |
                        |      AMERICAN  TEAM|

                                  (3)

                        |CUT  IN  SCHEDULE   |
                        |    “K”  IS PROBABLE|

                                  (4)

                        |CURLERS PLAN BON    |
                        |    SPIEL  IN  MARCH|

The use of unemphatic words, like “of,” “to,” “for,” “and,” “but,”
“if,” “a,” “the,” at the end of parts of the top deck is not desirable,
as in this position they are given prominence and emphasis out of all
proportion to their importance. Typographical limitations and the
exigencies of rapid headline writing, however, result not infrequently
in their appearance in these positions. Whenever it is possible, they
should be avoided at the end of parts of the top deck.

=Punctuation.= Punctuation in headlines and subheads follows the
accepted rules. When marks are not absolutely necessary for clearness,
they should be omitted. In the first deck, and in cross-line heads,
independent sentences not connected by conjunctions are separated by
semicolons; for example:

                        |HATTERS GUILTY      |
                        |   OF BOYCOTTING;   |
                        |      FINED $222,000|

In other decks dashes are usually used to separate independent
unconnected statements. Care should be taken to avoid a dash at the
end of one of the parts of a deck. The use of the dash is shown in the
following example:

                  |TAFT  PREPARES  FOR   YALE   POST|
                  |              —————              |
                  |President Leases Residence at New|
                  |    Haven—Expects to Go There    |
                  |          in the Spring.         |

Headline punctuation in various forms is illustrated in the heads given
below:

                                  (1)

                       |GIVE UP WAR SPOILS?    |
                       |    “NO”, SHOUT CHINESE|

                                  (2)

                         |“THEATRE ON FIRE!” |
                         |    CRY ON BROADWAY|

                                  (3)

                         |WHITE DEMANDED     |
                         |  BRIBE, DECLARES  |
                         |    BLANER ON STAND|

                                  (4)

                        |“GIVE BAD POLITICS   |
                        |   FRESH  AIR”—WILSON|

                                  (5)

                       |NED TODD, GAMBLER, DIES|

                                  (6)

                      |WILL GIVE “PINAFORE”     |
                      |      WITH  ALL-STAR CAST|

                                  (7)

                      |ALL CITIZENS, BEWARE!    |
                      |    “HOLD-UP” MEN ARE OUT|

                                  (8)

                         |TRUST WEAKENS;    |
                         | DEALERS PROMISE  |
                         |  8-CENT MILK SOON|

                                  (9)

                         |“DON’T BUTT IN”   |
                         |   MEXICO IS TOLD |
                         |     IN POLITE WAY|

=Methods of Building Headlines.= The editor or copy-reader who is
constantly writing heads comes to think unconsciously in headline
units; that is, his daily practice makes it possible for him to frame
readily statements of the essential facts that will fulfill the
requirements of each deck of the head. Nevertheless, he always counts
the units to be sure that the number is correct. For the beginner the
process of building up the several decks of a typical headline is
analyzed at some length in the following pages, in order to demonstrate
the methods pursued.

The story selected for showing the process of headline writing has
been taken from the Chicago _Record-Herald_, which gave it a headline
constructed on the following plan:

      18 unit letters     |FOREST     RESERVE     ACT    |
      18 unit letters     |     IS    DECLARED    INVALID|
           —————          |           ———————            |
      10 words, or        |                              |
      30 unit letters     |State Supreme Court’s Decision|
      25 unit letters     |  Puts Tax Assessing Depart-  |
      15 unit letters     |       ment In Dilemma.       |
           —————          |           ———————            |
      23 unit letters     |MAY   ENJOIN   THE   OFFICIALS|
           —————          |           ———————            |
      10 words, or        |                              |
      30 unit letters     |State’s Attorney Wayne Threat-|
      25 unit letters     | ens Action if Attempt is Made|
      15 unit letters     |       to Collect Levy.       |

The story for which the headline is to be written follows:

  The city council finance committee last night unanimously agreed to
  a proposition made by Mayor Harrison to have a committee of experts
  decide each year how much money shall be spent in each ward for
  street cleaning and garbage and refuse collection.

  The mayor said the plan could not be adopted this year, as the
  committee was engaged in making up the budget for 1912 and there
  would not be time.

  The suggestion of the mayor came during the annual “squabble” of the
  committee over the ward appropriations. As usual every member was
  contending for an increase.

  “I’ll tell you, gentlemen,” suddenly broke in Mayor Harrison, “this
  helter skelter method of making up ward appropriations should be
  discontinued. It is a system that is out of date and one that works
  an injustice on many sections of the city. I would suggest that we
  have a commission or a committee of experts begin next year, about
  three months before the committee begins making up the budget, and
  work out a scientific plan for the proper distribution of the street
  cleaning and garbage removal funds.”

  “I’m with you there,” declared Aldermen Cermak and Egan in unison,
  and every alderman around the table enthusiastically endorsed the
  proposition.

  The work of making the ward appropriations was continued after the
  mayor’s suggestions and raises were granted along the line.

In editing this story of the meeting of the city council finance
committee, the copy-reader would get these four main points:

  (1) Mayor Harrison’s proposal to the finance committee in regard to
      the allotment of ward funds was approved.

  (2) His plan is to have experts decide the division on a scientific
      basis.

  (3) The new method cannot be put into operation until next year on
      account of lack of time.

  (4) The fight, or “squabble,” among the aldermen on this matter has
      been an annual one.

As the subject of the story is the “ward funds,” the headline may be
constructed around these words. The words “ward fund” contain 9½ units,
and the plural “ward funds,” 10½ units, which, on the basis of 18 units
to be filled in each half of the first deck, will leave 7½ or 8½ units
to be filled, according as the singular or plural form of “fund” is
used. If a verb is desired for the first half deck, the “dividing” or
“allotting” of the fund expresses the idea involved; and, since the
action is in the future, “to divide” or “to allot” (8 units each),
or “will divide” or “will allot” (10 units each), are possibilities.
The combination of these elements gives “To Allot Ward Fund” (18½
units) and “To Divide Ward Fund” (18½ units), either of which may be
used for the first half of the top deck. This deck may be completed
in the second half by introducing the second point; namely, that the
allotment is to be made “On a Scientific Basis” (19 units), which can
be reduced to 17 units by omitting the article “a.” The result will
then be as follows:

                    |TO DIVIDE WARD FUND | 18½ unit letters
                    | ON SCIENTIFIC BASIS| 17 unit letters

Or the second point may be used in the form of the allotment’s being
made “with the aid of experts” (22½ units), which may be reduced to 18½
units by omitting the article “the.” The resulting combination will be:

                    |TO ALLOT WARD FUND  | 18½ unit letters
                    | WITH AID OF EXPERTS| 18½ unit letters

If it is desired to emphasize the fact that the mayor has solved the
ward fund problem, or has ended the “grab,” or settled the “squabble,”
or dispute, or fight, these phrases may be arranged in the following
forms:

                                  (1)

                    |WARD  FUND PROBLEM  | 18 units
                    |  IS SOLVED BY MAYOR| 18 units

                                  (2)

                    |WARD FUND SQUABBLE  | 18½ units
                    | IS SETTLED BY MAYOR| 19 units

                                  (3)

                    |FIGHT FOR WARD FUND | 19 units
                    |   IS ENDED BY MAYOR| 17 units

                                  (4)

                    |GRAB FOR WARD FUND  | 18½ units
                    | IS STOPPED BY MAYOR| 19 units

Still greater prominence can be given to the mayor by putting the word
at the beginning of the first half of the first deck, but by so doing
the real subject, that is, the ward fund division or wrangle, must go
over into the second half. In this arrangement the forms would be:

                                  (1)

                    |MAYOR HAS SETTLED  | 17 units
                    |  WARD FUND WRANGLE| 18 units

                                  (2)

                    |MAYOR PUTS AN END  | 17½ units
                    | TO WARD FUND SCRAP| 18½ units

                                  (3)

                    |MAYOR’S PLAN SOLVES| 19 units
                    |  WARD FUND PROBLEM| 18 units

If more emphasis is desired for the point that experts are to settle
or decide the ward fund division or fight, these statements may be
combined as follows, but again the real subject, by going into the
second half of the deck, is less conspicuous:

                                  (1)

                    |EXPERTS WILL DECIDE | 18½ units
                    |  WARD FUND DIVISION| 17 units

                                  (2)

                    |EXPERTS WILL SETTLE | 19 units
                    | FIGHT FOR WARD FUND| 19 units

These various forms for the top deck show some of the possibilities
of variety of emphasis and tone in the headline. As the first half of
the top deck is more conspicuous than the second, the most significant
part of the statement should, if possible, be placed in the first half.
Consequently those forms in which the idea of the allotting or dividing
of the ward funds is placed first, would generally be preferred.
The words “squabble,” “scrap,” and “grab,” although colloquial and
inelegant, might be admissible to characterize effectively the
situation growing out of the efforts of each alderman to get the most
for his own ward, if the circumstances of the dispute were undignified.

The other decks of the headline for this story may be constructed to
follow any one of these top decks, but, for convenience, only two of
the top decks will be used for illustration. If the one chosen is “To
Divide Ward Fund On Scientific Basis,” it may be developed by the other
points already given (page 296); that is, (1) The mayor’s proposal was
approved by the finance committee; (2) The division is to be made by
experts; (3) The method cannot be put into operation until next year
for lack of time; and (4) the fight on the matter has been an annual
one. The second deck of ten words should explain the “scientific basis”
of division and give the action of the finance committee by which this
plan was determined upon, both of which points may be stated in the
following forms:

                         (1)                   11 words
           |City  Council  Finance Commit-| 27 unit letters
           | tee Will  Let  Experts Settle| 27 unit letters
           |     Problem  Next  Year.     | 17½ unit letters

                         (2)                   12 words
           |Plan to Let Experts Fix Amount| 30 unit letters
           |  Given Approval by Council   | 25 unit letters
           |      Finance Committee.      | 17 unit letters

The third deck, which, because of the size of type, is next in
prominence to the top deck, should contain the mayor’s part in the
solution, and within the limits of 23 unit letters, this may be
expressed in the following forms:

                                  (1)

                  PROPOSAL  MADE BY  MAYOR| 23 units

                                  (2)

                  MAYOR PROPOSES  SOLUTION| 23 units

                                  (3)

                  PLAN IS OFFERED BY MAYOR| 24 units

                                  (4)

                  MAYOR ENDS  THE SQUABBLE| 23½ units

                                  (5)

                  MAYOR PROPOSES  THE PLAN| 23½ units

If the third or fifth forms are used, they should not be combined with
the second form, “Plan To Let Experts, etc.,” suggested for the second
deck, because of the repetition of the word “plan.”

For the fourth deck the idea that the dispute is an annual one, and,
if not already used, the point that the plan is going into effect next
year, may both be expressed within the limits, which are the same as
those for the second deck, as follows:

                             (1)               12 words
                |New  Method Will  End Annual| 27 units
                |  Dispute of Aldermen Over  | 24 units
                |    Allotment of Money.     | 18 units

                |            (2)               11 words
                |Annual Squabble of  Aldermen| 27 units
                | Over Street Cleaning Money | 26 units
                |      Ends Next Year.       | 14 units

In complete form with one of each of these possibilities chosen to
avoid repetition, the head will read:

                    |TO   DIVIDE   WARD   FUND    |
                    |        ON  SCIENTIFIC  BASIS|
                    |            —————            |
                    |City Council Finance  Commit-|
                    | tee Will Let Experts Settle |
                    |     Problem Next Year.      |
                    |            —————            |
                    |MAYOR   PROPOSES   THE   PLAN|
                    |            —————            |
                    |New  Method  Will  End Annual|
                    |  Dispute of Aldermen Over   |
                    |    Allotment of Money.      |

If the first deck chosen is one of the forms in which the part played
by the mayor in the solution of the problem is emphasized, the other
three decks could be so composed as to include the other points,
without repetition, as follows:

                   |WARD   FUND   PROBLEM         |
                   |      IS   SOLVED   BY   MAYOR|
                   |            —————             |
                   |Plan to Let Experts Fix Amount|
                   |  Given Approval by Council   |
                   |     Finance Committee.       |
                   |            —————             |
                   |TO  TAKE   EFFECT   NEXT  YEAR|
                   |            —————             |
                   |Allotment on  Scientific Basis|
                   |  to Replace Annual Squabble  |
                   |       of the Aldermen.       |

=Subheads.= Besides writing headlines for stories, the copy-reader
inserts subheads at intervals to break up the solid masses of type
which are unrelieved except by paragraph division. These subheads make
possible more rapid reading.

