or a number of names. In your copy as you turned it
in"--the editor picked it up from his desk; he had evidently saved it
for such an occasion as this--"the only name you had was that of the
clothing store. I had one of the other boys get to work on the
telephone, and you see he got the name of the proprietor; of the
insurance company, with the amount of the insurance; of the man who
turned in the alarm; of the owner of the dray team that obstructed the
engine, and of the firemen who carried Beecher to safety. Every one of
these people, with their families, their cousins, and their aunts,
become especially interested in the story the moment their names are
introduced.

"Next, remember that it is not the business of a reporter to pass
editorial comment. It may have been too bad that the fire engine was
delayed, but that is a matter for the editor to decide. The business
of the reporter is to find out why it was delayed, and state the facts,
without regrets or opinions. You must learn to hold the mirror up to
nature without making faces in it. You know what I mean--keep your own
reflection out of the picture. If you think the incident calls for an
expression of opinion by the paper, write an editorial and submit it to
me. But remember that the editorial and news columns of a paper should
be as distinct as the two sides of a fence."

"Thank you very much," said Dave, slowly, when it was plain the editor
had finished. "I think I begin to see. But there's one thing I don't
understand. Why did you not mention the origin of the fire?"

A flicker of amusement--or was it confession?--ran across the chief's
face as he answered, "Because we don't know what started it--and
Beecher is one of our best advertisers. To say the origin of the fire
is unknown always leaves a smack of suspicion. It is like the almost
imperceptible shrug of the shoulder at the mention of a woman's name.
You can't get away from it. And it is the advertiser who keeps the
paper alive. . . I know it's not idealism, but idealism doesn't pay
wages and paper bills, and as long as readers demand papers for less
than it costs to print them they will have to take second place to the
advertiser."

"Then all reports are to be coloured to suit the advertiser?" demanded
Dave.

"No. Where a principle is involved--and we have principles, even in
these degenerate days--we stand by the principle, even if we lose the
patronage. Our notions of what is f