Norman looked at Clark thoughtfully. The managing editor was a member of a church of a different denomination from his. The two men had never talked together on religious matters although they had been associated on the paper for several years.
"Come in here a minute, Clark, and shut the door," said Edward Norman.
Clark came in and the two men faced each other alone. The editor did not speak for a minute. Then he said abruptly, "Clark, if Christ were editor of a daily paper, do you honestly think He would print three columns and a half of prize fight in it?"
"No, I don't suppose He would."
"Well, that's my only reason for shutting this account out of the News. I have decided not to do a thing in connection with the paper for a whole year that I honestly believe Jesus would not do."
Clark could not have looked more amazed if the chief had suddenly gone crazy. In fact, he did think something was wrong, though Mr. Norman was one of the last men in the world, in his judgment, to lose his mind.
"What effect will that have on the paper?" he finally managed to ask.
"What do you think?" asked Norman, with a keen glance.
"I think it will simply ruin the paper," replied Clark promptly. He was gathering up his bewildered senses, and began to remonstrate. "Why, it isn't feasible to run a paper nowadays on any such basis. It's too ideal. The world isn't ready for it. You can't make it pay. Just as sure as you live, if you shut out this prize fight report you will lose hundreds of subscribers. It doesn't take a prophet to see that. The very best people in town are eager to read it. They know it has taken place, and when they get the paper this evening they will expect half a page at least. You can't afford to disregard the wishes of the public to such an extent. It will be a great mistake if you do, in my opinion."
Norman sat silent a minute. Then he spoke gently but firmly. "Clark, would you say that the highest, best law for a man to live by was contained in asking the question, 'What would Jesus do?' And then doing it regardless of results? In other words, do you think men everywhere ought to follow Jesus' example as closely as they can in their daily lives?"
Clark turned red, and moved uneasily in his chair before he answered the editor's question. "Why ... yes ... I suppose if you put it on the ground of what men ought to do, there is no other standard of conduct. But the question is, what is feasible? Is it possible to make it pay? To succeed in the newspaper business we have got to conform to custom and the recognized methods of society. We can't do as we would in an ideal world."
"Do you mean that we can't run the paper strictly on Christian principles, and make it succeed?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. It can't be done. We'll go bankrupt in thirty days."
Norman did not reply at once. He was very thoughtful.
"We shall have occasion to talk this over again, Clark. Meanwhile I think we ought to understand each other frankly. I have pledged myself for a year to do everything connected with the paper after answering the question, 'What would Jesus do?' as honestly as possible. I shall continue to do this in the belief that not only can we succeed, but that we can succeed better than we ever did."
Clark rose. "The report does not go in?"
"It does not. There is plenty of good material to take its place."
Clark hesitated. "Are you going to say anything about the absence of the report?"
"No, let the paper go to press as if there had been no such thing as a prize fight yesterday."
Clark walked out of the room to his own desk, feeling as if the bottom had dropped out of everything. He was astonished, bewildered, and considerably angered. His great respect for Edward Norman checked his rising indignation and disgust, but with it all was a feeling of growing wonder at the sudden change of motive which had entered the office of the Daily News and threatened, as he firmly believed, to destroy it.
Chapter Six
BEFORE NOON every reporter, pressman and employee on the Daily News was informed of the remarkable fact that the paper was going to press without a word in it about the famous prize fight of Sunday. The reporters were simply astonished beyond measure. Everyone in the stereotyping and composing rooms had something to say about the unheard-of omission. Two or three times during the day when Mr. Norman had occasion to visit the composing rooms, the men stopped their work or glanced around their cases looking at him curiously. He knew that he was being observed, but said nothing and did not appear to note it.
There had been several minor changes in the paper, suggested by the editor, but nothing marked. He was waiting and thinking deeply, because he was honestly in doubt concerning what action Jesus would take.
When the News came out that evening it carried to its subscribers a distinct sensation. Hundreds of men in the hotels and stores downtown, as well as regular subscribers, eagerly opened the paper and searched for the account of the great fight. Not finding it, they rushed to the news stands and bought other papers. Even the newsboys had not all understood the fact of omission. One of them was calling out "Daily News! Full 'count great prize fight at Resort. News, sir?"
A man on the corner of the avenue close by the News office bought the paper, looked over its front page hurriedly and then angrily called the boy back. "Here, boy! What's the matter with your paper? There's no prize fight here! What do you mean by selling old papers?"
"Old papers nuthin'!" replied the boy indignantly. "That's today's paper! What's the matter with you?"
"But there is no account of the prize fight here! Look!"
The man handed back the paper and the boy glanced at it hurriedly. Then he whistled, while a bewildered look crept over his face. Seeing another boy running by with papers, he called out "Say, Sam, lemme see your pile."
A hasty examination revealed the remarkable fact that all the copies of the Raymond Daily News were silent on the subject of the prize fight.
