"alleged."

"Mucli virtue in it," quotli Toticlistone. lad the jester lived till now, he vould lave found more virtue in "Alleged." Phe word is the reporter's shield. Hegoes brth to the hunt arnied with it. It is as nueh a part of his equipment as his pen, md quite as esscntial. Without it, he is imid. Behind it ho is valiant: Were he word suddenly blotted out of the voabulary, a revolution in the character of nurnalUm would follow; the spirit of nterpiïse, whicli now pervades the rank and üle of the profession, would be wofullv inbarrassed ; tlie public wonld suffer greatly for want of information; facts would not be known uu til thcy wcre acompllshed. "Alleged1' is a special product of tbc osïïion along with ottfeiïnporViitllinh ventions of the era. In the olden time?, a statement either mbraced a truth or a lie. These were he grand classifications. Your "Allejred" tiikes a medial line, and we now have hree genera - truths, lies, andallegations. The newspaper that tells a lie makes free or tho sheriff; but the newspaper that inds a lie in circiilation and reportó it, inder the protection of "Alleged," escapes censure and assault The word is )ften made to serve scandalous purposes but all blessings are Hable to abuse; it has a most useful employment and it must ïot be coiuleiuned for its slns without its virtues be fiist reckoned. The public deuiands Itnmediate knowledire of curren t evetits. Investigation nust necessarily behurried. The reporter goes out among uien whose tongues are telling of many things. He cannot hope to accurately sift the truth froin the false, a all cases. Rascáis are not ahvays comnunicative; good men are ahvays exact; silence sits upou the lips of authority. The reporter feels the impelling forcé of mnral, but not legal, certainties. To his rescue comes "Alleged." This is the word that gives him range anil scope and salvatlon. It is the "open sesame" that unlocks a thousand mysteries. It brlngs truth out of the dark, and though it also bring to the view, at the same time, much that is untrue, it may be pardoned for the one thing because of the other. An iiistance: A terrible murder has been committed; the murdei e r bas skitlfully couceal" ed his partkipation; he cannot be directly charged with tbc erime; the reporter irrivcs upon the scenc and iiuds a broken chain of circumstances winding about the mnrderer; what he cannot charge, he alleges; the detectives take courage f rom the allegation ; presently the criminal feels the halter draw. Much virtue in "Allege" in such case! Two plus two make four, in the anthmetic. They sometimes make more, or less, in life. The reporter who sees facts In coincidents has dangeroiis spectacles. But the "eoincidences" must be noted and conclusions drawu. An effort must be made to gum up the "two plus two." The conchiïions in the one case, and the sutn in the other, may be fearlessly given - with parenthetical "alleged." The average newspaper reader lias become so accustomed to finding these "allegations" work out ntof.icts of record th:it tho use of the word "Alleged" does not créate much doubt that the article conveys truth in large part, and it is therefore incumbent upon the reporter to discrimínate most nicely in the matter he sets forth. Indeed in the use of the "Alleged" method the newspaper exercises a privilege very much similar to that of the grand jury, and with almost equal protection, as the laws now stand, tlmugh it may be that, at some future time, the revise of libel laws shall take the privilege under cousideration. As a rule the presj does not abuse the privilege, and the fact that it does not is sig lificant of journalistic integrity and of the sense of responsibility that actuates tiie workers in journalisw. It would, perhaps, be easy to point out exceptions, but exceptions are only occasional. The great bulk of reportei's work is honen and its inaccuracies are not ordinarily due to the reporter, but to inexact information from credible sources. The older the reporter, the more he has learned that no man is to be absolutely believed, and the more his "eopy" becomes sprlnkled with "Alleged." This careful practice enables him to sleep well o'nights, for he knows that he is preserved from the wrath o men by an impenetrable segis. The worc is an immense comfort to ttie proprietor and a great solace to mamiging editor By its employment the pathway of the journalists is largely freed from pitfalls and the roses that bloom by the wayside may be gathered without fear of tliorns. It is, indeed, as a glove which enables him to pluck up nettles without fear of their sting. In short, not to further mix metaphors, it u the most valuable word of the journalistic vocabulary, and the public, as well as the journalists, is under a load of obligation to the individual who llrst