Appendix II — News Stories to Be Corrected
(The following stories have been prepared to illustrate some of the most usual mistakes in newspaper writing. They may be rewritten or used as exercises in copy-reading. As a class exercise, the student may revise and correct these stories without recopying, just as a copy-reader revises poorly written copy.)
I
Shortly after 2:30 this morning fire broke out in a pile of old papers in the basement of the Harmony Flat building, at 1356 Congress avenue, a four-story eight-apartment structure. Two firemen were killed by a falling wall.
The fire had a good start before the janitor, Michael Jones, who sleeps in the basement, awoke. He turned in an alarm and ran through the halls awakening the occupants. The people on the two lower floors escaped in their night clothing by the stairways, but the fire spread very rapidly, the occupants of the upper floors being forced to flee down the fire escapes in the rear.
When the firemen put in an appearance, Mrs. Jeanette Huyler appeared at a third story window and called for help. An extension ladder being hoisted, she was rescued without difficulty. During the fire the wall on the east side fell and killed Fireman John Casey and Jacob Hughes; Fireman Williams Jacobs was hit on the head by a brick and seriously injured.
The fire was extinguished before it spread to an adjoining three-story flat building on the west.
The firemen in searching the ruins found the body of a man who was later identified as Rupert Smithers; he was 70 and occupied a lower flat by himself. The janitor said that he was deaf and probably did not hear the warning. The three dead and injured firemen belong to Hose Co. No. 24.
Loss $50,000, fully insured.
II
The police have arrested John Johnson, 23 years old, 2367 Sixth Street, charged with murdering Mrs. Laura Buckthorn, the well-known proprietor of the Duchess Restaurant, 438 High street. He is now in the county jail.
Mrs. Buckthorn was sixty years old and the widow of one of the oldest settlers in the city.
She lived in her small cottage at 2367 Sixth Street and supported herself by means of the restaurant. John Johnson, a street car motorman occupied a room in her cottage. Mrs. Buckthorn was found dead in her bed, in a pool of blood, with two bullet holes in her head this morning. Mrs. Grady, the restaurant cook said, “I became alarmed when Mrs. Buckthorn did not appear as usual at the restaurant this morning and went to her home to find her.”
Inquiry showed that Mrs. Buckthorn had drawn $250 from the First National Bank yesterday and her daughter, Mrs. J. D. Jackson, 1548 Sixth Street, says that her mother often kept such sums of money at home under the mattress of her bed. Mrs. Jackson also says that she often warned her mother against such habits. The money was not under the mattress this morning.
Further inquiry showed that John Johnson did not appear for work as usual this morning and was later found by Policeman Patrick O’Hara in the railroad yards. He had with him $223.67 and a ticket to New York. He was known to be hard up but refused to account for the money and was given a berth in the county jail.
Samuel Benson, cashier of the First National, is sure that the two 100-dollar bills which were found on Johnson are the same bills that he gave to Mrs. Buckthorn yesterday afternoon. Johnson will be given a hearing to-morrow but it is already considered certain that he is the guilty party, the evidence being so strong.
(This story may be rewritten for local use and for a dispatch.)
III
Sparks, resulting from the grounding of an electric wire, ignited a bucket of gasolene and fired the shop of the G. W. Smith Motor Co., at 228, 232 West street last night, five automobiles valued at $5,800 being destroyed and the building being damaged to the extent of 6,200 dollars by fire.
The insulation on the wires of an extension light that Edward Flasch, one of the repair men was using became cracked, the wire grounding as a result. The sparks fell into a bucket of gasolene standing nearby and in a few minutes the entire building was ablaze. G. W. Smith, proprietor of the garage, said that he was sitting in his office at the time of the explosion and tried to put the fire out with sand but could not get the blaze under any control. He then started to run out as many machines as possible.
Six cars, valued at $9,000 were saved.
IV
Madison, September 25th, 1912; With a loud deafening roar that violently aroused hundreds from their beds of slumber the monster gas holder occuppying the southwest corner of South Blount and Main Streets at the gasplant of the Madison Gas and Electric Company collapsed very suddenly at 6:sO a. m. this morning, and now lies partly submerged in water, a total wreck. The damage will be fully 25,000 dollars, but there will be no interruption to the service the company’s excellent reserve equippment being immediately brought into action for the emergency. The cause of the explosion was at first clothed in deep mystery before the officials of the company had time to make any investigation.
However it was definitely ascertained during the morning when Mr. John W. Jackson, the secretary and treasurer of the company, being interviewed by a Daily News correspondent this morning, stated that the immense quantities of snow on the roof of the holder was primarily responsible. The weight of the snow on one side of the holder causing it to drop down broke the wheel and pushed the holder off the foundation on which it was standing. There was a momentary blaze but when the tank settled down into the reservoir below the fire went out and the awful peril from this highly dangerous source was fortunately averted.
As it was dozens of windows at the planing mill on the opposite side of the street were all left intact. In fact no damage whatsoever outside of the holder resulted from the unfortunate accident. Two workmen, Jacob Casey and Nelson Jones, were unfortunately caught beneath the wreckage and their bodies were removed later in the morning by the fire department. The tank was full when it collapsed and that it did not scatter destruction and take more innocent lives was one of the fortunate features of the accident and a great cause for congratulation among the officials of the company today.
(This story illustrates, among other things, excessive wordiness.)
V
After being chased by a young woman for several blocks, a man who gave his name as John Weber, was pursued through a saloon at 11-97th street by Policeman Arthur Brown and captured on the roof of a building adjoining the saloon, where the man had hidden behind a chimney. Weber was arrested by the policeman and is held on a charge preferred by Charles Young, a grocer at 2145 Sixth avenue, of attempting to rob Young’s grocery store.
According to Young, just before he closed his store for the night last evening, a young man entered the store and asked for a pound of butter. “I thought,” said Young, “that the man was just married and might be a possible new customer. I started for the back of the store to open a new tub but just as I turned to go, he hit me over the head with his cane. The blow dazed me but I still had sense enough to grab him by the collar. In the fight we both fell through the glass door at the front of the store and the d—n rascal got away.” A young woman, who was passing the store, seeing the fracas, screamed and started to run after the young man. She followed him until he ran into a saloon. Then she ran up to Policeman Brown, who was standing at the corner of 97th st. and Sixth-av and told him that a robber had gone into the saloon. The policeman ran into the saloon, but found the man had left by the back stairs. The policeman followed up two flights of stairs leading to the roof, on the run, where he found Weber hiding behind a chimney. Weber refused to give his address.
After watching until she saw the robber taken away in the paddy-wagon, the doughty young woman disappeared. Her name is unknown.
VI
A burglar dressed in a Salvation Army uniform was arrested for attempting to burglarize Walter White’s home, 16 West 62nd st. at about two o’clock last night. He gave his name as Julius Woll and his address as 129 23rd ave.
The caretaker at Walter White’s said he was awakened at 1 o’clock by the noise of bureau drawers opening and he at once phoned to the station. An officer came and found the would-be burglar under the bed. After considerable scuffling the man was arrested and taken to the station.
The Salvation Army denied any connection with the prisoner but the landlady at his address said he had two uniforms and always wore one. He also carried a prayer book under his arm whenever he left his room. She also said that he had resided in her house for six weeks and owed four weeks board; also that he had not been there for two weeks. Inquiry proved that he was out regularly until three or four in the morning.