"Here, give me a different paper!" shouted the customer. "One with the prize fight account."
He received it and walked off, while the two boys remained comparing notes and lost in wonder at the result. "Sumpin' slipped a cog in the Newsy, sure," said the first boy. But he couldn't tell why, and ran over to the News office to find out.
There were several other boys at the delivery room and they were all agitated and disgusted. Edward Norman was just coming downstairs on his way home, and he paused as he went by the door of the delivery room and looked in.
"What's the matter here, George?" he asked the clerk behind the long counter, as he noted the confusion.
"The boys say they can't sell any copies of the News tonight because the prize fight isn't in it," replied George, looking curiously at the editor, as so many of the employees had done during the day.
Edward Norman hesitated a moment, then walked into the room and confronted the boys. "How many papers are there here? Boys, count them out, and I'll buy them back."
There was a combined stare and a wild counting of papers on the part of the boys.
"Give them their money, George, and if any of the other boys come in with the same complaint, buy their unsold copies. Is that fair?" he asked the boys, who were smitten into unusual silence by the unheard-of action on the part of the editor.
"Fair! Well, I should--------! But will you keep this up?"
Mr. Norman smiled slightly, but he did not think it was necessary to answer the question.
He walked out of the office and went home. On the way he could not avoid that constant query, "Would Jesus have done it?" It was not so much with reference to this last transaction, as to the entire motive that had urged him on since he had made the promise.
The newsboys were sufferers through the action he had taken. Why should they lose money by it? They were not to blame. He was a rich man and could afford to put a little brightness into their lives if he chose to do it. He believed, as he went on his way home, that Jesus would have done either what he did, or something similar, in order to be free from any possible feeling of injustice.
&n
bsp; Chapter Seven
DURING the week, Edward Norman was in receipt of numerous letters commenting on the absence from the News of the account of the prize fight. Two or three of these letters may be of interest.
Editor of the News:
Dear Sir,
I have been thinking for some time of changing my paper. I want a journal that is up to the times, progressive and enterprising, supplying the public demand at all points. The recent freak of your paper in refusing to print the account of the famous contest at the Resort has decided me finally to change my paper.
Please discontinue it.
Very truly yours, ------
Here followed the name of a businessman who had been a subscriber for many years.
Edward Norman,
Editor of the Daily News,
Raymond:
Dear Ed,
What is this sensation you have given the people of your burg? What new policy have you taken up? Hope you don't intend to try the "Reform Business" through the avenue of the press. It's dangerous to experiment much along that line. Take my advice and stick to the enterprising modern methods you have made so successful for the News. The public wants prize fights and such. Give it what it wants, and let someone else do the reforming business.
Yours, ------
Here followed the name of one of Norman's old friends, the editor of a daily in an adjoining town.
My Dear Mr. Norman:
I hasten to write you a note of appreciation for the evident carrying out of your promise. It is a splendid beginning, and no one feels the value of it more than I do. I know something of what it will cost you, but not all.
Your pastor,
HENRY MAXWELL
One other letter, which he opened immediately after reading this from Maxwell, revealed to him something of the loss to his business that possibly awaited him.
Mr. Edward Norman,
Editor of the Daily News:
Dear Sir,
At the expiration of my advertising limit, you will do me the favor not to continue it as you have done heretofore. I enclose check for payment in full and shall consider my account with your paper closed after date.
Very truly yours, -----
Here followed the name of one of the largest dealers in tobacco in the city. He had been in the habit of inserting a column of conspicuous advertising and paying for it a very large price.
Norman laid this letter down thoughtfully, and then after a moment he took up a copy of his paper and looked through the advertising columns. There was no connection implied in the tobacco merchant's letter between the omission of the prize fight and the withdrawal of the advertisement, but he could not avoid putting the two together. In point of fact, he afterward learned that the tobacco dealer withdrew his advertisement because he had heard that the editor of the Daily News was about to enter upon some reform policy that would be certain to reduce its subscription list.
But the letter directed Norman's attention to the advertising phase of his paper. He had not considered this before.
As he glanced over the columns he could not escape the conviction that his Master could not permit some of them in His paper. What would He do with that other long advertisement of choice liquors and cigars? As a member of a church and a respected citizen, he had incurred no special censure because the saloon men advertised in his columns. No one thought anything about it. It was all legitimate business. Why not? Raymond enjoyed a system of high license, and the saloon and the billiard hall and the beer garden were a part of the city's Christian civilization. He was simply doing what every other businessman in Raymond did. And it was one of the best paying sources of revenue.
(Publisher's note: Throughout this story, "the saloon" is generally used as a term that encompasses the whole saloon trade in the city, not one saloon in particular.)
What would the paper do if it cut these out? Could it live? That was the question. But was that the question after all? "What would Jesus do?" That was the real question he was answering, or trying to answer, this week. Would Jesus advertise whiskey and tobacco in His paper?