The subhead, which is set up either in bold face capitals or in bold
face capitals and lower case, is like a cross-line head that does not
fill the entire column width. The subhead should be an announcement in
three or four words of the most significant point in the section of the
story which it precedes. The same limitation as to the number of units
exists as in any cross-line head. In a story of some length subheads
are placed at intervals of about 200 words, and in shorter stories at
intervals of from 100 to 150 words. The insertion of these subheads
at comparatively regular intervals makes for symmetry of effect.
Significant matter in the story, or an important change of topic,
warrants a subhead, regardless of the regularity of the interval. It
is generally considered preferable not to place a subhead immediately
after a sentence ending with a colon and introducing a quotation,
because the subhead interrupts the quotation and appears to be part of
it. This difficulty can usually be avoided by placing the subhead just
before the introductory sentence, thus:

               | NEW YORK, Dec.  14.—On the  eve of  his|
               |retirement  from  the  post  of  British|
               |ambassador   at  Washington,   which  he|
               |has  occupied with distinction  for  six|
               |years,   James   Bryce  Saturday   night|
               |paid  an extraordinary  tribute  to  the|
               |constitution  of  the   United   States.|
               |The  occasion  was the annual  dinner of|
               |the Pennsylvania society  of  New  York,|
               |and  he   spoke  from  the  topic:  “The|
               |Commemoration  of the  One  Hundred  and|
               |Twenty-fifth Anniversary  of the Framing|
               |of  the   Constitution  of  the   United|
               |States.”                                |
               |                                        |
               |       Work of Men of Genius.           |
               |                                        |
               | The ambassador said in part:           |
               |                                        |
               | “The  constitution  was the  work of an|
               |extraordinary  group  of  men  such   as|
               |has  seldom  been  seen  living  at  the|
               |same time  in  any country  and  such as|
               |had  never   been  brought  together  in|
               |any   other  country  to  undertake  the|
               |immensely difficult task  of  framing  a|
               |fundamental  instrument   of  government|
               |for  a  nation.  The nation  was then  a|
               |small one,  and  it  is one of  the most|
               |striking  tributes  to  the  genius  and|
               |foresight  of  the  men  that  the frame|
               |of  government   which   they   designed|
               |for   37,000,000   people   should  have|
               |proved  fitting  to serve  the  needs of|
               |93,000,000.”                            |

=Jump-Heads.= When a story is continued from one page to another,
a head called a jump-head, or “run-over” head, is placed above the
continuation. This jump-head may be either the top deck of the head at
the beginning set in the same type or in smaller type, or it may be a
new head. Examples of jump-heads follow:

                       (1)  _First Page Head_

                 |FLAMES        END       LIVES      |
                 |     OF     TWO      BABY      BOYS|
                 |               —————               |
                 |Children in Different Parts of City|
                 |      Meet Horrible Death at       |
                 |          the Same Time.           |
                 |               —————               |
                 |BONFIRE    IS    FATAL    TO    ONE|
                 |               —————               |
                 |The  Other,  Left  With  Sister, Is|
                 |   Found  Blazing  in  Home  by    |
                 |             Passersby.            |

                     (2) _Jump-Head on Third Page_

                 |FIRE     ENDS     BABIES’     LIVES|
                 |                                   |
                 |     Continued from Page One.      |
                 |               —————               |

                  (1) _Top Deck of First Page Head_

                        |EXPRESS   BEATEN    |
                        |  BY  PARCELS  POST |
                        |   IN  INITIAL  TEST|

                  (2)   _Jump-Head on Fourth Page_

                        |EXPRESS   BEATEN    |
                        |   BY  PARCELS  POST|
                        |       —————        |
                        +————————————————————+
                        |  (Continued from   |
                        |   first page.)     |
                        +————————————————————+

=Big Heads.= In this discussion only one column heads have been
considered, but the same general principles apply to the construction
of headlines extending over any number of columns. Important news may
be given a head of one, two, or three parts extending across the whole
front page. Such a head is often called a “banner.”


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Get the important facts of the story clearly and accurately in mind
   before writing the head.

2. Study carefully each kind of headline to find out its possibilities
   and limitations.

3. Give the story a headline proportionate in size to its importance.

4. Base the head as far as possible on the facts in the lead.

5. Have the tone of the head in keeping with that of the story.

6. Don’t make the head a comment on the news.

7. Avoid trite, hackneyed words or phrases.

8. Make the statement in each deck clear, concise, and specific.

9. Put the most significant fact into the first deck.

10. Use short, specific words in the first deck.

11. Count the unit letters and spaces in every deck.

12. Don’t try to crowd in more units than the space will permit.

13. Don’t fill out a short line with weak words.

14. Make clear the relation of the statement of each deck to that in
    the preceding deck.

15. Use only such abbreviations as are commonly to be found in heads.

16. Omit articles and unnecessary auxiliary verbs whenever it is
    possible.

17. Punctuate only when clearness requires it.

18. Use figures when they are the significant facts.

19. Avoid repetition of words other than connectives.

20. Use the present tense of the verb for past events and the
    infinitive or future tense for coming ones.

21. Keep the tenses uniform throughout the head.

22. Avoid libelous statements.


                             PRACTICE WORK

Criticize the following heads and rewrite each, retaining as far as
possible the ideas and point of view of the original:

                                  (1)

                     |HURT    IN    AUTO    CRASH|
                     |     QUITTING      HOSPITAL|
                     |           —————           |
                     |Woman Patient Is Injured in|
                     | Collision Fifteen Minutes |
                     |     After Release         |
                     |           —————           |

                                  (2)

                    |PARCELS    POST    PLAN      |
                    |         STARTS      TOMORROW|
                    |            —————            |
                    |New System Makes It  Possible|
                    | to  Mail Packages Weighing  |
                    |     Up to  11 Pounds.       |
                    |            —————            |
                    |REQUIRE     SPECIAL    STAMPS|
                    |            —————            |

                                  (3)

                  |RIVERS       IN       GOTHAM     |
                  |     FOR        CROSS       SETTO|
                  |              —————              |
                  |Little Mexican, in  Great  Condi-|
                  | tion,  Announces  That  He  Will|
                  | Surely  Put the Quietus  on  the|
                  | Hard Hitting Dentist.           |
                  |              —————              |
                  | NEW YORK,  Dec. 28.—Joe  Rivers,|
                  |the  Mexican lightweight,  accom-|
                  |panied  by his manager, Joe Levy,|
                  |his  brother,  Andy  Rivers,  and|
                  |his  trainer,   Abdul  the  Turk,|
                  |arrived   in  this  city   Friday|
                  |night.  Rivers  is  scheduled  to|
                  |fight Leach Cross,  at the Empire|
                  |A. C.  on  Jan.  14,  instead  of|
                  |Jan. 8.                          |

                                  (4)

                 |TAXES         MUST         BE      |
                 |     PAID      BY      JAN.      31|
                 |               —————               |
                 |Public Can Get Extensions on City  |
                 |  Assessments, However, by Applying|
                 |  Under  a  Special Law  Passed  by|
                 |  the 1911 Legislature.            |
                 |               —————               |
                 |COLLECTION    TO     BEGIN
                 |        AT  9    A. M.,    TOMORROW|
                 |               —————               |
                 | The collection  of city taxes will|
                 |be  started  at 9 o’clock  tomorrow|
                 |morning by  City Treasurer John  R.|
                 |Greene.                            |
                 |                                   |
                 | “All county and  state  taxes must|
                 |be  paid  by  Jan.  31,”  said City|
                 |Treasurer  Greene  yesterday.  “But|
                 |an  extension of six months on city|
                 |taxes  will  be  granted  to  those|
                 |applying, under a law passed by the|
                 |1911 legislature.”                 |

                                  (5)

                    |GOTHAM        WORKERS       |
                    |       PLANNING       STRIKE|
                    |            —————           |
                    |Demanding the Abolishment of|
                    |   Sweat Shop and General   |
                    |     Increase in Wages.     |
                    |            —————           |
                    | NEW  YORK.   Dec.   22.—The|
                    |largest   of  a  series   of|
                    |general  strikes of  200,000|
                    |garment  workers   in   this|
                    |city  will   probably  start|
                    |this  week   following   the|
                    |counting of a  secret ballot|
                    |of  125,000 workers who have|
                    |just  completed   the  vote.|
                    |The  abolition of  sweatshop|
                    |conditions in  the trade and|
                    |a general increase in  wages|
                    |are demanded.               |

                                  (6)

                   |HIGH     PRICES     SAWED      |
                   |     BY      PARCELS      POST?|
                   |             —————             |
                   |Senator  Jonathan Bourne Thinks|
                   | New System Will Solve Cost of |
                   |       Living Problem.         |
                   |             —————             |
                   | WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 21.—If|
                   |the parcels post is utilized to|
                   |its  fullest degree,  a decided|
                   |decrease  in the cost of living|
                   |will result,  according to  the|
                   |prediction   on   Saturday   of|
                   |Senator   Jonathan   Bourne  of|
                   |Oregon,  father of the  measure|
                   |which becomes effective on Jan.|
                   |1.                             |

                                  (7)

                   |THINK        PARLAPIANO’S       |
                   |      ACT     IS     JUSTIFIABLE|
                   |             —————              |
                   |Court and District Attorney Tes-|
                   | tify Belief That  Prisoner  Was|
                   |    Victim of  Circumstances.   |
                   |             —————              |
                   |BOUND   OVER   TO    NEXT   TERM|
                   |             —————              |
                   | Although the  district attorney|
                   |and   judge   of  the   District|
                   |court  testified  their  belief,|
                   |supplementary  to the  arguments|
                   |of  the counsel for the defense,|
                   |in the  justifiableness  of  the|
                   |crime,  it  was  found necessary|
                   |to  bind  over  Vito Parlapiano,|
                   |alleged   murderer   of  Michael|
                   |Perricone,  to the next term  of|
                   |the Municipal court, in District|
                   |court Friday afternoon.         |
                   |                                |
                   | The   sight   of   a   district|
                   |attorney  who   had   caused   a|
                   |man’s   arrest    pleading   for|
                   |his   release   on  the  grounds|
                   |of  justification,  and  of  the|
                   |judge  of   a  court  expressing|
                   |his   opinion   of   the   man’s|
                   |innocence,   has   rarely   been|
                   |seen,  but  all  this  was  done|
                   |after    convincing    testimony|
                   |had  been  introduced  to  prove|
                   |that  the   killing   was   done|
                   |in  self-defense   and   through|
                   |excessive  fear  of death on the|
                   |defendant’s part.               |

                                  (8)

                 |POPE’S  BROTHER,   76  YEARS   OLD,|
                 |AT  50  CENTS  WAGE,   GETS  BOOST.|
                 |               —————               |
                 |Aged Postmaster’s Pay Doubled—Walks|
                 |  Ten Miles a Day Carrying Mails to|
                 |  Rail Station.                    |
                 |               —————               |
                 | ROME,  Dec. 9.—The pope’s brother,|
                 |Angelo Sarto,  who is postmaster of|
                 |the  village of Corazio,  called at|
                 |the parliament  buildings today and|
                 |asked Deputy  Di Bagno to recommend|
                 |him  to  the minister of  posts and|
                 |telegraphs  for  an   increase   in|
                 |salary.                            |
                 |                                   |
                 | The pontiff’s  brother is 76 years|
                 |old and earns a  half dollar daily.|
                 |He is compelled to  walk ten  miles|
                 |every  day  in  order to  carry the|
                 |mails of his  village to the Nantua|
                 |station.                           |
                 |                                   |
                 | Later  in  the  day  the  minister|
                 |cordially  received Sarto and after|
                 |talking  with   him   for  a  while|
                 |willingly  doubled  his  pay,  and,|
                 |what is more,  appointed a  postman|
                 |to help him.                       |

                                  (9)

                  |SEEK   CAUSE   OF   WRECK       |
                  |      KILLING   4,   HURTING  50|
                  |              —————             |
                  |Nation, State and Railway Inves-|
                  |  tigate Ditching of Express    |
                  |    Train on Pennsylvania.      |
                  |              —————             |

                                 (10)

                     |WOMEN   SELL   EGGS        |
                     |      TO  CUT  LIVING  COST|
                     |           —————           |
                     | PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 11.—One|
                     |hundred  and fifty thousand|
                     |dozen   of   eggs,   at  24|
                     |cents a  dozen,  were  sold|
                     |to-day  from  a   score  or|
                     |more   stations   scattered|
                     |throughout  the   city,   a|
                     |record  which will probably|
                     |be    doubled    to-morrow.|
                     |This  is  the   result   of|
                     |the   first   endeavor   of|
                     |the    new    Housekeepers’|
                     |League   of    Philadelphia|
                     |in  its   campaign  against|
                     |the  present  high  cost of|
                     |living.                    |

                                 (11)

                   |CROP       PRODUCTION          |
                   |       ON     THE      INCREASE|
                   |            —————              |
                   |Special Government Report Gives|
                   |  Definite Information on the  |
                   |      Greatest Corn Crop.      |
                   |            —————              |
                   |OTHER      REPORTS        LATER|
                   |            —————              |
                   |Report  Gives  Potatoes an  In-|
                   |    crease of Almost Double    |
                   |        Over Last Year.        |
                   |            —————              |
                   | WASHINGTON,  D. C.,  Nov. 8.—A|
                   |corn   crop  of   3,169,137,000|
                   |bu.,  or  281,921,000 bu.  more|
                   |than the  greatest crop of corn|
                   |ever  grown  in  any country of|
                   |the world  is  the  feature  of|
                   |the  country’ s most remarkable|
                   |agricultural  year  in  history|
                   |according to the  November crop|
                   |report  of  the   United States|
                   |department     of   agriculture|
                   |issued  on  Friday.  The report|
                   |completed   the    government’s|
                   |preliminary  estimates  of  the|
                   |nation’s  principal farm crops.|
                   |This  great  crop  of  corn was|
                   |worth on  Nov. 1 to the farmers|
                   |$1,850,776,000.                |
                   |                               |
                   | The     enormous    sum     of|
                   |$4,171,134,000 represented  the|
                   |farm  value  on  Nov. 1  of the|
                   |United  States  crops  of corn,|
                   |hay,   wheat,  oats,  potatoes,|
                   |barley,   flaxseed,   rye   and|
                   |buckwheat.  With  the  value of|
                   |the growing  cotton  crop,  and|
                   |the  crops of tobacco, rice and|
                   |apples,  the aggregate value of|
                   |these principal  farm  products|
                   |will   amount    well    beyond|
                   |$5,000,000,000.                |

