HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1946-12-13, Page 7r•'
knee
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ELIAS T013E141(111
(Continued from last week)
"Many eel- re&petting physicians,
like m`yseif, • perform such, operations'
xrorbeennee we relish, war on the un-
;born, but •'in order to 'save those air
matt A living.. Ga -home; young -man,
and be thankful that your wife is , now
on the road to mental and physical
recovery in a hospital instead of ly-
ing, a suicic.e, ::. 'she would have been,
had not I yielded to her'plea. '
"Go home, and when you have„
thought it over, and find. that I have
earned, the twenty-five dollars which
your wife was supposed to pay me,
you can send me a cheque for the
- other ,twelve and a half dollars. But
there is no hurry about it. Pay it
. when. you can." •
Emil 'walked through the streets of
the city until late that night. The last.
time he passed it was midnight. He
did not know- what room she wee in,
But everything about the building was
quiet- Evidently everything was well.
When he entered his room he found
a small handkerchief on the floor. It
was Helen's. She had dropped it ' as,
she was leaving for the hospital. - . .
He put the handkerchief to his ,-lips.
A stream of tears broke from his.
eyes: 'Ilhey were' tears of sorrow and.
of longing for the, girl, fg9�r his wife,
to Whom he felt he would always re-
main a debtor for her great love and
sacrifice for him. . .
CHAPTER' XV
THE •NEW KING
"What does Manning mean when
he says he is a 'static''?" Witte had
asked Norton •shortly after he came
to work for the "Star.
Norton- smiled. •
"By being a 'static', Manning .means
that lie stands aside and watches the
passing show with a grin. He means
LEGAL
McCONNELL & ,HAYS
Rarriaters, Solicitgrs, Etc.
Patrick D. McConnell - H, Glenn Hays
SEAFORTH, ONT.
Telephone 174 ,
A. W. SILLERY
"Barrister, Solicitor, Etc.
SEAFO1 TH " "ONTARIO
Phone 173, Seaforth
MEDICAL
SEAFORTH CLINIC
DR. E. A. McMASTER, M.B.
Physician
DR. P. L. BRADY,. M.D.
Surgeon
'Office hours daily, except Wednes-
day: 1.30 - 5 p.m., 7-9 p.m.
Appointments for consultation may
bemade in advance.
JOHN A. GORWILL, B.A., M.D.
Physician and Surgeon
IN DR.. H. H. ROSS' ,OFFICE
Phones: Office 5-W; Res. 6-J
Seaforth
MARTIN W..STAPLETON, B.A., M.D.
Physician and Surgeon
Successor to Dr. W...0. Sproat
Phone 90-W Seaforth
DR. F. J. R.. FORSTER
Eye; Ear, Nose and Throat
(Graduate in Medicine, University of
Toronto.
Late assistant New York Opthal-
mei and Aural Institute, Moorelieid's
Eye and Golden Square Throat Hos-
pital, London, Eng. At COMMERCIAL
HOTEL, SEAFORTH, THIRD WED-
NESDAY In each month, from 2 p.m.
to 4.30 p.m. •
53 Waterloo Street South, 'Stratford:
JOHN D. GODDARD, M.D.
° Physician and Surgeon
Phone 110 - " - Hensall
4063x52
DR. F. H. SCHERK
Physician • and Surgeon
Phone e6 - Hensall
AUCTiIONEERS
HAROLD JACKSON
Specialist in Farm and Household
$ales.
Licensed In Huron and Perth Coun-
ties. Prices reasonable; satisfaction
guaranteed;
Per infortuatimi, etc., write or phone
HAROLD JACKSON, 14 on 661, Sea-
torth; .,R.R. 4, Seaforth.
PERCY C. WRIGiIT
Licensed ,Auctlbneer"
Household, farm stock, imrlements
and pure bred gales, Special training
And .experience enables •-me to offer.
7011 sales service, that is most effici-
Witt and 'satisfactory. PHONE 90 r 22,
Mensal;.
W. L Q'NEIL, DENFIFv,LD, ONT.
Licensed "•Auoticiaeeer
Pare bred irfa14$, also rearm stock
rand. •ig1plements,' One per • Cent.
Choirgel 4italistaattnn guaranteed,, For
> .,•.dates, ., Thune 38.7, Grasiton, at
that after one is in the newspaper
business a none time, one loses, the
power to enthuse over ideas, to sight
for a principle; One bectgaes ac0us-
tomed to the world's tellies 'andu-doss;
not try to' reform it. One becomes'
indifferent.
Manning's description of hilOself_ as
a "static" was not entirely true. He
had not lost tb,e, power of enthusiasm
altogether, He was not indifferent to
everything. 'While it amused 'him to
see people take up a so-called "cause"
and fight for it, while he dismissed
such people as "cranks," he was him-
self a ';,prank" in certain matters. One
of these was the editing ,01 a Sunday
paper.
