of Periodical Literature will point the way. Most newspapers keep an indexed mass of biographical material, which, of course, is at a reporter’s disposal. When these sources fail, the man himself must be interviewed, which is a task that requires tact, politeness, persistency, a good memory, and a clear idea of the character and quantity of the information needed.

III. Models

I

James McHenry was born in Ireland, 1753; came to Philadelphia, 1771; studied medicine under Dr. Benjamin Rush; served in the Revolutionary War as surgeon; became Washington’s secretary, 1778; sat in Congress, 1783–86; was a member of the Constitutional Convention; was Secretary of War under Washington and Adams, 1796–1801; and died in Baltimore, 1816. His most conspicuous public service was rendered in inducing Maryland to ratify the Constitution.  Fort McHenry, the bombardment of which in 1814 inspired Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner, was named in McHenry’s honor.

II

Alexander Hamilton is one of those great Americans of whose services to the nation no American can afford to be ignorant. As a soldier in the Revolution, no man possessed more of Washington’s confidence. To him as much as to any one man was due the movement that resulted in the formation of the Constitution; he took a leading part in the debates of the Convention; and the ratification of the Constitution was brought about largely by the Federalist, a paper in which he so ably interpreted the provisions of that instrument that it has ever since been regarded as one of the world’s political classics. As Secretary of the Treasury under Washington he performed wonders; Daniel Webster said of his work in this office: “He rent the rock of the national resources, and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of Public Credit, and it sprung upon its feet.” He was born in Nevis, one of the West Indies, in 1757, and was mortally wounded by Aaron Burr in a duel, 1804, at Weehawken, New Jersey.

IV. Organization of Material

Models I and II illustrate two types of biographical notes. That about James McHenry consists of three sentences, which give: (1) A chronological survey of his life; (2) a statement of his chief public service; (3) the fact by which he is most likely to be remembered by the casual reader. It is a good brief form to use in writing about most men and women. Model II is better if the subject is remarkable for many achievements. Its structure is as follows: (1) A keynote sentence; (2), (3), (4) three illustrations of the fact stated in (1); (5) dates. The same principles apply to notices of living people. In writing use one model or the  other; do not deviate from them, unless you first find a better model, and can persuade your teacher that it is better.

V. Exercises

1. Reduce some biography which you have read and enjoyed to a biographical note of two hundred words.
2. Write a biographical note of two hundred words about a living person of national reputation.
3. Write a biographical note of two hundred words about a living person of state or city reputation.
4. Write a biographical note about the school janitor, the school engineer, a member of your own family, your hired man, your maid, or any other interesting person from whom you can extract the desired information.

VI. Suggested Reading

Carl Schurz’s Life of Abraham Lincoln.

VII. Memorize

THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woful ballad
Made to his mistress’s eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard;
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
  With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7.
←Contents

 CHAPTER IV
REPORTING ACCIDENTS

“The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

I. Assignment

Report an accident which you have seen. The object of this exercise and those which are to follow is threefold:

1. Vocational—to begin to teach the art of reporting, and hence perhaps lay a foundation for students’ earning a living.
2. Ethical—to show all the pupils how a report should be made and thus give them a standard by which to measure newspapers.
3. Artistic—to teach all how to write modern English clearly, simply, and correctly.

II. Model

This is a report of an accident on a city street, witnessed by a reporter, and telephoned to a colleague at the newspaper office.

With a crash that could be heard for blocks, a high-powered touring car, owned and driven by Mrs. William J. Sheldon, wife of the millionaire gum manufacturer, who lives at East Boulevard and Clifton Drive, collided late last night with a heavy milk wagon at Payne Avenue and East