                                 (12)

                    |IN    PRISON   GLOOM        |
                    |      AWAIT    THEIR    DOOM|
                    |            —————           |
                    |Thirty-eight Convicted Labor|
                    | Officials Will Learn Their |
                    |     Fate Wednesday.        |
                    |            —————           |
                    |WILL   APPEAL   EACH    CASE|
                    |            —————           |

                                 (13)

                   |STATE        SOLONS        PLAN|
                   |MANY        NEW        STATUTES|
                   |             —————             |
                   |Water Power, Public Service and|
                   |  Income Tax Questions Will    |
                   |     Receive Attention.        |
                   |             —————             |

                                 (14)

                   |WAR       FORTUNE        SAVES|
                   |KING       PETER’S       ROBES|
                   |            —————             |
                   |Open Secret That Servian Ruler|
                   |    Was About to Abdicate     |
                   |        His Throne.           |
                   |            —————             |
                   | BELGRADE, Dec. 28.  —(Special|
                   |Cable).—  While     all    the|
                   |Balkan    royal  houses   have|
                   |strengthened  their  hold upon|
                   |their  respective  peoples  by|
                   |reason  of   the  Turko-Balkan|
                   |war,  it  has  been  the  very|
                   |salvation of  the royal  house|
                   |of Karageorgevitch.           |
                   |                              |
                   | It is  an  open  secret  here|
                   |that  King  Peter  was  making|
                   |preparations  to  resign until|
                   |it became certain that war was|
                   |inevitable.                   |

                                 (15)

                  |WHITNEY        HOME       SOLD   |
                  |FOR     FIFTH      AVE.     TRADE|
                  |              —————              |
                  |Fine   House   at   Fifty-Seventh|
                  | Street  May  Be   Remodeled  or |
                  |  Torn Down for Business Block.  |
                  |              —————              |
                  |WAS     HELD    AT     $2,250,000|
                  |             —————               |
                  |Price Was  Under That—New Owner’s|
                  |  Name Not Revealed, But Broker  |
                  |    Says He Is an  Investor.     |
                  |              —————              |
                  | The career of the famous Whitney|
                  |mansion    on    the    southwest|
                  |corner   of   Fifth   Avenue  and|
                  |Fifty-seventh Street  as  a  city|
                  |residence  is over. The house was|
                  |sold  yesterday  by  Harry  Payne|
                  |Whitney, and   it  was  announced|
                  |that the new owner would  utilize|
                  |the   corner  for  business.  The|
                  |entire   property,  according  to|
                  |Worthington    Whitehouse,    who|
                  |represented  Mr.  Whitney  in the|
                  |sale,  was   held  at $2,250,000,|
                  |but it  is  understood  that  the|
                  |price paid was under that figure.|
                  |Frank D. Veiller, who represented|
                  |the buyer, declined  to give  the|
                  |name, only saying that he  was an|
                  |investor.                        |

                                 (16)

                       |THUGS   ARE   BOLD    |
                       |  HOLD    UP   WOMAN  |
                       |    AS   CROWD   GAPES|




                              CHAPTER XII

                             PROOF-READING


=How Proof is Corrected.= After copy has been set up in type, the
type is put into a long, narrow metal tray called a “galley.” On a
small hand or power press a printed sheet of each galley is made, or
“pulled,” called a “proof,” or “galley proof.” To “pull a galley proof”
is to make a printed copy of the type in the tray.

Each “proof” is carefully compared with the copy so that errors made
by compositors or operators in setting up the copy in type may be
discovered and corrected. On large newspapers the proof is corrected
by proof-readers employed for the purpose, and the proof-reading room
is connected with the composing room. Each proof-reader is assisted by
a copy-holder who reads in a monotone everything in the copy including
punctuation, capitalization, and paragraphing, so that the proof-reader
may see whether or not the printed form corresponds exactly to the
copy. In smaller offices editors and reporters read proof, comparing
the printed form with the copy only when it is necessary. Every one who
writes for publication should know how to correct proof, so that he may
be able to do this work quickly and accurately when occasion demands it.

By the use of a few marks and signs it is easy to indicate clearly just
how proof is to be changed and corrected. The least possible change
should be made because every correction means a loss of time. When
linotypes are used, every change makes necessary the recasting of one
whole line at least, while when monotypes are used, each piece of type
must be handled separately. Accordingly, when one or more words have
been inadvertently omitted and must be inserted, effort is made to cut
out other words of about the same length and not absolutely necessary
in the same line, in the preceding line, or in the following one, so
that not more than one or two lines will have to be recast or reset to
make room for the added words. Likewise, when one or more words must
be taken out, others should be inserted in the same line or adjoining
lines to fill up the space.

As in the editing of copy, so in the correcting of proof, the
changes should be indicated in a manner that makes unmistakable to
the compositor the exact character of the modifications. Confused
correction of proof, like poor editing of copy, causes loss of time and
increases the probability of error.

Errors in proof are most readily detected if a card is used to cover
all lines except the one that is being corrected. The card is moved
down from line to line as each is read and corrected. By having but one
line before him at a time and by scrutinizing sharply every word, the
reader more readily catches any errors.

=Marks used in Correcting Proof.= The proof-reading signs and marks,
grouped according to their use, are as follows:


                            _Paragraphing_

[Illustration: Begin a new paragraph.]

[Illustration: Don’t begin a new paragraph.]

[Illustration: Make one element follow the other in the same line.]


                               _Spacing_

[Illustration: Correct uneven spacing between words.]

[Illustration: Put in space.]

[Illustration: Reduce the space.]

[Illustration: Close up by taking out all the spacing.]

[Illustration: Close up but leave some space.]

[Illustration: Push down a space that prints.]

[Illustration: Put in thin spaces between letters, i.e., “letter
               space.”]


                              _Position_

[Illustration: Move to the left.]

[Illustration: Move to the right.]

[Illustration: Move up.]

[Illustration: Move down.]

[Illustration: Indent one em.]

[Illustration: Make lines parallel.]

[Illustration: Make letter align.]

[Illustration: Turn over element that is upside down.]

[Illustration: Transpose order of words, letters, or figures.]


                            _Kind of Type_

[Illustration: Change to Roman type.]

[Illustration: Change to Italic type.]

[Illustration: Change to capital letter.]

[Illustration: Change to small capital letter.]

[Illustration: Change to lower case, or small, letters.]

[Illustration: Change to black, or bold face type.]

[Illustration: Substitute type from regular font for that of wrong
               font.]

[Illustration: Substitute perfect for imperfect type.]


                             _Punctuation_

[Illustration: Insert period.]

[Illustration: Insert comma.]

[Illustration: Insert semi-colon.]

[Illustration: Insert colon.]

[Illustration: Insert apostrophe.]

[Illustration: Insert double quotation marks.]

[Illustration: Insert single quotation marks.]

[Illustration: Put in one-em dash.]

[Illustration: Put in two-em dash.]

[Illustration: Put in hyphen.]

[Illustration: Put in question mark.]

[Illustration: Put in exclamation point.]


                       _Insertion and Omission_

[Illustration: Put in element indicated in margin at place shown by
               caret.]

[Illustration: Take out element indicated.]

[Illustration: Don’t make change indicated; let it stand as it is.]

[Illustration: A line of dots is placed under the element that is to
               remain as it is.]


                             _Uncertainty_

[Illustration: Look this up to see whether or not it is correct.]

[Illustration: See what has been omitted in proof by comparing with
               the copy.]


                            _Abbreviation_

[Illustration: Substitute full form for abbreviation.]

[Illustration: Substitute numerical figures.]

The signs used to indicate changes should always be placed in the
margin of the proof-sheets, and only those marks that show what
elements are to be changed should be put in or between the lines of
the proof-sheets. The marks in the printed lines and the signs in the
margin are often joined by a line to show the connection between them.
If this is not done, the signs for the corrections in each line are
arranged in the margin in the order in which the marks indicating the
elements to be changed appear in the printed line, each sign being set
off by a line slanting from right to left. How proof is corrected is
shown in the following example:

[Illustration]

[Illustration]


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Read proof word by word.

2. Cover with a card all lines following the one being read.

3. Always compare with copy all names, figures, and unusual terms.

4. Put all correction signs in the margin of proof.

5. Indicate clearly the element to be changed.

6. Make changes and corrections so that they cannot be misunderstood.

7. Watch for errors in punctuation.

8. Be on the lookout for omission of quotation marks.

9. Put in one or more words to fill space created by taking out other
   words.

10. Take out one or more words to make room for those inserted.

11. Make only such changes as are absolutely necessary.

12. Read proof accurately and rapidly.




                             CHAPTER XIII

                          MAKING UP THE PAPER


=Importance of the “Make-Up.”= Although the editing of a newspaper is
often regarded as completed when the managing editor has passed upon
the proofs of all the matter that the newspaper is to contain, yet
the arranging of this material on the several pages, the so-called
“making up,” still remains to be done under the direction of one of
the editors. The arrangement, or “make-up,” particularly of the front
page, plays a very important part in the success of the newspaper. To
display the important news of the day in the most effective way is to
attract readers. What has been said elsewhere of the advertising value
of headlines applies equally to the “make-up.” The best arrangement
is that in which the important news stands out prominently, and
can therefore be most easily read. A symmetrical balancing of the
headlines, half-tones, and cartoons adds greatly to the attractiveness
and readableness of the newspaper. Although the average reader does not
analyze this element any more than he does any of the other elements of
the newspaper that he reads daily, still the “make-up” doubtless leaves
an impression upon him.

=How the “Make-Up” Varies.= Newspaper practice regarding make-up varies
as greatly as it does in the case of headlines. The seven-column
page is still the normal type, but the eight-column page is rapidly
superseding it, because the narrower columns and margins make possible
a considerable saving in paper. Some papers like the New York _Sun_,
the New York _Evening Post_, the Chicago _Daily News_, and the
Springfield (Mass.) _Republican_, follow a very simple plan of placing
large heads at the top of alternate columns, and of having small heads
on all the other stories on the front page, so that the four top heads
in the first, third, fifth, and last columns are the only ones that
stand out prominently. Other papers, like the Chicago _Tribune_, put
a three-column cartoon in the fourth, fifth, and sixth columns, an
arrangement which makes possible large heads in the first, third and
last columns and somewhat smaller heads of several decks in the fourth
and sixth columns under the cartoon. Still other papers, keeping to the
general scheme of alternate columns for large heads, use one-, two-,
three-, or four-column cuts of people, places, or events that figure in
the news, at the top of the columns and then use slightly smaller heads
under these cuts. Two-column heads in the first and second columns are
often balanced with two-column heads in the sixth and seventh columns.
Some newspapers have practically abandoned the symmetrical arrangement
of the front page, and spread headlines in black, red, or green ink,
and cuts over the front page in a way that seems to have no other
purpose than to produce as bizarre an effect as possible.

=Principle of Contrast.= The two general principles that underlie the
make-up are those of contrast and symmetry. Large heads are alternated
at the top of the column with smaller heads so that the large heads
will stand out in contrast with the other columns of less prominence.
Two or more large heads side by side at the top of the columns do not
stand out with as marked effect as when they alternate with smaller
heads or no heads at all at the tops of the columns. The same is true
when cuts or cartoons serve to furnish the contrast. With heads not
at the top of the columns, effort is made to secure contrast by some
form of alternation. A careful study of a number of papers will show
a variety of ways in which the principle of contrast determines the
arrangement of material on each page.

=Principle of Symmetry.= That this alternation of the prominent and the
less prominent should be closely related to symmetry in arrangement, is
evident. In the seven-column form, which is the usual one, the large
heads in alternate columns produce a naturally symmetrical effect.
When somewhat smaller heads are used lower down on the page, a similar
alternation continues to carry out the symmetry. Large two-column
heads in the first and second and in the sixth and seventh columns,
or smaller two-column ones in the second and third and in the fifth
and sixth columns, produce an even balance. In an eight-column page,
in which this regular alternation is impossible, some symmetry is
often maintained by means of cuts. Many papers do not attempt to have
perfect balance on the front page, because of the desire to have the
daily cartoon or a cut at the top of the right half of the page where
it will attract most attention. Usually when symmetry is sacrificed,
the regularity of arrangement is departed from by putting the largest
heads, or the illustrations, on the right half of the front page.

=Positions of Prominence.= The most important news is generally put
in the last column to the right on the first page. This is done for
two reasons: first, because a long story in this column can run
on continuously to the first column of the second page without a
jump-head; and second, because, as the papers are laid out on the news
stand, the right side of the paper is prominently displayed. This fact
accounts for the placing of cuts and cartoons on the right side. If
there are two very important stories carrying larger heads than usual,
the one second in importance is put into the first column, partly for
symmetry and partly for the reason that, as the paper is read, the
first column is prominent. In fact, some papers, especially those that
do not count much on street sales, put the most important news in the
first column in preference to the last. On all pages except the front
one, the first column is usually considered the best.