It was common talk in newspaper
circles that , Manning had made the
Sunday Star: He had poured his life
into his- work, It was his ,pride that
the Surnday Star aiwaye led, that his
ideas were invariably followed, cop-
ied. On the question of editing a Sun-
day • paper, Manning was, not a. -"sta-
tic." He was not indifferent. He was
positive. He knew what he wanted
end. r�n'•sistedon having his own way.
Accordingly when the expected hap-
pened, and he "was called on the car-
pet before the . directors at a very
private conference, Manning entered
the office with his mind. ft}lly made up.'
The directors; wanted him to drop the
"Pessimistic" stories as they called
them politely, (They had other less
polite names for these stories which
they refrained from mentioning in the
editor's presence:) They were. un-
wholesome. The Star cotd not be
confounded with those w o try to
muckrake. Let him fill the .Sunday
paper with pleasant reading matter.
Why dig up the gloomy, unpleasant
side of the city? Those things had
better be left alone., It' does no good
tc stir up discontent.
The spokesman'of the directors, Mr.
Andrew G. McNaughton, was a gentle-
man •Who ,headed a large manufactur-
ing plant in Chicago. The 'editors of
the Star spoke of pin as r',the good
old Tory." He was accustomed to
command.' , He talked to many of his
lawyers much the same as he did to
his clerks and office boys, To him an
"employee" was an "ethployee," no
natter what work he, was doing.
Manning listened to a long tirade by
McNaughton' in silence, • The ,silence
of the editor, the steady gaze of his
gray. eyes irritated the manufacturer.
As the chairman of the Board of Di-
rectors,' McNaughton could dictate the -J
polio• of the paper. Manning knew
that; he acceded to it, McNaughton
could order things with regard' to the
m•anagement of the Star as he could
with regard to the management of his
factories. There was nothing for
Manning to do when McNaughton was
exercising . his rights as chief stock-
holder,' It was 'his property and he
had a right to order what should and
what should not go into the paper.
The continued silence of the Sunday
•editor finally brought McNaughton out,
of all patience. He began to cast as-
persions upon Manning, upon his abil-
ity. as an editor. In a fit of suppress-
ed rage he suggested caustically that
perhaps Manning was combing the
slums and digging up "these sewer
stories" (be pointed to a number of
clippings which lay on the table in
ront of him) because of a famine of
ideas, • -
The chief of the stockholders had.
ventured beyond his boundaries. He
could dictate to..the Sunday editor,
but he could pot assail his•profession-
al pride.
At these- words of McNaughton,
Manning became very pale, • A smile
played about his lips and his droop-
ing, sarcastic chin, a'smile' of bound-
less, crushing contempt. Hs straight-
ened.up in his chair and with a 'slight-
ly exaggerated. politness replied the
chief stockholder. fie . had great re-
spect for Mr.. McNaughton's ability as
a business man, Manning said' speak-
ing slowly and still smiling, but he
considered the latter's opinions about
editing a newspaper entirely worth-
less. ' -
It. was .Mcl'aughton's turn to grow
pale. He was beaten. Manning came
from a New England family whose
traditions went back to pre-Revolu-
tionary • days, Several well known
writers had come from that family.
Mannings. father had been a fatuous
editor in his day.. Manning's sneer at
McNaughton's attempt to j&idge him,
to condemn him as an editor, struck
a vulnerable spot. McNaughton per-
sonally was not cultured. As For his
;family—he ,sidetrack`ed all reference
to 'it by stressing the factthat he
was a. self-made man.
Manning dropped 'his smile. He
spoke in dead earnest now.
."You object to my printing stories
which deal with vital facts," he said,
"facts that are of great concern to
the community, to the nation. 'Sewer
'c•tories.' you call them. You speak of
them with contempt. ,The German
government, the statesmen, of -Ger-
many, do not sneer 'at these facts. Bel-
gium does ',not sneer at them, They
know better over there. They are in-
terested in these problems and try to
remedy such conditions,
"A paper iike the Star should be
alive to all the issues and problems,
and wants of the people. It should.
know the .city, yes, even to the rat -
holes and. sewers, where the masses
live and breed anger and discontent.
"Let me predict," Manning contin-
ued, lowering his voice, but lending a,
prophetic emphasis to it, "let me pre -
diet that in five years from new the
sante issues which I• a°tn now taking
tip in the Sunday papers, burled • be-
tween- colunms of advertising, will
command a respectful hearing on the
editorial page of the Star."
