The Editor's Trials

Of all the duties the managing editor of a newspaper is required to perfortn, not one resta more heavily upon his shoulders, or is productive of inore annoyance than that of rejecting worthless matter offered by volüntary contributors. One may, without giving offense, return an article which though wortby of publication, ia ill-timed, too long, upon a subject foreigu to the olass of publications to which it is offered, or where there is any other good and valid reason, satisfactory to the ruind of a sensible writer, why it should not appear at that time. But in treating contributions that are entirely without merit, and rejecting them upon the solo ground of their worthlessness, the case is more diffioult. The disgusted author stalks away with his rejected manuscript in his haud, fully possessed of the idea that his is a case of noglected merit. He goes to some syinpathizing friend with a story of his wrongs and pours out hig vulgar wrath upon the " upstart, overbearhig editor, who is trying to stiflo the voice of public opinión," etc. " I took that to him - ten pages of foolsoap closely written - and he won't put it in ! He can go to thunder with his old paper ! It's a pity we can't have a paper here that'll give people a chance to say what they think !" Managers of papers should firmly reject all outside dictation in this matter and be the solo judges of what is best to publish. Nothing that is not of general interest should be admitted to their columns, and they should resent, in the most determined mannor, any effort to drive them into acquiescence in a line of policy which their better judgment tells thein will be injurious to the prosperity of their paper. There is no doubt that by the leading magazines of the country, a great deal of matter is rejected which would be gladly accepted and paid for but for the want of room. In fact, the volume of matter offered to these publications is so largé that it is difficult to imagine how even a cursory examination can be made of it 11, much less that it should receive the critical and careful perusal to which the new contributor thinks himself entitled. So it is essential that whatever is written should be in the most perspicuous style. The points should stick out, that they may catch the eye. This is a!so true of articles contributed to the daily or weekly press, but for another reason. The cntic whose attention must be arrested is the general reader. The editor may have time to examine the articles offered, but unless they are sufficiontly clear to claim the attention of his readers without requiring to be puzzled overto find their points, if submitted to an editor whose chief airn is to give his readers a good paper, they will be promptly rejected aud the writers have no cause to complain.