Hamilton Collegiate Institute - Vox Lycei Yearbook (Hamilton, Ontario Canada)

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Easter V O X L Y U E I 1921 lj WHE OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS ill! :-: -- -- :-: :-:-1:-: :-: :-:a :-: Ross Lymburner AROLD JACKSON thought it hard luck that he should have to be on kick duty at the Ledger office on that Fine evening when The Ledger team clashed with The Times baseball nine. but it was Thursday, and every Thursday he had to stay in the business office from seven to ten in the evening to take care of complaints about the non-delivery of newspapers. Harold really belonged to the editorial department, where he had been office boy for nine months, and kick duty was extra work. Some day Harold hoped to be a reporter and he had already had the pleasure of seeing items which he had written, appear in print on several occa- sions. The Ledger was an evening paper, and so was The Times. As usual, the news- papers were keen rivals. There was a possibility that an extra might come out in the course of the next few days, for the great mine strike, which had almost para- lyzed all industries in Carbonville, stood some chance of being settled. Late that afternoon a conference between the mine owners and the labor leaders had opened in the neighboring town of Shafton, but it was not expected that much headway would be made for a day or so. lf they settle the strike it's certainly worth an extra, Harold had heard the managing editor say to the men on the reporter's staff. Better get down some copy reviewing what started the trouble. the loss in wages and business, and all that. , Harold had taken down the copy later in the day, and he knew that it was al- ready in type. waiting for word of the settlement to come from Shafton. A telegraph messenger came whistling into The Ledger office and tossed a mes- sage to Harold. How's 'kicks.' to-night, he asked, as Harold signed the delivery slip. Light, only five so far. The Ledger carriers are right on the job all the time. just like the telegraph boys. eh? grinned the other. So long, l've got to get down to The Times now-same mess- age, he added with a wink. We'll see that the 'same message' is, thought Harold. lt was an office rule at The Ledger that whoever received a busi- ness telegram must open it at once, and take it to the proper department. It was a Hash message of just three words: Strike settled. Compromise, and signed Bray. Bray was the reporter who was attend- ing the strike convention. He had rushed the bare facts of the big news, and was doubtless getting the details of the settle- ment, which he would telegraph later. It meant an extra--the best kind of an extra, too-one with good news. Harold knew the value of seconds in the case of getting out an extra. He jumped to the phone and called up the managing editor's house. This is The Ledger speaking. l want Mr. Burleson, please. Sorry, came the answer, but he's gone out for an auto ride and won't be back until eleven o'clock. Any message? No, thank you, It will be too late by that time. Harold then called up the city editor's home. Someone said that he had gone fishing. They do not answer, said Centrial, after repeated efforts to get the telegraph editor and the senior reporter. Most of the other members of the edi- torial staff, Harold knew, were at the base- ball game. It was impossible to get in touch with them. Precious minutes had already been lost. The telegraph boy had said: l've got the same message for The Times. It was a clear case of getting beaten on the big story of the year if he waited until he got in touch with one of