The directors shifted uneasily in
their seats'. McNaughton quickly as-
serted himself. Assuming a.lofty look
of unconcern, as if to signify;that he
was accustomed to meet all sorts- of
people •and to, listen to all sorts • et.
twaddle by flighty or ill-balanced'+perw
shite, he announced that he knew what
he wanted in' the Sunday Star and
proposed to stand by his gouty.
"Then' you'd better get another man
to carry.' out your policy," .Manning
said, rising from his chair, and he
walked out of the directors' room.
Several directors exchanged uneasy
glances... One,of them said something
about Manning's years of aerviee to
the paper. He ;had built up the cirou,-
lation of the' Star. He had given it
prestige. The Sunday editor was too
-good a man to lose.
' Bin McNaughton was obdurate. He
was furious.
"No man is too good to lose,'' he
shouted. "The day when a man- was
indispensable is over. Manning'goes
and his place shall be filled at once."
The next morning. there-api?•eared
on the bulletin .board a notice, signed
by the publisher, ,announcing that
"Mr. Manning having resigned, Mr.
Bradford is now Sunday editor, and
,the staff is expected to regard him
accordingly."
Bradford was one of the Star's priv,
ileged reporters. He was, what was
known as a ``policy man." He'was a.n
expert when it came to writing a cyn-
ical or sneering story. • And on the
Star sneering stories took first rank.
For the Star ,had close affiliations
with certain corporations. When a
special privilege was wanted from the
city council by one of these -corpora-
tions' and "'objection arose from one
source or another, the paper immedi-
ately launched out upon... a campaign
of sneers and ridicule against the men
who objected to the steal. Invariab-
ly such campaigns of ridicule result-
ed. in victory for 'the dbrporatien bee
cense they diverted the public, mind
from issues• to cheap personal sneers
:
ar,d libels against certain men. •
So,Bradford, having for years serv-
ee in the position of "policy report-
er" and having helped put' over "jok-
ers" on the people, was placed , ir.
Manning's position. There . was a
double object in it. Not only was it
to reward Bradford. His viewpoint,
WS' attitude towardsocial questions,
or rather lack of attitude, were con-
sidered essential now to undo the
work of Manning. 'He could, be relied
upon to have no ,eye_._l;or, slums aid
problems. Thera would be no more
"uncomfortable" stories in' the Sunday
paper.
Bradford began' his duties as' Sun-
day editor with a general overhauling
of the staff. He called the" writers in-
to• his office one by one. Some of
theme came out smiling. Others had
a' furtive look in their. eyes.
He. called Witte last.
"There. are some stories I want you
to take," Bradford said. The acquaint-
ance between Witte and himself had
been very casual. The Sunday editor
now looked him over carefully, 'search-
ingly. Bradford's spoken instructions
were to sidetrack Witte from his ac-
customed work and put him on gen-
eral assignments. .The unspoken in-
structions were to get rid of him.
It was policy' with the Star not tb
"fire"'reporters but to "let them out,"
There were various ways of letting a
'reporter see that his Usefulness to the
paper had waned and that his remov-
ing 'himself would be welcomed: This
policy of not discharging employees
was fostered , ;by • McNaughton, who
cherished' the, -idea of being a "ben-
evolent" employer.
"We have had altogether too many.
distressing stories in the' paper of
late," Bradford continued. "There
*ere•.. some protests --from readers, • I
believe. Anyway from now on we
want bright and snappy things in the
Sunday paper_ . Suppose you try to
get some humorous stories. Ffnd, for
instance, the iargest family in Chica
go—a than having thirty or forty chil-
dren. That would make a corking
page. Another story you might get is
about the girl that has .had• the most
proposals of marriage. Get me' also
a story about the shop girl who bas
the prettiest feet in Chicago. . .
. There was very little, work done in
the office that afternoon. The men
sought out the nearest bar -room and
there discussed the "new king." .
Witte took little interest in the' dis-
cussions now, Since the days he had
spent in the hospital with his wife
arid watched her go through the,..or-
deal, her struggle against death, . his
job and office `politics appeared small
indeed. He felt -guilty • toward his
wife. It was his fear, his helpless-
ness' in the' arena of life, he said to
himself, that had 'urged Helen on to
take chances with death.'
In the office meantime the work of.
disintegrating the- staff was begun.
T1vo new men were brought in by
Bradford.. One of them was to be his
assistant, the other a rewrite man. An
uneasy expression appearen, on the
faces of ,several members of the 'staff.
Somebody would have to leave— ,
At the end of the week the Sunday,
editor called in a Mr. Lane, a member
of the Star's staff for several years,
and ii formed him that henceforth he
would be put or} space. 1= Ie Would be
paid foe as many 'stories as the paper
-would. use. Lane resigned. .
