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Show Newspaper Men and Others. (Washington Post.) One hears in Washington, especially from small persons in big places, a great deal of scornful talk about "those newspaper news-paper men." Chetip officials, suddenly arrived aristocrats and society saphcads are most conspicuous in this form of dissipation, dis-sipation, chiefly, we imagine, because it is a habit which nuts no strain unon tne I moral or intellectual equipment of the individual. in-dividual. The habit, however, is more general than might be supposed. Otherwise Other-wise good and honest men indulge them-, selves in it much too frequently, and really well meaning nincompoops speak slightingly of the newspaper men because they have heard some solemn ass or some perturbed hypocrite and humbug set the poor example. Of course, from this point of view there are no impostors in high places, social or official. Any reeking ward bummer who is paid for his unmentionable services serv-ices with a titled place under - Kovern- j ment: any successful pinite in eommerce. usury or speculation: any parasite of I some millionHire who has contributed richly to the fund; any little cocksparrow in uniform: any seicntific or literary chHrlatan: any half-witted grafter or dependent de-pendent foisted on the treasury by men of influence who are tired of supporting him: any bumptious and complacent specimen spec-imen of provincial mediocrity who lands in office by a pull any one of these must necessarily he all that he thinks he is, or pretends to be. or is described on the offficial payroll. Only the newspaper men are objectionable, objection-able, fraudulent, inferior, distasteful. Society So-ciety would be all right, government would be all risht. the mountebanks and imbeciles and upstarts would be ail right, if it were not for the newspapers. But j for, these pestiferous and unprincipled and j vulgar chroniclers of unpleasant facts, the world would be a far more comfort able place for everybody with something to conceal. i "Those newspaper men" need no de-I de-I fender. We have no thought of thrusting thrust-ing a defense upon them. We content ourselves with the statement based upon many years of close familiarity with the personnel of all the classes mentioned that the journalists in Washington, compared com-pared with the riffraff of greasv parvenus, parve-nus, and fawning courtiers, and society bcunders who defile the surface of our community, are as pure wine to the most unwholesome dishwater. They are better horn, better bred, better educated, more honest, and worthy, and useful than the whole impudent and frowsy contingent put together. Moreover, we venture to sav that the real people of this town Will affirm our proposition with cordial unanimity. |