Page:The Newspaper and the Historian.djvu/337

 French, and German newspapers. The development of "the morgue," or "the dead room" containing biographical material relating to every person even remotely connected with public life, and clippings in regard to every subject of public interest makes information instantly accessible. The editor is and must be prepared for every emergency.

This improvement in the general standard of the editorial has in part been made possible by the great extension of the newspaper plant. Through modern invention and through news-collecting agencies, the whole world has been brought to the sanctum, and the time and energy of the office staff thus released has been turned in the direction of perfecting the various parts of the paper.

The early editorial might claim infallibility of judgment, but the editorial of to-day may with greater justice lay claim to omniscience. The slightest error of statement in regard to events brings on it the satire of its even more omniscient competitors while the danger of a libel suit lurks in every misstatement in regard to an individual. An examination of editorials covering a