Part 9 (2/2)
boiling or more, destroys germs.
A pioneer living west of Solon blew his head off
to-day with a shotgun. Death followed the deed
instantly.
A pioneer living west of Solon killed himself
instantly to-day by blowing his head off with a
shotgun.
Miss Helen Goodrich, who is an aviatrix of note, was
arrested in Bremen this morning charged with
kidnapping.
Miss Helen Goodrich, an aviatrix of note, was
arrested in Bremen this morning charged with
kidnapping.
Note that in the last ill.u.s.tration, in particular, the condensation consists in reducing predication, in merely removing a verb and a p.r.o.noun from the sentence.
=167. Repet.i.tion.=--The worth of repet.i.tion as a means of obtaining coherence has been discussed in a preceding chapter. Its value as an effective means of gaining emphasis is also noteworthy. Consider the effect of the repet.i.tion of the word _blithe_ in the following two sentences:
A blithe young man met a blithe young woman at State
and Adams Streets Friday. Michael Hurley, a blithe
plain-clothes policeman, met them both.
Great care must be exercised, however, in repeating a word for emphasis.
The usage may easily be a handicap rather than a help. More often than not, repet.i.tion of the same word or phrase is the result of laziness or paucity of vocabulary, and destroys the force of the sentence. An instance of too frequent use of the same word--the adjective _beautiful_--appears in the following:
The bride was elaborately gowned in a beautiful
sky-blue messaline dress, with silk over lace, and
carried a beautiful bouquet of gladiolis, besides
having a beautiful bouquet of flowers at the waist.
The groom wore the usual blue worsted suit, with a
beautiful b.u.t.tonhole bouquet, while the bridesmaid
was beautifully gowned in a white French serge
trimmed with a light blue silk girdle and a blue
silk tango cord at the throat, and also had a
beautiful bouquet at the waist. The best man wore a
rich dark gray suit and also had a beautiful
b.u.t.tonhole bouquet. The room was beautifully
decorated with green foliage and roses, formed into
a beautiful arch, under which the couple stood
during the ceremony, which was performed by Rev.
Wells of this city.
=168. Delicacy of Expression.=--Delicacy of expression is that quality in news writing which distinguishes the star reporter from the cub. It may be learned, but never taught. It is this elusive element in writing and the inability of instructors to impart it that make many journalists say news writing cannot be taught. Delicacy of expression is not effeminacy. It is originality; it is cleverness; it is nimbleness of wit and beauty of phrase; it is grace; it is simplicity; it is restraint; it is tact. It is all these, and more. It is that intuition in a star man which forbids his beginning the same kind of story day after day with a fixed, hackneyed type of sentence, which makes him avoid triteness of expression. It is that something in him which compels him to avoid affectation, to love beauty and grace, born of simplicity, unadornedness. It is that inborn sense of good taste that restrains the writer from indelicate, personal allusions so offensive to men and women of refinement. All this and more is delicacy of expression, and blest is the journalist who has it. The reporter who wrote the following had not yet learned the art:
=THE HAVENS-MERRILL WEDDING=
At 7:30 the sounds of the wedding march scintillated
through the Havens house like tired waves laving the
sh.o.r.es of a mighty lake. Seldom if ever has such a
scene been witnessed in this place. The smell of
spring flowers was everywhere coming to all
nostrils. Presently there was a slight disturbance
at the right hand entrance, and then the bride
entered on the arm of her father, William Havens,
the well-known merchant. Simultaneous at the
opposite door was another disturbance, and the
bridegroom entered attended by Henry Merrill of Des
Moines. Then the two parties proceeded down the
middle aisles, meeting under a beautiful marriage
bell where the two hearts were beautifully made as
one, which was followed by congratulations all along
the aisles.
=MR. CRAIG WEDS MISS SCh.e.l.l=
Mr. Joe Craig and Miss Cora Sch.e.l.l, both of Mena,
were quietly married at the Hotel Main, Durant,
Okla., Monday, and are boarding at this hotel. Mr.
Craig is well known as a skilful bricklayer, honest
and industrious. The bride is well known in this
city and proved her worth by the years she served
the Lochridge Dry Goods Company as cas.h.i.+er. She is a
member of the Woodmen Circle and carries a large
insurance. We regret that she must leave, but like
Rebekah of old, she leaves home, family, and friends
to travel the journey of life with her ”Isaac” (Joe)
in a distant land. We feel that the expression of
all her friends is that the best this world affords
will be theirs to the end of their journey and that
a new life awaits them in another and higher sphere.
=169. Essentials of the Sentence.=--If a reporter can write grammatically correct sentences,--if he can coordinate and subordinate accurately the different parts; if he can give all the p.r.o.nouns definite antecedents; if he can keep his verbs consistent, having them agree in person and number with their subjects; if he can make effective use of ellipsis,--his sentences will possess the first essentials of a good sentence,--accuracy. If he can make his sentences clear and forceful,--if he can keep grammatically connected words, phrases, and clauses close together; if he can eliminate lengthy parenthetic expressions; if he can avoid unnecessary s.h.i.+fts of subjects within sentences; if he can make readily clear the relation of every phrase in a sentence to every other phrase in it and adjoining sentences; if he can put important ideas at the beginning and the end of the sentence; if he can make his sentences short and concise; if he can acquire delicacy of expression,--his sentences will possess the second requisite of a good sentence,--interest. Accuracy and interest, these are the elements that make a sentence good. And the greater of these is accuracy.
<script>