=“Breaking Over” Front Page Stories.= In order to preserve the
alternation of large heads with smaller ones on the front page, as
well as to get as much of the most important news as possible on this
page, long stories with large heads are continued from the first page
to one of the inside pages. One column of these stories, or often only
one-half or two-thirds of a column, is put on the first page, according
to the make-up of the lower half of the page, and the remaining part is
put with a jump-head on an inside page. When a story is “broken over”
from the front page, a dash or rule is put at the end, with the words
“Continued on third page” beneath, if the break is at the end of a
column; and a dash, or rule, and these words followed by another rule
are used if the break is not at the end of a column, the purpose of the
second rule being to set off the explanation “Continued on third page,”
from the following matter. The jump-heads, as was shown in Chapter XI,
are of several kinds: (1) a reproduction of the whole of the original
head, (2) a reproduction of the top deck of the original head, or (3)
an entirely new head, usually in smaller type than the original one.

=Grouping News.= Various kinds and forms of news matter are grouped
in various ways. Local, state, national, and foreign news is often
arranged each kind on a separate page, as is also the society, the
sporting, and the market news. Short one-paragraph news stories,
usually with one line of type for a head, are often assembled under
such heads as “City News In Brief,” “News of the State,” “Sporting
Gossip,” and are arranged in order of size, the smallest being put
first, or vice versa. The society news is also frequently arranged in
order of size, the longest stories being put at the beginning. In some
papers, the heading of these one-paragraph stories, instead of being
a separate line, forms a part of the first line of the story and is
separated by a dash from the beginning of the story, which fills the
remaining third or quarter of the first line.

=The “Make-Up” Page by Page.= The pages that contain little or no live
news matter are made up as far as possible in advance of the first
edition of the paper so that they will be out of the way when the news
pages are to be arranged. The editorial page, and special pages such as
the woman’s page, the theatrical page, the continued story or feature
page, can usually be made up, stereotyped, and put on the press ready
for printing before the news pages are made up. The first page is, as
a rule, made up last, so that all of the very latest news may be given
a prominent place. Evening papers that make a special feature of the
financial and market page, make up that page last in order to print the
closing quotations of the day and to get the papers out on the street
as soon as possible after the closing hour of the exchanges.

=The Man Who “Makes Up.”= The actual work of arranging the type in
the page forms is done by the make-up men of the composing room under
the direction of one of the editors. On some newspapers the managing
editor directs the make-up, on others the assistant managing editor,
and on still others the night editor, or the news editor. With a set
of proofs at hand the editor directing the make-up indicates where
all the important stories and cuts are to be placed, and then usually
allows the make-up men to fill in the shorter matter with the smaller
heads. The experienced editor can picture in his mind the appearance of
the first page in print, as he directs the arrangement of the masses of
type and the cuts. A diagram, or schedule, is usually made out by the
editor in advance to indicate the position of the most important news
and cuts.

=“Making Up” Different Editions.= As every large newspaper prints
several editions, the page forms, after being stereotyped, are returned
to the composing room to be made over for the next edition. On a
morning paper the first edition, intended for places at a considerable
distance, is made up to leave the composing room about 9.30 in the
evening. A second mail edition follows this at about 11.30 P.M.,
another at 1.30 A.M., and the regular city edition at about 2.30 or
3.30 A.M.

On an afternoon paper the first edition may be made up at 6 o’clock in
the morning, and other editions may follow at intervals of about two
hours throughout the day. Generally, however, the noon edition, made up
about 10.30, is the first. This is followed by a mail edition made up
at about 12.30; by the home edition for distribution by carriers made
up at 2.30; and by the market edition made up at about 3.15, or as soon
as the closing quotations are received from the leading exchanges all
over the country. The sporting extra, following the market edition,
is made up the instant the complete score is received of the baseball
game in which the local team played, or whenever the result of the
most important sporting event of the day is announced. Following the
sporting edition, many afternoon papers get out a special mail edition,
dated the following morning, for distribution to distant points in
competition with the earliest mail edition of the morning papers.

In making up the several editions, it is desirable to change as few
pages as possible in order to save time and to avoid additional
stereotyping. When arranging the news on the inside pages for the first
edition, the editor can make up some of the news pages so that they
need not be made over for several editions at least. The front page is
made over for each edition and usually one or two inside pages. As the
value of news changes considerably in the five or six hours between the
first and the last editions, the longer stories with large heads that
occupy prominent places on the front page in the earlier editions are
often cut down, given smaller heads, and put in less conspicuous places
when later news requires the best position. Front-page stories of the
first editions often go over into the inside pages with headlines
unchanged, sometimes with the story cut down and sometimes in the
original form. Often only the top deck of the head is rewritten to be
set in smaller type, and one or two of the decks are cut off to reduce
the size and prominence of the head.

=Composing-Room Terms.= In the composing-room the editor in charge of
the make-up finds a number of technical terms in common use in addition
to those pertaining to type that are explained in Chapter X.

When all the “takes,” or pieces, of copy have been given out to the
linotype operators or compositors, the copy is said to be “all in
hand”; when it is all in type, or all set, it is said to be “all up.”
Each operator puts a “slug” containing his number at the beginning of
matter that he sets as his take. Advertisements are set in the part of
the composing-room known as the “ad alley.” Matter set by hand or on a
linotype machine is arranged by “bank men” in proper order in galleys
on a “bank,” or sloping shelf. After type has been used or has been
killed, it is “distributed” by hand, letter by letter, into the cases.
Linotype slugs, and usually all type smaller than 12-point that is
cast on a monotype, are thrown into the “hell-box” to be taken to the
stereotyping-room and melted up, so that the metal can be used again.

Page forms are made up on the “stone,” a smooth table top, formerly of
stone, now of metal. Forms are “justified” to make all of the columns
exactly the same length by inserting leads here and there between the
lines when a column is too short, and by taking out a few leads when
it is too long. After being “justified,” the forms are “planed down,”
or leveled, with a “planer,” or wooden block, which is tapped with a
mallet to force all type and cuts down to the level surface of the
stone. Type that does not stand squarely on its base is said to be “off
its feet.” The forms are “locked” by means of screws, or of wedges
known as “quoins.” After the first page form is thus “closed,” it may
have to be “ripped open” for late news. The forms are “put away” when
they are sent to the stereotyping-room.


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Observe carefully the “make-up” of representative newspapers in
   different parts of the country.

2. Study the “make-up” of your own paper.

3. Display the important news in a conspicuous position on the front
   page.

4. Arrange the front page to secure as much symmetry as possible.

5. Put the most important news story in the last, or outside, column of
   the first page.

6. Place the second best story in the first column of the front page.

7. Break over into the inside pages front-page stories of more than a
   column in length.

8. Alternate large and small heads at the top of the columns for
   contrast.

9. Remember that the upper right hand quarter of the first page is the
   most conspicuous.

10. Group on separate pages market, society, sporting, state, foreign,
    and other distinct kinds of news.

11. See that all guide lines are taken out when the type is assembled
    in the form.

12. Don’t use any matter before it is “released.”

13. Have some good two or three line “fillers” on hand.

14. Don’t “hold over” or “kill” really live news matter.

15. Remember that the number of street sales depends considerably upon
    the “make-up” of the front page.




                              CHAPTER XIV

                     THE FUNCTION OF THE NEWSPAPER


=The Newspaper Worker and His Work.= Any discussion of newspaper
writing and editing would be incomplete if it did not consider the
function of the newspaper and the relation of the newspaper worker to
that function. In this presentation of methods of newspaper making
the object has been to explain and to exemplify current practices in
journalism rather than to discuss the ultimate purpose and results of
such methods. It is evident, however, that unless the reporter and the
editor, consciously or unconsciously, set up for themselves ideals
based on their conception of the function of the newspaper, they have
no standards by which to measure the character of their work. Merely
to accept existing methods without analyzing them to determine their
results, is to overlook their underlying purpose. Not until a reporter
or an editor realizes the effect that his news story or his headline
produces upon the opinions, and hence upon the lives, of the thousands
of persons who read it, does he appreciate the full significance of
his work. Ideals and standards for any kind of work appeal much more
strongly to the average worker when he knows the ultimate effect of
what he is doing.

=The Newspaper and the Community.= Like all other undertakings, public
and private, newspaper making tends to conform to the current ideals
and tastes of the community. As far as it is a private business
enterprise, it is influenced by the conditions and the practices
prevailing in the business world. As a medium of information and
publicity, it is measured by the standards of the community in which it
circulates. It is a product of its environment, and at the same time it
is a force in creating that environment.

Conditions in newspaper making to-day are the outgrowth of the
journalism of preceding generations. The changes that have produced
these conditions are to a considerable extent the results of social,
political, and economic forces. A brief survey of the development of
newspaper editing and publishing, with special reference to present
problems in journalism, will help to a better understanding of the
function of the newspaper of to-day.

=Growth of the Business Element.= In the last seventy-five years
in this country, the editing and the managing of newspapers have
undergone a significant development. From being a comparatively simple
undertaking, newspaper publishing has become a big, complex, highly
organized enterprise. In 1835 it was possible for one man, James Gordon
Bennett, Sr., to start the New York _Herald_ with a cash capital of
$500, and to perform the greater part of the work connected with its
publication, for the owner-editor’s duties ranged from editorial
writing to keeping books, from gathering police news to making out
bills, and from commenting on conditions in Wall Street to writing
advertisements. The first instance of ownership of a newspaper by an
incorporated stock company came ten years later when Horace Greeley
and Thomas M’Elrath, editor and business manager respectively of the
New York _Tribune_, decided to share their personal ownership of that
paper with five assistant editors and with the five employees of the
business and mechanical departments who had been connected with the
_Tribune_ for the longest time. This joint ownership plan Greeley
and his assistants hoped would in time result in the “still further
application of the general principle that the workman should be his
own employer and director, and should receive the full reward of
his labor.” The amount raised by this stock company, $100,000, was
considered at that time a very large sum to be devoted to newspaper
publishing. How rapidly the conditions of newspaper making changed
is shown by the fact that less than thirty years after the New York
_Tribune_ was incorporated with its shares at $100 each, these shares
sold for as much as $10,000 each, and in 1869, less than thirty-five
years after the New York _Herald_ began with $500 cash capital, Bennett
refused an offer of $2,000,000 for his paper. Within the lifetime of
these two great editor-publishers newspaper making had become a big
business enterprise.

=Newspapers Require Large Capital.= During the last quarter of a
century the amount of capital required for success in newspaper
publishing has been further increased by the need for huge presses,
expensive linotypes and other type-casting machines, and more elaborate
stereotyping apparatus, as well as for better news service, new special
features, and more numerous illustrations. Expensive additions to the
mechanical equipment and other exigencies often make it necessary for
the newspaper company, like other business enterprises, to secure
financial assistance by borrowing considerable sums from banks.
Such has become the magnitude of the business side of the newspaper
that ownership by stock companies is the rule to-day instead of the
exception as it was in 1845. Not infrequently the majority of the stock
of a newspaper is held by one man or in one family, and one person,
often known as the publisher-owner, directs the publishing. In large
cities the amount of capital required to establish and maintain a
daily newspaper is so great that the publisher-owner must be a man of
considerable wealth. Stock in newspaper companies, however, is not
held exclusively by those directly connected with the paper. From the
point of view of the stockholders of a newspaper company, who are not
directly connected with the newspaper and who are interested in it
largely if not entirely as an investment, the important consideration
is that the newspaper shall be profitable, that dividends shall be
adequate and regular. In short, newspaper publishing has become a
large business undertaking subject to the conditions of big business
enterprises.

=Increase in Advertising.= Another important factor in newspaper
publication, that has developed in the last twenty-five years almost
step by step with the increased cost, has been the remarkable growth
of newspaper advertising. With growing combination and competition in
business, managers of great retail stores discovered that daily news
of their establishments, in the form of description of new goods,
bargains, and special prices and sales, was read by many with as much
interest as were other kinds of news. Newspaper advertising of this
kind has proved very profitable both to the advertiser and to the paper.

Half-page, full-page, and even two-page advertisements of department
stores and other retail business concerns have necessitated an increase
in the size of regular editions of daily papers from eight pages
to twelve, sixteen, or twenty-four pages. The number of classified
advertisements, such as “want ads,” has also increased greatly within
recent years. The large revenues from all forms of advertising have
made it possible to give the reader a better paper as well as a bigger
one, and at the same time to reduce the price generally from three or
five cents to one or two cents a copy. The reduction in price, in turn,
has resulted in remarkable gains in circulation. Whereas a generation
ago 50,000 copies daily was considered a very large circulation,
we now have newspapers printing daily editions of from 150,000 to
900,000 copies. Thus, although the cost of producing the newspaper has
constantly increased, the price to the reader has been reduced.

The result of these readjustments has been that from two thirds to
three quarters of the cost of maintaining a newspaper comes from the
advertising, and only from one quarter to one third from subscriptions
and sales. This means that when a man buys a penny paper, he is buying
for one cent what it costs three or four cents to produce, and that the
difference between the cost and the price he pays is paid for by the
advertisers.

