itted in the vicinity, or a robbery the boldest ever attempted in
the block, or a race the fastest ever run on the track, or anything else
the largest or the least ever registered in the community, it will be
good for valuable space in the local news columns. A record breaker in
anything is a new problem to the public, who will read with eager joy
every detail concerning the attainment of the new record.

=44. The Unusual.=--The exceptional, the unusual, the abnormal is in a
sense a record breaker and will be read about with zest. A burglar
stealing a Bible or returning a baby's mite box, a calf with two heads,
a dog committing suicide, a husband divorcing his wife so that she may
marry a man whom she loves better,--such stories belong in the list with
the unique and will be found of exceptional interest to readers.

=45. Contests.=--The description of a contest always makes interesting
news. No matter whether the struggle is between athletic teams, business
men, society women, race horses, or neighboring cities, if the element
of struggle for supremacy can be injected into the story, it will be
read with added zest. Such stories may be found in the search of
politicians for office, in the struggles of business men for control of
trade or for squeezing out competitors, in contests between capital and
labor, in religious factions, in collegiate rivalry, and in many of the
seemingly commonplace struggles of everyday life. The individual,
elementary appeal that comes from struggle is always thrilling.

=46. Helplessness.=--Opposed to stories depicting struggle for supremacy
are those portraying the joys or the sufferings of the very old or very
young, or of those who are physically or mentally unable to struggle.
The joy of an aged mother because her boy remembered her birthday, the
undeserved sufferings of an old man, the cry of a child in pain, the
distress of a helpless animal, all are full of interest to the average
reader. Helplessness, particularly in its hours of suffering or its
moments of unaccustomed pleasure, compels the sympathy of everyone, and
every reporter is delighted with the opportunity to write a "sob story"
picturing the friendlessness and the want of such unprivileged ones.
These stories not only are read with interest, but often prove a
practical means of helping those in distress.

=47. Prominent Persons.=--Directly opposed to stories about helpless
persons or animals are those of prominent men an