From Office Boy to Reporter; Or, The First Step in JournalismGaris, Howard Roger
General
From Office Boy to Reporter; Or, The First Step in Journalism
Garis, Howard Roger
Journalists -- Juvenile fiction
“I think you had better cover that strike,” said Mr. Emberg to Mr.
Newton one day. “You’ll have to remain on the scene all day. I’ll
send a boy up with you and you can send your copy down. Telephone if
anything big happens, otherwise write the story as it goes along and
send it in. Make it interesting, for the people like to read about such
things. What boy do you want?”
“I’ll take Larry,” said Mr. Newton. “He’s quick and smart.”
“That’s the reason I like to have him in the office,” said the city
editor. “But go ahead, take him with you. And you’ll have to keep an
eye out for him and yourself too. The strikers are in an ugly mood, and
they have little use for the papers.”
“I’ll look out,” said Mr. Newton.
Larry went uptown to the office of the cab concern. In order to have a
headquarters near the scene of battle Mr. Newton arranged to have the
use of a little store near the cab stables. There was a telephone in
it, and a small table where the reporter could write.
Larry and Mr. Newton reached the place about nine o’clock in the
morning. No sooner had they arrived than there was a fight between the
union and non-union forces. Several of the former attacked a cab taken
out by a new man. They pulled him from the seat and then, turning on
the power full, allowed the motor vehicle to run wild about the streets.
Several persons had narrow escapes from being injured and two horses
were knocked down by the big cab with no one to guide it. Another horse
ran away from fright. The police reserves were sent for, and altogether
there was considerable excitement.
Mr. Newton wrote a lively story of the happening, and sent Larry
back to the office with it. Then he sat down in the store to await
developments. They were not long in coming, for, pretty soon, the
strikers upset a cab. So, when Larry got back, there was another batch
of copy waiting for him.
“Plenty of stories!” cried Mr. Emberg.
Newsboys brought several copies of the _Leader_ around to the
headquarters of the cab firm that afternoon, and the story of the
morning’s happenings was eagerly read by the strikers.
They did not seem to like the frank manner in which Mr. Newton had
described their doings and there were several murmurs against the
“capitalistic press.”
“There’s the reporter what done it!” exclaimed a big striker, pointing
to Mr. Newton, who had stepped from the store to see how matters were
coming on.
“Let’s soak him!” cried several.
There was a movement in the crowd, but the police were on the lookout
for trouble and made the men disperse, at which there was more
grumbling.
“Aren’t you afraid?” asked Larry of the reporter.
“Not a bit,” was the reply. “I’m used to having trouble. I’m not afraid
of them.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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