=Decline of Personal Journalism.= Coincident with the change in the
financial organization of newspapers, significant changes have taken
place in the editing of them. Two generations ago the owner-editor who
established a newspaper with a limited amount of capital, as Greeley
did the _Tribune_, was the real head of his paper, who expressed
vigorously his own opinions in its editorial columns. Personal
journalism, as the expression of the political, social, and economic
beliefs of great editors, like Greeley, Bennett, Bowles, Raymond, Dana,
and Godkin, was an important influence in American life. These men
were recognized as leaders. The opinions set forth in their editorials
were accepted by readers as significant contributions to the solution
of current problems. In short, it was a period of great editorial
leadership.

With the development of the telegraph, the telephone, and the railroad
mail service, and with the expansion of the nation and its interests,
the amount of news available for publication increased many fold.
Distance, once a formidable obstacle to newsgathering, practically
ceased to exist when news could be flashed in a few minutes from
one end of the world to the other. The news field was enlarged from
the city and its suburbs to include the whole earth. The newspaper
became truly a paper of news, a budget of facts rather than a medium
for expressing the editor’s opinions. As a purveyor of the news, it
increased in circulation and prosperity. With an ample supply of facts
upon which to base their opinions, the readers no longer needed to
accept opinions ready-made from the editor. With greater independence
in thinking and in voting on the part of the reading public the
editorial leadership of the newspapers declined. At present the three
or four columns of editorials are relatively unimportant as compared
with the ten or twelve pages of news. To-day the names of the editors
are unknown to the majority of the readers. Company ownership has
contributed toward minimizing the opportunities of personal editorship,
until now it is said that personal journalism, in the old sense of the
term, has all but ceased to exist in this country.

=Wars Develop Newspapers.= In the gathering of news and in the
effective presenting of it, the two most important influences have
been the Civil War and the Spanish-American War. The great demand from
readers of all classes for the latest reports from the front during
the War of the Rebellion was a great stimulus to newspaper editors
and publishers. The beginning of the present summary “lead,” and of
the long bulletin form of headline for news stories, is to be found
in connection with the telegraph dispatches of war news. The advent
of “yellow journalism,” especially in New York City, coincided with
the breaking-out of the Spanish-American War. Big headlines, and news
displayed in larger type, served to advertise the latest reports,
which the public eagerly sought. The climax of large headlines is
found in two metropolitan newspapers which announced the declaration
of hostilities with the single word “WAR,” spread over the whole of
the front page. Banner heads in red and black, and large headlines two
and three columns in width, that are now not uncommon in newspapers
as a means of advertising the news, had their beginning in the
Spanish-American War days.

=The Growth of Cities.= The growth in the population of cities, partly
as a result of the movement from the country to the city, and partly
as a result of immigration, has made possible large increases in
newspaper circulation. New papers have not been established generally
to meet this growth in population; existing papers, rather, have
added to the number of their readers. The result has been that a few
large papers are to be found in all the big cities of the country
rather than an ever-increasing number of small ones. In great centres
of population, like New York and Chicago, the influx of foreign
immigrants has also been a factor in the development of so-called
“yellow journalism.” With a limited knowledge of the English language
and of American institutions, this foreign element has been attracted
by large, striking headlines, sensational news stories, diagrammatic
illustrations, and well-displayed editorials, and has become a
considerable part of the total number of readers of the “yellow
journals.”

=The Development of Features.= Hand in hand with the remarkable growth
of advertising in newspapers has gone the development of important
features in the editing of them. The success of department store
advertisements, for example, depends to a considerable extent on the
number of women readers. To secure and retain these readers, newspapers
have, accordingly, developed a number of features primarily intended
for women. Fashion news, cooking and household recipes, discussions
of etiquette, articles on health and beauty, advice in affairs of the
heart, society news, reports of women’s clubs, and similar subjects
have been given greater space from year to year because of the
constantly growing importance of women readers as a factor in the
business success of the newspaper.

The increase in the amount of advertising has made possible also the
expansion, in size and scope, of the Sunday paper. Special articles,
fiction, humor, and illustrations in black and colors, fill special
supplements, magazine sections, and “comics.” In fact, aside from the
news sections, the reading matter in Sunday newspapers has become
practically identical in character with that of the popular weekly and
monthly magazines.

Reading matter the primary purpose of which is entertainment rather
than information has always had a place in daily papers. Despite the
great increase in the amount of news available, this kind of material
has not been crowded out. The daily short story, a chapter of a serial
novel, feature articles, humor in verse and prose, and similar forms
of entertaining reading matter are a recognized part of every issue of
many newspapers in all parts of the country.

The perfecting of photo-engraving processes, by which half-tone
illustrations and zinc etchings can be made rapidly at relatively small
cost, has added another important feature to the newspaper. Photographs
of persons, places, and events that appear in the day’s news are now
quickly reproduced by the newspaper half-tone. Cartoons printed by
means of zinc etchings occupy a prominent place in many papers.

=Aims of the Newspaper.= The present-day newspaper, as a result of this
evolution, undertakes to accomplish five ends: (1) to furnish news,
(2) to interpret the news and to discuss current issues, (3) to give
useful information and practical advice, (4) to supply entertaining
reading matter, and (5) to serve as an advertising medium. The
primary purpose of the newspaper is undoubtedly to furnish news and
editorial discussions; the secondary one to supply useful information
and entertaining reading matter. These results, however, can be
accomplished with the present small cost to the reader only by reason
of the fact that the newspaper is a valuable purveyor of advertising
publicity.

The interrelation between the advertising matter and the other contents
of the newspaper is a vital one. The value of newspaper advertisements
is determined by the number and the character of the persons who
read the “ads,” that is, by the circulation of the newspaper. The
circulation, in turn, depends on the amount and the character of the
news and other features of the newspaper. Increases in circulation
make possible higher advertising rates, and higher rates produce
larger revenues from advertisements. The greater income received from
advertising and circulation is generally used to increase and improve
the reading matter. Decreases in advertising revenues usually mean
retrenchment in expenses and a reduction of reading matter. If this
reduction in news and other features of the newspaper is marked, the
paper will lose readers. Advertising, circulation, and the character of
the contents of a newspaper are thus closely bound up with one another.

=Recognition of Its Public Function.= That in its primary purpose,
of furnishing the news of the day with an interpretation of it and a
discussion of current issues, the newspaper is a public institution,
has been recognized from earliest times both in this country and
abroad. Although the American newspaper has at all times been a
private enterprise, its public function has always been emphasized.
In guaranteeing the freedom of the press, the framers of the first
amendments to the Constitution realized that it is necessary in
a democracy to have full information and free discussion on all
questions, social, economic, and political. They believed as did Milton
when he wrote, in his great defense of liberty of the press addressed
to the English Parliament at the very dawn of English journalism,
“Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity must be much
arguing, much writing, many opinions, for opinion in good men is but
knowledge in the making.”

The responsibility of the press to the public has been repeatedly
emphasized. In condemning the appointment of editors to public office
as a means of securing their support, Daniel Webster, in 1832,
declared: “In popular governments, a free press is the most important
of all agents and instruments. The conductors of the press, in popular
governments, occupy a place in the social and political system of
highest consequence. They wear the character of public instructors.”

That the newspapers are the teachers of the people has been reiterated
on the platform, in the pulpit, and in the newspapers themselves.
Wendell Phillips, a generation ago, in speaking of the importance of
newspapers in this country, said: “It is a momentous, yes, a fearful
truth, that millions have no literature, no schools, almost no pulpit
but the press. It is parent, school, college, pulpit, theatre, example,
counselor, all in one. Let me make the newspapers, and I care not who
makes the religion or the laws.”

=The Function of Newspapers in a Democracy.= To accept this generally
recognized function of the newspaper as the distributor of information
on all the varied subjects presented in the day’s news, is to give the
newspaper a place of great responsibility in a democracy like ours. If
we consider only its news-distributing function and disregard editorial
influence, the place of the newspaper is still a vital one in our
country, for the success of a democratic form of government depends
upon intelligent action by the individual voter. Such voting must be
based upon accurate information concerning all important events of
the day,—events of a social, commercial, and industrial significance,
as well as those of political import,—because many of the important
questions upon which the voter should cast an intelligent ballot
concern economic and social problems rather than purely political
ones. Practically the only source of information for the average voter
concerning local, national, and international events, is the newspaper.

The rapidly increasing tendency of citizens in voting to disregard
party affiliations, and the recent extension of methods of direct
making of laws by means of the initiative and the referendum, require
that citizens have accurate information on a great variety of subjects
to enable them to vote intelligently on men and issues. Any influence
that tends to affect the accuracy of statements concerning current
events thereby tends to affect the basis underlying the opinions of
the voters. Upon the accuracy of the newspapers in matters of news,
therefore, depends to a great extent the character of our government.

=Limitations to Accuracy and Completeness.= Absolute accuracy in
gathering and presenting the news is subject to human limitations.
Seldom do two eye-witnesses from whom the reporter gets information
agree in their accounts of what happened. The reporter must judge
of the value of the testimony of each witness, and must make up a
composite account of the truth as he sees it in these different
narratives. The copy-reader, in editing the reporter’s story,
frequently finds it necessary to cut it down considerably because of
the importance of other news. Again the accuracy of the report may be
affected by reason of this “boiling down.” The headline writer, working
under strict limitations of space, may modify the impression produced
upon the reader by the original story. Even on the mechanical side
the accuracy of the news may be affected by a careless compositor or
proof-reader. The rapidity with which all the processes of newspaper
making are performed greatly increases the possibility of error. The
personal equation, for which allowance is made in all scientific and
technical work, enters into every part of the process of newspaper
making, from the gathering and writing of the news by the reporter,
through the editing of it and the writing of a headline for it, to the
compositor, proof-reader, and make-up man. The chances of printing
inaccurate statements under such conditions may be reduced to a minimum
only by the exercise of the greatest possible care on the part of all
those concerned in the rapid production of newspapers, but mistakes of
this type can never be entirely eliminated.

Failure to give a complete report of the day’s news is due in part to
the amount of news available. Inasmuch as the average newspaper in a
large city receives from two to three times as much news daily as it
can publish, it is necessary for editors to select from the available
news, and to decide quickly which news is the most important for
their readers. The fact that this news comes in by mail, telephone,
and telegraph, as well as from reporters, at intervals throughout the
day and the night, makes it impossible for the editors to judge with
absolute accuracy of the relative value of each piece of news as it is
received. Consequently news values are constantly being readjusted as
each important piece of news reaches the office. In the final decision
in regard to what news shall be printed, what shall be omitted, and how
much space shall be given to each piece of news that is published, the
personal judgment of the editors is the determining factor.

Besides inaccuracy and incompleteness in presenting the news of the
day due to the personal judgment of those responsible for the making
of the newspaper, other forms of suppression or distortion of news are
to be found in newspaper publishing due to the influence of various
forces. It is to these influences that peculiar significance attaches
from the point of view of the ethics of newspaper publishing, because
in such cases the incomplete and inaccurate presentation of the news is
deliberate.

=Some Sinister Influences.= The forces that make for the suppression
and the “coloring” of news as well as for the restriction of
editorial independence, critics of newspapers assert, are the result
of the changes in business and editorial management during the last
seventy-five years. The charge is made that too many newspapers are
“edited from the counting-room.” Business interests, it is said,
particularly those of advertisers, influence news and editorials.
Because of stock company ownership and the absence of editorial
management by men known to the public, as were the editors in the days
of personal journalism, wealthy men or corporations, it is charged,
have been able quietly to buy up the stock of some newspapers and
through hired editors, of whom in these days the public knows nothing,
to direct secretly the news and editorial policies for personal
advantage. Some banks, these critics declare, have refused loans
to newspapers the policies of which were inimical to the interests
largely represented among the stockholders or the customers of the
banks; and when loans have been made to newspapers by other banks, such
indebtedness has sometimes been used to prevent the newspapers from
maintaining or adopting policies hostile to their interests. So-called
“yellow journalism,” critics of newspapers point out, furnishes another
example of the commercializing of the press, because, in order to
increase their circulation and profits, the publishers of “yellow”
journals pander to their readers’ cravings for the sensational. A
number of newspapers have published advertisements of fraudulent and
questionable enterprises because of the additional revenues to be
obtained from this source. Whether these charges are true of a number
of newspapers or of only a few, the existence of these conditions
and the possibility of these dangers make the subject one of vital
importance not only to newspaper men but to every citizen of the
country.

=Suppression of News.= If, for example, owners of retail stores
request newspapers in which they advertise to suppress all news of
elevator accidents in their stores because such news hurts their
business, the newspaper publishers might consent to this suppression
on the ground that it is more important to retain the good will and
patronage of these advertisers than to give their readers the news
of the accidents. The very existence of the paper, they may argue,
depends upon these advertisers, and, after all, newspapers give their
readers the accounts of so many other accidents that those concerning
elevators in department stores will never be missed. This seems to
be a logical argument for omitting news of this kind, but when the
results of such suppression are traced, the action, it is realized,
is unjustifiable. In the first place, elevator accidents are often due
to carelessness and haste on the part of passengers, and newspaper
accounts of them accordingly serve to warn many people to be more
careful. Thus the publication of the news helps to prevent accidents.
Again, the accidents may be due in part to the employment of young,
inexperienced, or careless operators. When it is proposed to correct
these difficulties by a local ordinance or by a state law providing
that elevator operators must be over eighteen years of age and must be
licensed as competent, the importance of passing such a regulation is
more evident to the average voter if he knows of the frequency of such
accidents. The suppression of news of these accidents would deprive
most citizens of knowledge upon which to base an opinion as to the need
of laws governing elevator operators.