"I guess it' is i"hy Lulu 'next," Witte'
thought and, was vaguely planning
what he would do. Bradford had al-
ready dropped several. remarks • about
not caring for stories about the "for-
eign scum" and the "tenement trash."
."There is a letter• for you in the
mailbox," Norton woke him out of
his reflections. The letter was from
a Mr. ,Brinton, the editor of 'a new
magazine, started 'in Chicago. Would
Witte kindly come and see him at
once?
Witte went. Brinton needed an
artiele on a civic subject for -the next
issue. Thacw ould be a week hence.
Could Witte Mere such an article in a
week?
The article was finished four days
later. The same afternoon Brinton
called up to notify Witte that the art-
cele suited,.
"It is just the thing," said the edi-
tor; "come and see me in the morn-!
3
ng,"
,
rn
'f+een dear ':took ,glce irQlt►e.
In 090004 TQrgzt i?ip eonaesgioa' Zl;.
on Nt?veliaber 2Q; of Wrliia.?in Wil an
Wi$e,; in SS, ' 7#h Fear, fQliowing
tl ness' of 040, years; HO was crushed
b • an an nhat at 1,11at time bald had'
417r falba Iloait� a since, He Was
bSl A QM t#e •#ayyeltl' 4944, the sum Of'
the late Edw rd Wise: and Amanda
Wise, Gaderioh 'Me and was -mar-
ried In ; ligus> 1:90, to Jennie Trick.
He was a member' of Middleton An-
guess Church/ and farmed` •' all his
life, Deceased 7s: -surviveii by hie
wife,three- daughterand a° son: Mien-
es - i oriel and, Hal 'let, Uintpn, -and
Vvelya,.and 'GeorgaaAt home. He is
also survived by two:brot'hers, Charles
on the Bayfield Road, and Herbert on
the 16th concession, Goderich Twp.,
and a sister, Mrs. Boward Clarke, of,
Brinton ordered two•' more articles
from Witte "on social lines." They
were ready in" less than ten days.
Witte was now awaiting for a letter
from Brinton. There might be some
changes to make. , They mighf•"••even
have to be rewritten. He- was ready
for it. After ten days the letter came:
The editor was pleased with the art-
icles. He might want to change here
and there a phrase later on, but there
would' be 'no material change. He en-
closed a cheque for one hundred and
five dollars l; or the three.
(Continued Next Week)
BACKACHE
Rheumatic and
Sciatic Pains
Quickly Relieved by
RUMACAPS
KEATING'S DRUG STORE
Ge 0A#
gin
All through the holiday, season
telephone operators will be on duty
and all Long Distance • lines in service
to handle the thousands of -extra calls
we knowwill be made. '
Most of these calls will be
completed promptly. Occasionally,
however, there will be some delays.
If your Christmas call is one of
those which cannot be put through -
immediately,.you may be sure we'll do
everything possible toieep delays
to a minimum..
THE BELL TELEPHONE
•
COMPANY OE CANADA
r
wed may the thick-skinned rhinoceros grieve, for chemistry
has produced an insulating material that puts even his tough
hide to shame ... It is called polythene—anew plastic
that stands up to heatand cold and is unaffected by any
known chemicals at ordinary temperature. Its unusual
insulating qualities make it an indispensable factor in the vast, new
field of radar, ind television while it gets back to earth
again in the form of simple, resilient, waterproof refrigerator
OA
bowl .covers that seem to last forever ... polythene, in its scope
of application, is another outstanding example of what
Chemistry is contributing to our,daily comfort and welfare.
'SERVING, CANADIANS
TNIOIEN CIr* ST*T
iV with tougher' tures..:
8 stitchless watch straps...und
anti -freeze tractor • tires
Carbon Black. (a nuisance
when it collects on the lamp
chimney) makes today's tires
much tougher and abrasion
resistant. 25 years ago tires
ran 5,000 miles, with luck:
Today's ares, thanks largely
to the addition' of carbon
• black, run at least 5 times
farther. A versatile material,
carbon black finds its way
into such diverse products
as ink and buttons, fountain
pens and, yes, carbon paper,
/ scrap without stitches -Will
grace the wrist watchof the
future. It is molded from the
versatile plastic, nylon,
which makes it unaffected
by weather, perspiration or
continuous wear. Tested by
servicemen under all cli-
matic conditions, it is now
about ready for peacetime
use.
Practical farmers weight
their tractors by simply add-
ing water to the tires. in
summer this procedure is
fine, but in cold weather the
addition of some antifreeze
to the water load is neces-
sary. Here chemistry steps
in. Calcium Magnesium
Chloride obtained from
C -I -L salt at Neepswa; Mani-
toba, is the low cost cnemi-
al idea for this privet e.
It has tab deft renal effect
on the tires.
it