Chapter XVI: Editorials--Constructive

"Opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making."
JOHN MILTON.

I. Introduction

An editorial is a newspaper article in which the opinions of the editor are set forth. News deals with fact. In news articles the opinion of the writer must be suppressed. The pronouns "I" and "we" have no place in news. The essence of the editorial, on the other hand, is the opinion of the writer. On the editorial page, the man who directs the policy of a paper seeks to interpret the news in accordance with his own views and to persuade the public to adopt those views.

Editorials are therefore for the most part argumentative. In them the writer either comments directly on some news item and thus produces what may be called a constructive editorial, or takes issue with the editorial opinion of a rival in a controversial editorial, his object being to destroy the sentiment produced by his rival's article.

The power of the editorial writer for good or for evil is clear. That it is usually exerted for good is one of the best evidences that the newspapers of the country are controlled by men who desire to serve the public well.

II. Assignments

1. Write an editorial calling attention to some feature of current
news.

2. Write an editorial advocating some plan or reform for the good
of city, state, nation, or mankind.

III. Model I

We made the point some months ago that our electric light
companies have been far behind those of Europe in making it
possible for poor people to get their service. It is interesting
to note that the Indiana and Michigan Electric Company, which
operates in South Bend, Ind. (plows, wagons, sewing-machines),
has started a campaign to do just this thing. About a third of
the inhabitants of South Bend are laborers from Poland, Austria,
and the Balkan countries, whose wages average about $1.50 or
$1.75 per day. The electric company has figured out plans
whereby houses can be wired at a cost of from $9 to $15 each,
and lighting service can be given for a minimum of $1 per month.
A Polish sales agent has been hired to talk to the newcomers,
write advertisements for their papers, and attend to their
complaints--in short, to translate electricity into Slovak, etc.
The men engaged in the work are confident of success and are
going after it. The effect in giving these people better ways
and standards of living, in getting them a share in our modern
American civilization, and a feeling that they are so sharing
will necessarily be very great. This is solid public service,
and it is far better than any charity. What is being done on
this problem in your town?--_Collier's Weekly_, November 28,
1914.[10]

[10] Reprinted by permission of _Collier's Weekly_.

IV. Comments and Exercises

1. This is a constructive editorial with just a hint of argument.
Find the argument.

2. Note the framework of the paragraph: (Sentence 1) Topic;
(Sentence 2--Sentence 6) Story; (Sentence 7) Conclusion.

3. Find the "Four W's."

4. Remember that the perfect tense denotes an act begun in the past
and completed in the present. Does its use sufficiently tell
when a thing is or was done?

5. Write a similar editorial commenting on some improvement in your
own town.

V. Model II

Were we suddenly called upon to face a crisis such as Europe was
called upon to face with but very little warning, it would find
us wofully unprepared. In the security of our peace we have
neglected to build up an organization capable of performing the
multitudinous services of war, or of any great disaster, either
political or physical, which may come into a nation's life. The
thousands of young men in colleges and universities offer a field
for the development of such a force of trained men in a way that
would entirely revolutionize our educational as well as our
defensive system.

As our athletics are conducted to-day, a few picked men have
trainers, coaches, rubbers, and waiters for the purpose of
preparing them for a conflict with a correspondingly small group
of similarly trained men from other institutions. The remainder
of the student body, which makes this training possible, is
meanwhile physically utterly neglected.

Yet the average young man entering college is quite as much in
need of physical development and training as of mental. The
country, too, is in need of disciplined, trained men; and this
double need can be met--can be met for less money than is
expended on a single season's football team. A system of
military drill, under the supervision of experts in military
discipline and hygiene, with the coöperation of the athletic
associations of the colleges, and under the auspices of the
United States Government, would prove of inestimable value to
every student in the college, and would furnish to the nation a
groundwork upon which a magnificent national service could be
established. A spirit of true patriotism and of unselfish public
service would be instilled in the students. The nucleus of a
trained military corps would be established from which officers
and men could be recruited with but little additional training
in time of war.--_Puck_.[11]

[11] Reprinted by permission of _Puck_.

VI. Comments and Exercises

1. What is the point of this editorial?

2. Note the point of each paragraph: (Par. 1) Our colleges might
furnish the means of remedying our national lack of preparation
for war; (Par. 2) at present our athletics benefit only a few
individuals; (Par. 3) if military training were introduced into
our colleges, it would benefit both individuals and the nation.

3. A more logical arrangement would be: (Par. 1) The United States
is not prepared for war; (Par. 2) as now organized, our college
athletics benefit only a few individuals; (Par. 3) if military
training were introduced into our colleges, individual students
and the nation alike would be benefited.

4. In which arrangement is paragraph unity better observed?

5. Is the arrangement in the model better in any respect than the
one suggested?

6. The following words are hackneyed: "wofully," "utterly,"
"inestimable," "magnificent," "groundwork." Suggest some synonyms.
Can any of these words be omitted? Lowell's rule was: "Cut out the
adjectives and adverbs. Make the nouns and verbs do the work."

7. Explain the construction of "with but very little warning," "for
the purpose," "from other institutions," "physically,"
"utterly," "drill."

8. What is the difference between "development" and "training"?
Between "true patriotism" and "unselfish public service"?
"College" and "university"?

9. Does this model contain any misstatements of fact?

10. Is the plan feasible or desirable?

11. Could it be extended to secondary schools?

12. Find in the model at least four mixed metaphors. If you do not
know what a mixed metaphor is, perhaps this classic example of
one will inform you: "Mr. Speaker, I smell a rat. I see him
brewing in the air. But, mark me, I shall yet nip him in the
bud."

13. Discuss the meaning and etymology of "crisis," "disaster,"
"political," "physical," "nation," "revolutionize,"
"educational," "athletics," "institutions," "disciplined,"
"military," "supervision," "experts," "auspices," "spirit,"
"instilled," "nucleus," "corps," "recruited," "additional."

14. Shall we say "instilled in," "instilled into," or "developed
in"?

15. Write an answer to Model II.

16. The great merits of Model II lie in its content and its
construction. The fundamental principle on which it is built
might be called the "killing-two-birds-with-one-stone idea." Two
things are wrong; one reform will make both right. Can you think
of any other subject which might be discussed on the same
principle?

VII. Suggested Reading

Lamb's _Dissertation on Roast Pig_. Addison's _Hilpa and Shalum_. Emerson's _Compensation_. Holmes's _The Broomstick Train_.

VIII. Memorize

METRICAL FEET[12]

TROChee | TRIPS from | LONG to | SHORT||;
FROM LONG | TO LONG | IN SOL|EMN SORT
SLOW SPON|DEE STALKS; || STRONG foot, yet | ILL able
EVer to | KEEP up with | DACtyl tri|SYllable;
iAM|bus MOVES | from SHORT | to LONG;
With a LEAP | and a BOUND | the swift AN|apests THRONG.
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE.

[12] Coleridge here illustrates the feet while explaining them, an admirable device in exposition. "Dactyl" is a fine word; in Greek it means "finger"; like a finger, a poetic dactyl has three parts, one long and two short. "Anapest" comes from a Greek verb which means "strike back"; an anapest is a reversed dactyl. Most English poems are written in iambi. Longfellow's _Hiawatha_ is in trochees, _Evangeline_ in dactyls, and _The Destruction of Sennacherib_ (see page 70) in anapests.