The business interests of some cities, it is said, have urged
newspapers to suppress the news of epidemics or threatened epidemics
of such diseases as typhoid fever, smallpox, and even bubonic plague,
because reports of the presence of these diseases in a city keep away
travelers and hurt business. At first glance this plea might seem a
just one, and records show that it has been successful in a number of
instances. But the question inevitably arises, Has not the tourist,
the buyer, and every one else who is planning to go to that particular
city a right to know of the health conditions that prevail there, in
order to decide whether he wishes to expose himself to the possibility
of sickness and death? Again, Has not every citizen and voter of
the city a right to know of these conditions, not only that he may
protect himself and his family, but that he with other citizens and
voters may remedy the conditions responsible for the epidemic and may
provide for stamping it out? Reformers in some cities have declared
that local newspapers have refused to give publicity to campaigns
against graft and vice because the exposure of such conditions, the
publishers said, would reflect on the reputation of the city and would
hurt business. Others have said that newspapers have reported and
upheld investigations of municipal corruption as long as those affected
by such exposure were persons of little influence or importance in
the community, and that as soon as more important business interests
were threatened by the investigations, the attitude of the newspapers
changed completely. The question to consider is, Should the business
interests of the city be paramount to the welfare of all the people?
The vital questions for editors to decide must be, Are newspapers in
such cases doing their duty as distributors of complete and accurate
reports of the news of the day? Are they not morally responsible when
they fail to perform this duty?

=“Coloring” the News.= The so-called “coloring” or “shading” of news
is in the same category as the suppression of news. It is possible
to change the facts more or less completely so that a story not only
is incomplete but produces a false impression on the mind of the
reader. The sin is then no longer one of omission; it becomes one of
commission. To belittle the campaign of the opposing political party,
newspapers have misrepresented the size of the political meetings,
the enthusiasm of the audiences, the arguments of the speakers, and
in general, the success of the efforts to win votes. Candidates,
likewise, have been assailed and misrepresented in news stories. In
economic disturbances, such as strikes and lockouts, some newspapers
have given their readers colored reports by “playing up” the disorder
of the strikers, their threats of violence, and their unreasonableness
in refusing terms of settlement. Other newspapers, representing the
labor interests, have printed “shaded” reports to show that employers
have treated their men unjustly, that the militia has been brutal, and
officers of the law unfair to strikers.

Newspaper editors and publishers, in these and other instances, often
maintain that they only print what their readers want. The questions
involved, therefore, are, Do readers want unbiased news reports of the
events of the day, or do they prefer to have them “colored” or “shaded”
to favor the side in which they as a class are interested? Does the
business man who takes a conservative, well-edited newspaper want news
stories written to suit his point of view? Does the workingman who
buys the Socialist daily or the labor union daily really want his news
“shaded” to favor the cause of labor? In the case of a strike in which
business or manufacturing interests are involved, do not both employers
and employees want the actual facts as an unprejudiced reporter sees
them? If readers do want “colored” news in such cases, are editors
justified in departing from the truth in order to satisfy them?

Some men of wealth and some big business corporations have undoubtedly
bought existing newspapers or have established new ones, secretly
or openly, with the evident intention of using news and editorial
columns to advance their own interests. Ambition to secure political
office or power has obviously been the purpose of some of these men.
Creation of public opinion favorable to their business interests has
undoubtedly been the aim of other men and of corporations. Suppression
of unfavorable news, and the “coloring” of other news to make it more
favorable, as well as editorial argument and comment, are the means
used to accomplish these ends. In one notorious example in a large
city in the Middle West, reporters and editors were furnished with a
list of certain business enterprises that were not to be mentioned
in any unfavorable connection in the news, because the owner of the
paper was financially interested in these enterprises. Although men
and corporations have a right to present their side of any case
through the medium of the newspapers, and although there may be no
valid objection to the ownership or control of newspapers by men with
political ambitions or by corporations, it is plain that such ownership
and control are fraught with danger to public welfare by reason of the
public opinion thus created.

=Making News “Yellow.”= “Yellow journalism,” it is conceded, has been
developed largely by furnishing the readers with sensational phases
of the day’s events. In order to make the everyday news seem more
startling, large headlines with bold-face type printed in black, green,
and red have blazoned forth the striking facts of the news. Sensational
news stories of all kinds have constantly been “played up” prominently.
When the facts were not particularly unusual or striking, they have
been “colored” to seem so. This “sensationalizing” of the news has been
the result of an effort to attract large numbers of readers and by
enlarging circulation to increase profits. The effect on the readers
of this giving over of a large part of the news columns to sensational
news, and this “coloring” of news to make it more sensational, is, of
course, to give them a distorted idea of current events. To what extent
this distorted view of life affects the relation of these readers to
society is the question to be determined in analyzing the effects of
“yellow journalism.”

=Three Causes.= The three principal reasons for suppressing or coloring
news, as we have seen, therefore, are: (1) the desire of the owners of
the newspaper to use it to advance their own private interests or those
of their party or faction; (2) the influence of advertisers and other
business interests that wish to protect their own enterprises; (3) the
effort to make the news more attractive and sensational than it really
is in order to gain readers.

=Effects of Adulterated News.= Whatever may be the reason for the
“coloring” or the suppression of news, the effect of this distortion
or suppression upon the opinions and the votes of citizens is a matter
of sufficient importance to the people generally to warrant careful
consideration, not only by citizens but by newspaper men themselves.
If the social and political interests of the community are vitally
affected by news furnished in the newspapers, as has been shown in
the examples given, publishers cannot claim that the purpose of the
newspapers is to sell as many copies as possible, to get as much
advertising as possible, and to give the people what they want to read,
rather than to furnish their readers with a record of the interesting
and significant activities of the day, as complete and accurate as it
can be made. Like common carriers, such as railroads, the newspapers
have a public function as well as the private one of making money, and
that public function is to furnish news, the commodity in which they
deal, in a complete and accurate form.

News adulterated and “colored” is as harmful to the opinions of
newspaper readers as impure and poisonous food is to their physical
constitutions. Before pure food legislation prohibited adulterating,
coloring, and misbranding of foods, the buyer was at the mercy of the
unscrupulous manufacturer, just as the newspaper reader is at the
mercy of the unscrupulous newspaper maker. Although public sentiment
has demanded laws to prevent impure food, it has not yet insisted
that its food for thought be furnished unadulterated. A generation
ago government regulation of railroad rates, foodstuffs, and the size
of business combinations would have been regarded as unjustifiable
interference with personal liberty. To-day any government interference
with newspapers is considered as an attack on the freedom of the press.
Is it not possible that the next generation may see every newspaper of
this country compelled by public opinion, if not by legislation, to
give complete, unbiased reports of all events of general interest?

=Questionable Advertisements.= As an advertising medium, the newspaper
also has an obligation to the community. By giving widespread publicity
in their advertising columns to fraudulent investment schemes,
dangerous patent nostrums, disreputable medical practitioners, and
other objectionable matter, some newspapers, doubtless unintentionally,
have aided in grossly deceiving and seriously injuring the reading
public that they claimed to serve. For such practices the excuse has
been offered that the business of the newspaper is to sell advertising
space to any one who will buy it, and that it is not the business of
advertising managers and publishers to investigate the truthfulness or
moral character of the advertisements that they publish. Realization by
newspapers of the fact that by printing objectionable advertising they
may cause great harm to their readers has led many of them to reject
entirely all forms of questionable advertisement even though to do so
has, in some instances, cut off annually from $50,000 to $200,000 of
possible revenue.

=Honesty in Journalism.= The discussion of these various undesirable
tendencies in newspaper making, and the presentation of these
criticisms of some newspapers, do not imply that all newspaper editors
and publishers have subordinated public welfare to private gain, or
that all have permitted sinister external influences to affect their
news and editorial policies. Neither is it to be assumed that these
questionable methods are necessary for business success in newspaper
publishing. There are many notable examples of honest, independent
newspapers that have enjoyed marked financial success. In fact, a
careful survey of the whole country would doubtless show that few
newspapers that have continued to juggle with the truth in news and
editorials have been permanently successful in making money or in
keeping the confidence of their readers. Lincoln’s words are as true of
newspapers as of politicians, “You can fool all the people some of the
time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all
of the people all of the time.”

The stronger a newspaper grows because of the size and the character of
its circulation, and because of the money value of the good will thus
acquired, the more independent it becomes of the external influences
that may seek to modify its news and editorial policy. Unless such
papers are maintained to represent special business or political
interests, well-established papers with adequate capital behind them
are not likely to be affected by the demands of advertisers or other
outside forces. Strong, independent newspapers can publish the facts in
the news and can print editorial comments without fear or favor.

Unfortunately the rapidly increasing cost of newspaper production
has reduced the margin of profit of a large number of newspapers to
a point where the loss of any considerable amount of advertising or
other support means financial failure. Under such circumstances,
publishers have yielded to pressure from various interests and have
made concessions which doubtless they would not have done if they had
been in positions of greater financial independence. A few editors and
publishers have simply regarded newspaper making as an enterprise in no
wise different from business and politics, and have accepted the less
commendable standards that have resulted from competition in business
and rivalry in politics. Whatever the explanation that is offered for
deliberate failure to give newspaper readers the truth, it must not be
regarded as condoning the offense, however great or slight.

=The Reporter and His Problems.= The student of journalism should
know the conditions as they exist, so that he may face the problems
squarely and choose deliberately the course that he desires to pursue.
Too often reporters, editors, or publishers have not weighed fully the
ultimate effects produced by suppressing or coloring the news. It is
only by full consideration of the public function of the newspaper as
a factor in the social and political life of the community that the
true significance of dealing lightly with the truth as a crime against
society is revealed in unmistakable colors.

Although the news policy of the newspaper is determined by those above
him in authority, the reporter must decide his own attitude toward
that policy. If he finds that he cannot conscientiously accept the
ideas and ideals of his superiors because these do not conform to his
own standards of truth and honesty, he must look for a position on a
paper that does conform to those standards. A man cannot retain his
self-respect if he undertakes to do work that he believes to be false
or dishonest.

On any newspaper, however, the reporter finds himself confronted with
various problems that involve the public function of the newspaper.
He may be requested by an acquaintance, or by some person with whom
his work brings him into contact, to suppress, as a whole or in part,
a piece of news that it falls to his lot to report. Men and women
threatened with exposure or disgrace because of one wrong step, will
plead with him to spare them and their families by suppressing the
news of their downfall. In all such cases the reporter will do well to
refer the request to his superiors and to avoid promising to suppress
any news. Older and more experienced newspaper men in positions
of authority on the paper are usually better able to judge of the
desirability of yielding to requests and pleas of this kind than is the
young reporter.

=How “Faking” Does Harm.= In collecting and presenting facts the
reporter should make every reasonable effort to have them as complete
and accurate as possible. He is not justified in defending his failure
to get and present the truth and the whole truth on the ground that as
long as a story is interesting it makes little difference whether or
not it is entirely true. The first temptation to depart from the truth
not infrequently comes in an apparently innocent form. In the absence
of real news, or in an effort to show his cleverness, the reporter
takes some trivial incident and, by amplifying it with humorous but
imaginary details, makes of it an amusing little feature story. Such
stories often seem quite harmless in their effects on the readers or on
the persons mentioned in the stories. Instances are on record, however,
of persons who have committed suicide because their acquaintances
bantered them about the ridiculous situations in which they had been
portrayed in such newspaper stories. The reporter must remember that
the persons who play a part in his stories are human beings with
feelings, and that to hold them up before thousands of readers in a
ridiculous situation may cause them much suffering. But besides any
effect it may have on particular individuals, this embroidering of the
truth with fictitious fancies, even when it does not deceive the reader
in the least, tends to form in the reporter the habit of embellishing
all his stories with imaginary details. Thus it becomes the first step
in so-called “faking.”

Newspaper “faking” often appeals to the young reporter as clever and
commendable, particularly when he hears older newspaper men tell
stories of successful “fakes.” The “cub” may even hear his humorous
little feature story praised for its cleverness by his superiors who
know that it is largely imaginary. If he does not stop to consider,
he may consciously or unconsciously decide that fiction makes better
news than truth, and may proceed to write his stories accordingly.
Encouraged by some other newspaper man’s account of a similar exploit,
he “fakes” an interview when he fails to get one that has been assigned
to him. His “fake” interview may deceive the city editor, and when
printed may not be repudiated by the man falsely quoted. Although
apparently a success from the reporter’s point of view, the “fake”
story injures him more than he realizes, for it dulls his moral sense,
makes less keen his appreciation of the difference between truth
and falsehood. If his superiors discover the deception, they lose
confidence in his reliability and may discharge him at once. If his
identity is known to the victim of the “fake,” the reporter loses that
man’s respect and often makes him an enemy, from whom he cannot hope
to secure news in the future. In fact, “faking” is another term for
“lying” and the reporter guilty of it deserves to be called by the
“short and ugly word.”