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n wr cfs fr 1 -. -2- , F -'l . .,., ,, 0 , Z7 X ,ffl--ft, R s N-J ff' V 1 T' t A If IJ nk K! 57 Jia:-:5 V f I ff Z L7 'V --, 1 -5 ' Ar: 4 4 f 2 2 f ? ' - 7' 4 pa 4 i A 5' f 2 u ' f Y , Q ' A ' I . ' ? A 1 ,S 4 4 9 ' 1 f 'ff f 2 4 x ' 2 Q 2 4 A ? . , r f 4 Q W fl, 5 ' W M cCU1.LoCff THIS IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL Mr. Bill McCullough wishes to announce that he will no longer be responsible for any debts contracted by his wife, Mrs. Dun, nee Dodo de Graft. Miss Thora Mcllroyz Dear Thora,-You wish to know if the study of electricity is difficult. Ask Rouge He knows everything. Mr. Gordon Anderson: Yes, Cordon, it would be advisable for you to stop drinking coffee. Try cocoa for a change. Any good brand, such as -er- Cowan's, is recommended. Mr. Dave Robinson begs to announce to all his friends and female admirers that he was only acting in the Collegiate play, and that he is not married at all. Mr. Frank McKelvey: Dear Frank,-Some one wrote us to say that as a football player you would malie a good butcher. Of course we don't be- lieve this, butl Mr. Harry Townsend: Dear Harry,-We will take great pleas- ure in printing in our next issue your em- phatic denial that you are a specialist on complaints of the eyes, ears. etc., it you will lcinclly forward your written confirma- tion of same. Miss Margaret Hughson: Dear Peggy,-ln answer to your sweet little note aslcing us if we thought you acted the last scene naturally, we will say that you did seem to know a hull lot about your profession. Miss Rhena Mcllroy: Dear Rhena,-Replying to your recent inquiry regarding the care of the teeth, we would advise you to refrain from candy in all its insidious forms. Miss Grace Miller: Dear Little Gracie,-Your inquiry re- garding a choice of universities has reach- ed us. We would advise McGill or Queen's. but not MacDonald or McMaster, Miss Irene Morwiclc: Dear Rene,-We are very glad to know that you have received your second-class certificate in the Go-getem School of Vamping. Your suggestion re further practice has been turned over to Mr. john R. Mccillvray, who will no doubt communicate with you at once. Go to l'llLI..'S, 90 King St. West, for Kodaks.

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Easter V O X the editors or reporters. Harold gritted his teeth as he made his decision: The Ledger is going to score this beat: I'll get the extra out myself and beat The Times to the street. He rushed to the composing room and told the men on the night jig to get the forms made up for an extra-the strike was over. ls the story in yet? asked the fore- man. UNO, just the flash. but it's enough for the two seven-column lines, 'Strike Set- tled,' in the biggest type you've got, and underneath, 'Capital and Labor Com- promise.' l'll rush the story down just as soon as Bray wires it in. You'll have to get hold of a stereo- typer and a pressman, warned the fore- man. l guess they're all at the ball game, but our men are not playing, while all The Times pressman are on the team. A sure beat. By good luck Harold found the news- paper wholesaler at home, and in a few minutes newsboys all over the town were being given the tip, Ledger extra coming out. Get down town quick! There was only one way to get a stereo- typer and the pressman from the park in quick time, and Harold did what he knew the managing editor would have done in the same case. He hired a taxi driver who knew the members of The Ledger staff, and sent him off to the park with strict instructions to get the men away quietly, so as to gain a march on The Times. Among his other duties in the editorial rooms, Harold had charge of the photo- graphs and cuts, and he knew that The Ledger had pictures of all the men who were sitting in the conference which had so unexpectedly settled the big coal strike. There were eight of them, four repre- senting the mine owners, and four the workers. Harold gathered all the cuts, L Y U E I 1921 wrote the names of the men underneath, and took them to the composing room to be run in the extra. Over one group he wrote, Fought for the Workers, and over the other, Protected Mine lnterestsf' When Harold returned to the business office, the telegraph boy was just coming in with Bray's second message, the con- densed story of the concessions made on both sides and the terms of the agree- ment which had been signed. The terms, Harold saw at a glance, would be highly popular in Carbonvilleg it would mean a return of old prosperity, and prevent the calling of strikes for a long time. Harold picked out a few important sen- tences from the dispatch and twisted them into suitable headings, then rushed to the composing room with the copy. He saw with delight that the stereotyper and the pressmen had just arrived, and chuckled when told that The Times' men had no inkling of the situation. Meanwhile, a yelling pack of newsboys had started to arrive, and soon a hundred or more were crowding the mailing room, clamoring for the press to start. When it did, and Harold grabbed the first copy of the extra and scanned the flaring head- lines, he had the supreme joy of knowing that once again The Ledger had scored a beat. The boys sold eight thousand copies in two hours. x- we ar- That was a dandy extra last night, said the managing editor next morning. Who got it out? The other desk man looked at him in astonishment. Why, we thought you did. Better ask Harold: he was on 'kick duty,' and he'll know. There was a puzzling frown on the managing editor's face as he went into the next room to see the boy, but a quiz- zical smile when he returned and said: We need a new office boy: Harolcl's junior reporter now. QQ