Edward Norman asked it honestly, and after a prayer for help and wisdom he called to Clark to come into the office.
Clark came in, feeling that the paper was at a crisis, prepared for almost anything after his Monday morning experience. This was Thursday.
"Clark," said Edward Norman, speaking slowly and carefully, "I have been looking at our advertising columns and have decided to dispense with some of them as soon as the contracts run out. I wish you would notify the advertising agent not to solicit or renew the ads that I have marked here."
He handed the paper over to Clark, who took it and looked over the columns with a very serious air.
Clark was astounded at the editor's action and could not understand it. "This will mean a great loss to the News. How long do you think you can keep this sort of thing up?"
"Clark, do you think if Jesus were the editor and proprietor of a daily paper in Raymond He would permit advertisements of whiskey and tobacco in it?"
"Well no ... I ... don't suppose He would. But what has that to do with us? We can't do as He would. Newspapers can't be run on any such basis."
"Why not?" asked Norman, quietly.
"Why not? Because they will lose more money than they make, that's why!" Clark spoke out with an irritation that he really felt. "We shall certainly bankrupt the paper with this sort of business policy."
"Do you think so?" Norman asked the question, not as if he expected an answer, but simply as if he were talking with himself. After a pause he said, "You may direct Marks to do as I have said. I believe it is what Christ would do, and as I told you, Clark, that is what I have promised to try to do for a year, regardless of what the results may be to me. There are other advertisements of a doubtful character on which I shall have to make a decision."
Clark went back to his desk. He could not grasp the meaning of it all. He felt enraged and alarmed. He was sure any such policy would ruin the paper as soon as it became generally known that the editor was trying to do everything by such an absurd moral standard. What would become of business if this standard were adopted widely? It would upset every custom, and introduce endless confusion. It was simply foolishness. It was downright idiocy.
When Marks was informed of the action, he seconded the managing editor with some very forcible words. What was the matter with the chief? Was he insane? Was he going to bankrupt the whole business?
Chapter Eight
EDWARD NORMAN had not yet faced his most serious problem. When he came down to the office Friday morning he was confronted with the usual program for the Sunday morning edition. The Daily News was one of the few evening papers in Raymond to issue a Sunday edition, and it had always been remarkably successful financially. There was an average of one page of literary and religious items to thirty or forty pages of sport, theatre, gossip, fashion, society and political material. This made a very interesting magazine of all sorts of reading matter, and had always been welcomed by the subscribers, church members and all, as a Sunday morning necessity.
Edward Norman now faced this fact and put to himself the question: "What would Jesus do?" If He were editor of a paper, would He deliberately plan to put into the homes of all the church people and Christians of Raymond such a collection of reading matter on the one day in the week which ought to be given up to something better, holier?
He was of course familiar with the regular arguments of the Sunday paper, that the public needed something of the sort; and the working man especially, who would not go to church anyway, ought to have something entertaining and instructive on Sunday, his only day of rest. But suppose the Sunday morning paper did not pay? Suppose there was no money in it? How eager would the editor or publisher be then to supply this "crying need" of the poor workman?
Taking everything into account, would Jesus edit a Sunday morning paper? No matter whether it paid? That was not the question. As a matter of fact
, the Sunday News paid so well that it would be a direct loss of thousands of dollars to discontinue it. Besides, the regular subscribers had paid for a seven-day paper. Had he any right now to give them less than they had paid for?
He was honestly perplexed by the question. So much was involved in the discontinuance of the Sunday edition that for the first time he almost decided to refuse to be guided by the standard of Jesus' probable action. He was sole proprietor of the paper; it was his to shape as he chose. He had no board of directors to consult as to policy. But as Edward Norman sat there surrounded by the usual quantity of material for the Sunday edition, he reached some definite conclusions. And among them was a determination to call in the staff and workforce of the paper and frankly state his motive and purpose.
He sent word for Clark and the other men in the office, including the few reporters who were in the building, and the foreman, with what men were in the composing room (it was early in the morning and they were not all in) to come into the mailing room. This was a large room, and the men came in curiously and perched around on the tables and counters. It was a very unusual proceeding, but they all agreed that the paper was being run on new principles anyhow, and they watched the editor carefully as he spoke.
"I called you in here to let you know my further plans for the News. I propose certain changes which I believe are necessary. I understand very well that some things I have already done are regarded as very strange. I wish to state my motive in doing what I have done."
He told the men what he had already told Clark, and they stared as Clark had done, and looked as painfully conscious.
"Now, in acting on this standard of conduct I have reached a conclusion which will, no doubt, cause some surprise. I have decided that the Sunday morning edition of the News shall be discontinued after next Sunday's issue. I shall state in that issue my reasons for discontinuing. In order to make up to the subscribers the amount of reading matter they may suppose themselves entitled to, we can issue a double number on Saturday, as is done by many evening papers that made no attempt at a Sunday edition.