Furthermore, every “fake,” whether it deceives few or many, lowers
both the newspaper that publishes it and newspapers generally in the
estimation of all who know that it is false. Stories recognized by the
reader as untrue, either as a whole or in part, shake his confidence
in the truth of all newspaper reports and lead him to discount all the
news that he reads. Thus the value of the press as a source of reliable
information is seriously impaired. From whatever point of view “faking”
is regarded, therefore, it is indefensible. It hurts the guilty
writer; it hurts the victim of “the fake”; it hurts the newspaper that
publishes it; it hurts journalism generally.

=The Dangers of Inaccuracy.= Inaccuracy due to carelessness or failure
to verify facts is less reprehensible because it is not deliberate,
but it is nevertheless a form of misrepresentation that in its results
may be as bad as “faking.” An error made by a reporter in the initials
or spelling of the name of a person charged with some crime has often
injured an innocent man or woman whose name happened to be the same
as the incorrect form of the real criminal’s name. In one instance, a
firm spent hundreds of dollars in sending out letters contradicting an
erroneous newspaper report of its failure, the error having been due
to the reporter’s carelessness in confusing the solvent firm with an
insolvent one engaged in the same business and having the same name
except for different initials. In such cases the newspaper is put in
an embarrassing position by its careless reporter, and is compelled to
make a public retraction of his mistake. Even if he is not discharged,
he is not likely thereafter to be entrusted with important assignments,
and everything that he does will be carefully scrutinized until he has
established a reputation for accuracy.

If reporters and correspondents remember that every story they write
not only affects themselves, their newspapers, and the persons they
write about, but also contributes toward forming the readers’ opinions,
they will consider carefully whether or not they can afford to permit
haste and carelessness to impair the completeness and accuracy of their
work. Although they are at the foot of the journalistic ladder when
they begin their work, reporters and correspondents should realize that
upon the character of their work in gathering and writing the news
depend, to some extent, at least, the opinions of the citizens and
voters who read their paper.

=How Editors Determine the News Policy.= The editors of the news,
by determining what shall be printed and how it shall be printed,
naturally have greater responsibility for the general character of the
newspaper than have the reporters. The editor’s failure to verify facts
in the work of reporters and correspondents means that any errors in
such work receive his approval and he thereby becomes responsible for
them. The results of faithful, accurate reporting, on the other hand,
may be entirely destroyed by the editor’s efforts to make the news
more striking and sensational. By their instructions to reporters,
correspondents, and copy-readers, editors directly determine the
character of the newspaper. When an editor tells a reporter, a rewrite
man, or a copy-reader to play up a certain “feature” in a news story,
he determines to a considerable extent what the effect of that piece
of news will be upon the readers. By cutting out important details, by
shifting the emphasis from one particular to another, by inserting a
word here and there, editors and copy-readers may completely alter the
impression made by the news. The size and character of the headline
given a story produce quite as great an impression on the reader as the
story itself. Headlines, as has already been pointed out, have played
no small part in so-called “yellow journalism.” All that has been
said of the importance of giving readers complete and accurate news
reports, and of the evils growing out of suppressing or distorting the
news, applies quite as much to editors and copy-readers as it does to
reporters and correspondents.

=The Newspaper Worker’s Problem.= A vital question for every one
engaged in newspaper writing or editing is whether or not he will obey
the orders of his superiors when these orders do not square with his
own standards of truth and right. The reporter must decide the question
when the city editor gives him his instructions; the city editor must
decide when the managing editor directs him in his work; the managing
editor must decide when the owners announce to him their policy for
the paper. Then it is that every newspaper worker is brought face to
face with the problems of present-day newspaper making. Then it is that
these problems cease to be general questions for discussion and become
a personal matter that each newspaper worker must decide for himself.
When it becomes a personal question to him, its solution does not
always seem so easy as when it is a general problem, because to disobey
the orders of his superiors usually means to lose his position.

This question, however, is not peculiar to the newspaper profession.
The problem is not unlike that which confronts men engaged in every
kind of business or professional work. Every business man, every
lawyer, every physician finds himself called upon again and again to
settle for himself the same ethical question. Competition in business
not infrequently leads to questionable practices for getting the better
of business rivals, employees, or customers; and it is repeatedly
necessary for men in positions of all grades to determine whether
or not they will carry out their employers’ policies when these do
not agree with their own standards of right and wrong. Lawyers and
physicians in their struggle to build up a practice are tempted to
resort to methods condemned as unethical by the standards of their
profession, or in the offices of established practitioners they find
practices in use which do not harmonize with their own ethical ideals.
In the older professions of law and medicine the members have directly
or indirectly regulated the conditions of admission to practice,
and have established codes of professional ethics. Such regulation,
reinforced by government legislation, has tended to maintain better
professional and ethical standards than would be possible without it.

Journalism, among the last of the callings to be generally recognized
as a profession, has established neither standards of admission nor a
formulated code of ethics. Only recently has the need of professional
college courses in preparation for journalism been recognized by the
public and by newspapers themselves. With the quickening of the public
conscience in regard to political and social conditions has come a
keener appreciation of the importance of the newspaper as the greatest
single source of information in our democracy, and a realization of
the dangers of abuse of this power by editors and publishers. Whatever
opinions may be held as to present-day standards in journalism, every
one will grant that it is the duty of those who enjoy the advantages
of university training in preparation for this profession to maintain
the highest ideals in their own work. Opportunity to know the truth
carries with it responsibility for making the truth prevail. _Noblesse
oblige_ is as true of the privilege of knowledge as it ever was of the
privilege of rank.


                              SUGGESTIONS

1. Remember that whatever you write is read by thousands.

2. Don’t forget that your story or headline helps to influence public
   opinion.

3. Realize that every mistake you make hurts someone.

4. Don’t embroider facts with fancy; “truth is stranger than fiction.”

5. Don’t try to make cleverness a substitute for truth.

6. Remember that faking is lying.

7. Refer all requests to “keep it out of the paper” to those higher in
   authority.

8. Stand firmly for what your conscience tells you is right.

9. Sacrifice your position, if need be, rather than your principles.

10. See the bright side of life; don’t be pessimistic or cynical.

11. Seek to know the truth and endeavor to make the truth prevail.




                               FOOTNOTES


[1] “Telling the Tale of the ‘Titanic,’” by Alex. McD. Stoddart; _The
    Independent_, May 2, 1912.

[2] _Collier’s Weekly_, March 18, 1911, p. 22.

[3] “What the City Editor does when a Gaynor is shot,” by Alex. McD
    Stoddart; _The Independent_, August 25, 1910.




                                 INDEX


    Abbreviations in copy, 226.
    Abbreviations in headlines, 288.
    Accidents, news stories of, 101, 109.
    Accuracy in news, limitations to, 341.
    Accuracy in news, necessity for, 51, 341.
    Ad alley, 328.
    Addresses, reporting, 46.
    Adds in copy, 61, 260.
    Advance copy of speeches, etc., 47, 58.
    Advance stories, release of, 48, 57.
    Advertisements, position for, 8.
    Advertisers, suppression of news by, 344.
    Advertising, growth of, 334.
    Advertising, influence of, on news, 343.
    Advertising of news in headlines, 271.
    Advertising, questionable, 350.
    Advertising manager, 3.
    Advertising space, how measured, 265.
    Agate line measure for advertisements, 265.
    Animal stories, 218.
    Art department, 14.
    Articles, beginning news stories with, 75.
    Assignment book, or sheet, 33, 36.
    Assignments, reporters’, 32, 36.
    Associated Press, 56.
    Associated Press, news bulletin of, 12.
    Autoplate stereotyping machine, 9, 10.

    Bank in composing room, 328.
    Bankmen, 328.
    Banks in headlines, 274.
    Banner heads, 305.
    Banquets, reporting, 174.
    Baseball games, news stories of, 167.
    Beat in publishing news, 31, 51.
    Beat, or news run, 31.
    Beginnings for news stories, 69, 103, 110, 128, 144.
    Beginnings to be avoided, 74.
    Body of news story, 88, 132.
    Body type, 264.
    Boiling down news, 205.
    Bold-face type, 264.
    Boston _Transcript_, story from, 184.
    Boxed facts in news stories, 86.
    Bulletins, news, 34, 57, 261.
    Bulletins, news, double leaded, 265.
    Bureaus, city news, 32.
    Burglaries, news stories of, 110.
    Business element in newspaper publishing, growth of, 332.
    Business management of newspapers, 2.

    Cable editor, 12.
    Camera, reporter’s use of, 49.
    Capital necessary in newspaper publishing, 333.
    Cases, type, 264.
    Cashier, 3.
    Casting box, stereotyping, 9.
    Catch-lines in copy, 259, 260.
    Chase, 8.
    Chicago _Tribune_, stories from, 82, 83, 214.
    Children, news value of, 23.
    Children in human interest stories, 213.
    Christmas celebrations, 174, 181.
    City editors, 5, 32.
    City news bureaus, 32.
    _Collier’s Weekly_, definitions of news in, 17.
    Colored headlines, 273.
    Colored news, 343.
    Column rules, 8.
    Column, width of, 265.
    Comics, printing of, 11.
    Composing room, 3.
    Composing room terms, 328.
    Composing stick, 265.
    Compositors, 3.
    Conventions, reporting, 136.
    Copy, 5.
    Copy, common errors in, 257.
    Copy, essentials of good, 60.
    Copy-cutter, 3, 7, 14.
    Copy-desk, 5, 13, 258.
    Copy-reader, how he works, 258.
    Copy-reader, qualifications of, 255.
    Copy-reading, 255.
    Copy-reading, example of, 267.
    Copy-reading, marks used in, 266.
    Correspondent, duties of, 54.
    Correspondent, instructions to, 57.
    Courts as news sources, 30.
    Courts, news stories of, 144.
    Crime, news stories of, 110.
    Crime stories, leads for, 112.
    Criminal court news, 30.
    Cross-line heads, 276.
    Cuts, 5, 338.

    Decisions, news stories of, 150.
    Decks in headlines, 274.
    Defalcations, news stories of, 110.
    Department store advertising, 334.
    Dispatches, filing of, 57.
    Display type, 264.
    Drop-line heads, 274, 275.

    Editing copy, 255, 266.
    Editor, city, 5, 32.
    Editor, managing, 5.
    Editor, telegraph, 5.
    Editorial policy, 4.
    Editorials, purpose of, 4.
    Editorial writers, 4.
    Editor-in-chief, 4.
    Editors, news, 5.
    Em as type measure, 265.
    Embezzlements, news stories of, 110.
    End mark in copy, 61, 260.
    Engagements, announcements of, 170.
    Ethics of journalism, 339, 357.
    Exchange editor, 5.
    Exchanges, news rewritten from, 206.
    Extraordinary events, news value of, 19.

    Faces of type, 264.
    Fakes, effects of, 354.
    Faking news, 353.
    Feature articles, style in, 229.
    Feature articles, subjects for, 225.
    Feature stories, 211.
    Features for crime stories, 110.
    Features for fire stories, 103.
    Features for rewrite stories, 196.
    Features, playing up the, 67.
    Figures at beginning of sentence, 75.
    Figures in headlines, 290.
    Filing news despatches, 57.
    Filing queries and schedules, 54.
    Fillers, 206.
    Fire losses, boxed, 86.
    Fires, stories of, 101, 106.
    Flash, or news bulletin, 35, 261.
    Flimsy, guide lines on, 261.
    Following up the news, 43, 194.
    Follows in copy, 260.
    Follow up stories, 194, 201.
    Fonts of type, 264.
    Football games, stories of, 162.
    Forms, page, 8, 329.
    Free lance writers, 224.
    Fudge printing device, 11.
    Function of newspaper, 331.
    Future books, editors’, 32.

    Gaynor, Mayor, news of shooting of, 34.
    Government publications, news stories from, 154.
    Government publications, special articles from, 225.
    Grammatical errors in copy, 257.
    Graveyard, obituaries in, 183.
    Guide-lines in copy, 259, 261.

    Hanging indention in heads, 274, 277.
    Headlines, abbreviations in, 288.
    Headlines and yellow journalism, 272.
    Headlines as advertisements of news, 271.
    Headlines, figures in, 290.
    Headlines, forms of, 274, 277.
    Headlines, function of, 271.
    Headlines, impartial and colored, 273.
    Headlines, methods of building, 294.
    Headlines, punctuation in, 292.
    Headlines, style in, 287.
    Headlines, tone of, 282.
    Headlines, type limits of, 279.
    Heads, banner, 305.
    Heads, jump-, 304.
    Heads, side-, 126.
    Heads, sub-, 302.
    Hearings, reporting, 145.
    Hell-box, 329.
    Holidays, stories of celebrations of, 174.
    Home edition, 327.
    Hotels as news source, 30.
    Human interest, news value of, 22.
    Human interest stories, 211, 212, 213.
    Humorous feature stories, 213.

    Illustrations, increase in, 338.
    Inaccuracy in news, dangers of, 355.
    _Independent_, articles from the, 12, 34.
    Inserts in copy, 61, 260.
    Instructions to correspondents, 57.
    International News Service, 56.
    Interviewing, 44.
    Interviews by telephone, 48.
    Interviews, form of, 139.
    Interviews, groups of, 140.
    Interviews in feature articles, 240, 243.
    Investigations, news stories of, 145.
    Items, news, 206.

