The Americans by John Jakes

Author:John Jakes [Jakes, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4532-5597-1
Publisher: MysteriousPress.com / Open Road
Published: 2012-07-15T16:00:00+00:00

ii

Mr. Moultrie Calhoun was a portly widower of fifty-two. He disliked his former employer, but he favored Pulitzer’s brand of journalism. When he and Gideon concluded their negotiations and shook hands, Gideon told the Charlestonborn editor that he could and should begin spicing the Union’s front pages with some crime and society news.

From his very first day at the paper, Calhoun took charge. In contrast to the vituperative Theo Payne, he was a quiet man who seldom raised his voice. But he had eyes of an arresting blue-gray. The color of a pistol barrel, someone remarked to Gideon. Calhoun had been at his desk only two hours when he turned that gunmetal gaze on a reporter and asked him in polite and unprofane language to correct the factual errors and sloppy writing in a piece of copy. The reporter took one look at those eyes and jumped to it.

As soon as all the copy for the next day’s paper was in the composing room, Calhoun convened a meeting of the staff. Gideon gave the new editor a short introduction, then sat down. It took Calhoun less than two minutes to state his expectations. He would dispense with the services of anyone who didn’t obey orders promptly, or behave in a seemly way.

“You may drink yourselves to perdition, ladies and gentlemen. You may—I shall use frank language despite the presence of the gentler sex—debauch until you have guaranteed yourselves berths in the nether region. You may lie and cheat until the Devil himself distrusts you. But you will keep all such activity separate from these premises, and never let it interfere with the performance of your duties. If my requirements are not to your liking, or your character is such that you cannot fulfill them no matter how good your intentions, I urge you to seek employment elsewhere. You will not last long working for me. We are responsible journalists upon whom the public depends for the truth. We shall behave accordingly—at least during working hours. Which, I must warn you, will not be short. Thank you for your attention. That is all.”

That night Calhoun kept the staff at their desks long past the normal quitting time. One by one he called the reporters and illustrators into his office, closed the door and interviewed them. By four the next morning, he had issued dismissal notices to three writers and one staff artist. Clutching their severance pay, they staggered into the dawn shaking their heads. Gideon woke on the cot where he’d been catching a nap. Calhoun looked fresh and full of energy.

“All personnel problems have been taken care of, Mr. Kent. Shall we go out for breakfast?”

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“I hadn’t planned on it, sir. It’ll soon be time to start working on the next edition.”

Yawning, Gideon sat up, folded the blanket and laid it on the end of the cot. “Did you serve in the war, Mr. Calhoun?”

“Please call me Moultrie, sir.”

“Very well, Moultrie. Did you serve—”

“I did.”

“Which side?”

“The same side as yours, sir.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.