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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1946-12-13, Page 7r•' knee x 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