    Jump-heads, 304.
    Justifying forms, 329.

    Labor editor, 5.
    Leaded type, 265.
    Leads between lines of type, 265.
    Leads, or beginnings, 66.
    Leads, explanatory details in, 75.
    Leads for crime stories, 110.
    Leads for fire stories, 103.
    Leads for rewrite stories, 196.
    Leads for speeches, etc., 128.
    Leads for trials, 144.
    Leads, how to begin, 69.
    Leads, leaded, 265.
    Leads, unconventional, 75.
    Lectures, reporting, 126.
    Legal proceedings, reporting, 152.
    Librarian, 5.
    Linotype machine, 3, 10.
    Linotype slugs, 10, 11, 329.
    Lists of dead and injured, boxed, 88.
    Local ends of news, 6, 25, 195.
    Local news, value of, 24.
    Locking page forms, 329.
    Long-hand copy, 60.
    Long-hand reporting, 46.
    Lower case letters in type, 265.

    Magazine articles, news stories from, 154.
    Magazine articles, style in, 229.
    Magazine articles, subjects for, 225.
    Magazine section, editor of, 5.
    Magazine section, printing of, 11.
    Magazine section, stories for, 223.
    Mail editions, 327.
    Mailing machine for newspapers, 11.
    Mailing newspapers, 9.
    Make-up of newspapers, 8, 322.
    Make-up, contrast in, 323.
    Make-up, front page, 322, 325.
    Make-up, importance of, 322.
    Make-up, positions of prominence in, 324.
    Make-up schedule, 327.
    Make-up, symmetry in, 324.
    Make-up, types of, 322.
    Making-up different editions, 327.
    Managing editor, 5.
    Marine editor, 5.
    Market edition, 327.
    Market editor, 5.
    Market reports, 26.
    Mat, stereotyping, 9.
    Matrix, stereotyping, 9.
    Measurement of type, 263.
    Meetings, reporting, 136.
    Monotype machine, 3, 10.
    Morgue, newspaper, 5, 6, 183.
    Murders, news stories of, 110.

    Names, accuracy in printing, 51.
    News, accuracy and completeness of, 341.
    News, adulterated, 349.
    News associations, 56.
    News, boiling down, 205.
    News bureaus, city, 32.
    News, coloring of, 346, 349.
    News, covering big, 33.
    News, defined by editors, 17.
    News, definition of, 18.
    News editor, 5.
    News, effects of adulterated, 349.
    News, essentials of, 18.
    News, following up the, 43, 194.
    News gathering, 29, 34, 36.
    News, getting it into print, 6, 12.
    News, grouping of, in make-up, 325.
    News items, 206.
    News, nose for, 50.
    News policy, sinister influences on, 343.
    News policy determined by editors, 356.
    News runs, 31.
    News sources, 30.
    News staff, 5.
    News, suppression of, 53, 343, 352.
    News, timeliness in, 19.
    News values, 18.
    New York _Evening Post_, stories from, 181, 232, 238.
    New York _Herald_, establishment of, 332.
    New York _Sun_, stories from, 78, 80, 174, 187, 215, 218, 236,
          240.
    New York _Times_, story from, 244.
    New York _Tribune_, establishment of, 332.
    New York _Tribune_, stories from, 178, 216, 230.
    Night city editor, 5.
    Night editor, 5.
    Night press rate, telegraph, 57.
    Noon edition, 327.
    Nose for news, 50.
    Note book in reporting, 52.
    Note taking, 46.

    Obituaries, 183.
    Organization of a newspaper, 2.
    Ownership of newspapers, 333.
    Ownership of newspapers, influence of, on policy, 343, 347.

    Paragraph length in news stories, 64.
    Paragraph marks in copy, 61, 266.
    Pathetic feature stories, 222.
    Pathetic feature stories, style in, 213.
    Personality sketch, 228.
    Personal journalism, decline of, 335.
    Photographer, staff, 49.
    Photographs for newspaper cuts, 49.
    Pi, type, 9.
    Pica as type measure, 265.
    Pied type, 9.
    Pittsburgh _Gazette-Times_, story from, 222.
    Planer, 329.
    Planing down forms, 329.
    Plate, stereotyping, 9.
    Platform, political, boxed, 87.
    Point system of measuring type, 263.
    Police headquarters as news source, 30.
    Police news stories, 110.
    Political subjects for feature stories, 228.
    Politics, news value of, 22.
    Position of advertisements, 8.
    Practice work, 94, 116, 156, 191, 208, 249, 306.
    Press associations, 56.
    Presses, newspaper, 10.
    Press, proof, 7.
    Press room, 3.
    Printing newspapers, process of, 9.
    Printing presses, newspaper, 10.
    Proof correcting, 315.
    Proof, example of corrected, 319.
    Proof, galley, 7, 315.
    Proof, marks for correcting, 316.
    Proof, revised, 8.
    Proof-reading, 3, 315.
    Proof-room, 315.
    Punctuation, common errors in, 257.
    Pyramid banks in headlines, 274, 276.

    Queries, schedule of, 55.
    Query, correspondent’s, 54.
    Questions at beginning of lead, 82.
    Quoins, 9, 329.
    Quotation marks in copy, 60, 266.
    Quotations in lead of news stories, 128.
    Quotations, misleading, playing up, 128.
    Quotations, verbatim in news stories, 126.

    Railroad editor, 5.
    Real estate editor, 5.
    Receptions, stories of, 169.
    Release date on advance stories, 48, 57.
    Reporter, ethical problems of, 352, 357.
    Reporter, how he gets news, 36.
    Reporter, qualifications of, 50.
    Reporter, suppression of news by, 53, 352.
    Revises, proof, 8.
    Rewrite man, 5, 194.
    Rewrite stories, 194.
    Robberies, news stories of, 110.
    Rules, column, 8.
    Running stories, 46.
    Runs, reporters’, 31.

    Schedule, make-up, 327.
    Schedule of queries, 55.
    Science, popularizing in special articles, 227.
    Scoop in publishing news, 31, 51.
    Second day stories, 43, 201.
    Sentence length in news stories, 64.
    Sermons, reporting, 126.
    Ship news reporters, 30.
    Short-hand reporting, 46.
    Side heads on news items, 126.
    Slang in headlines, 290.
    Slang in sporting news, 169.
    Slug, compositor’s, 328.
    Slug, linotype, 10, 11.
    Slugging a story, 259.
    Society editor, 5, 169.
    Society news, 169.
    Special articles, 211, 223.
    Special articles, style in, 229.
    Special articles, subjects for, 225.
    Special feature stories, 211, 223.
    Speeches, boxed excerpts from, 87.
    Speeches, news stories of, 126.
    Speeches, reporting, 46, 126.
    Speeches, reporting series of, 136.
    Sporting editor, 5.
    Sporting extra, 11, 327.
    Sporting news stories, form of, 161.
    Sporting news stories, style of, 169.
    Sports, news value of, 22.
    State exchanges, news rewritten from, 206.
    Statistics at beginning of special articles, 229.
    Stereotyped plates, 9, 10.
    Stereotyping, 9, 10.
    Stereotyping room, 3.
    Stick, composing, 265.
    Stickful as measure of copy, 265.
    Stock company ownership of newspapers, 333.
    Stock exchanges, news of, 31.
    Stoddart, Alex. McD., articles by, 12, 34.
    Stone, composing, 329.
    Stories, human interest, 211.
    Stories, news, body of, 88.
    Stories, news, handling big, 12.
    Stories, news, leads for, 66, 69, 75, 110, 128.
    Stories, news, style in, 61.
    Stories, special feature, 211, 223.
    String, correspondent’s, 55.
    Style book, newspaper, 258.
    Style, newspaper, essentials of, 61.
    Style in headlines, 287.
    Style in human interest stories, 213.
    Style in special articles, 229.
    Style, typographical, 63.
    Subheads, 302.
    Suggestions, 16, 28, 58, 93, 115, 155, 192, 207, 248, 269, 305,
          321,329, 359.
    Suicides, news stories of, 110.
    Summaries boxed in news stories, 86.
    Sunday editor, 5.
    Sunday magazine articles, 223.
    Sunday newspapers, growth of, 338.
    Suppression of news, 53, 343, 352.

    Takes of copy, 7, 14, 328.
    Technical subjects for special articles, 227.
    Telegraph copy, guide lines on, 261.
    Telegraph editor, 5.
    Telegraph news, filing of, 57.
    Telegraph news, form of, 12, 261.
    Telephone, assignments by, 48.
    Telephone directory, value of, 51.
    Telephone, getting news by, 48.
    Testimony, forms of, 147.
    Timeliness in news, 19.
    _Titanic_ disaster, news of, 12, 32.
    Trials, news stories of, 144.
    Trials, reporting, 47.
    Type cases, 264.
    Type cast on monotype, 10, 329.
    Type, distributing, 329.
    Type-high cuts, 266.
    Type, leaded and solid, 265.
    Type, measurement of, 263, 265.
    Type, names of, 263, 264.
    Type, off its feet, 329.
    Type, set by hand, 265.
    Type, sizes and kinds, 263.

    Unexpected occurrences, news stories of, 101.
    United Press, 56.
    United Press, news stories from, 261.
    Unusual, news value of the, 19.
    Uplift run, 31.
    Upper case letters in type, 265.
    Utterances, news stories of, 126.

    Want ad at beginning of news story, 85.
    Weddings, stories of, 169.
    Whitlock, Brand, article by, 245.
    Witnesses, news stories of testimony by, 147.
    Woman’s clubs, news of, 173.
    Women as newspaper readers, 338.

    Yellow journalism and big headlines, 272.
    Yellow journalism, criticisms of, 344, 348.
    Yellow journalism, advent of, in New York, 336.
    Yellow journalism and foreign population in cities, 337.

    Zoo, animal stories from, 23, 218.



                      ENGLISH FOR COLLEGE COURSES


EXPOSITORY WRITING
  By MERVIN J. CURL.
  Gives freshmen and sophomores something to write about, and helps
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SENTENCES AND THINKING
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                               —————————

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Keats’s Complete Poetical Works and Letters.
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=Chief European Dramatists.= In Translation. Edited by BRANDER
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=Chief Contemporary Dramatists, Second Series.= Edited by
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                               —————————

=Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Piers the Ploughman.=
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=Chaucer’s The Prologue, The Knight’s Tale, and The Nun’s
  Priest’s Tale.= MATHER.
=Ralph Roister Doister.= CHILD.
=The Second Shepherds’ Play, Everyman, and Other Early Plays=.
  CHILD.
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=Shakespeare Questions.= SHEPARD.
=Milton’s Of Education, Areopagitica, The Commonwealth.= LOCKWOOD.
=Boswell’s Life of Johnson.= JENSEN.
=Goldsmith’s The Good-Natured Man, and She Stoops to Conquer.=
  DICKINSON.
=Sheridan’s The School for Scandal.= WEBSTER.
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=Burroughs’s Studies in Nature and Literature.=
=Newman’s University Subjects.=
=Bryce’s Promoting Good Citizenship.=
=Eliot’s The Training for an Effective Life.=
=English and American Sonnets.= LOCKWOOD.
=The Little Book of American Poets.= RITTENHOUSE.
=The Little Book of Modern Verse.= RITTENHOUSE.
=High Tide.= An Anthology of Contemporary Poems. RICHARDS.
=Minimum College Requirements in English for Study.=
=The Second Book of Modern Verse.= RITTENHOUSE.
=Abraham Lincoln. A Play.= DRINKWATER.


         —————————————————— End of Book ——————————————————




                   Transcriber’s Note (continued)


Punctuation errors in the general text have been repaired. In the
practice work examples however, which requires the student journalist
to mark up or rewrite a passage of text, there may be deliberate
punctuation errors and misspellings. These have been left unchanged.

Except as noted below, unusual or variable spelling and hyphenation
published in the original book have been retained in this transcription.

  Page 10 — “semi-circular” changed to “semicircular” (semicircular
            stereotype plates)
  Page 52 — “newpapers” changed to “newspapers” (not what newspapers or
            their readers want)
  Page 67 — “defiintely” changed to “definitely” (be definitely fixed in
            advance)
  Page 112 — “near by” changed to “nearby” (the railroad yards nearby)
  Page 113 — “day light” changed to “daylight” (Seized by thugs in broad
             daylight)
  Page 149 — “anyway” changed to “any way” (Q.—Did you regulate their
             duties in any way?)
  Page 159 — “acccumulated” changed to “accumulated” (protecting
             gathered and accumulated)
  Page 192 — “daintly” changed to “daintily” (daintily covering her
             golden brown hair)
  Page 212 — “requires” changed to “require” (Feature stories require
             some literary ability)
  Page 222 — “Hipprodrome” changed to “Hippodrome” (back to the
             Hippodrome)
  Page 260 — “Catch lines” changed to “Catch-lines” (Catch-lines, such
             as “Society,”)
  Page 260 — “catch lines” changed to “catch-lines” (the catch-lines
             may indicate)
  Page 267 — “catch lines” changed to “catch-lines” (The application of
             these marks and the catch-lines)

Footnotes have been re-indexed using numbers and placed before the Index.