Captain Jinks, Hero Ernest Howard Crosby (best management books of all time TXT) đ
- Author: Ernest Howard Crosby
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âBut I thought the war was to free the oppressed Cubapinosâ âan outburst of popular sympathy with the downtrodden sufferers from Castalian misrule,â interposed Sam, flushing. âThatâs the reason why I applied for a commission, and I am ready to pour out my last drop of blood for my country.â
âOf course you are, my dear captain; of course you are. And your ideas of the cause of the war, as a military man, are quite correct. Indeed, if you will read my editorial of yesterday you will see the same ideas developed at some length.â
He pressed an electric button on his desk, and a clerk entered.
âGet me a copy of yesterdayâs paper.â
In a moment it was brought; the editor opened it, marked an article with a dash of his blue pencil, and handed it to Sam.
âThere,â said he, âput that in your pocket and read it. I am sure that you will agree with every word of it. Your understanding of the situation does great credit to your insight. That is, if I may use the term, the esoteric side of the question. It is only on the external and material side that it is really a Daily Lyreâs war. Thereâs really no contradiction, none at all, as you see.â
âOh! none at all,â said Sam, with a sigh of relief. âI never quite understood it before, and you make it all so clear!â
âNow you will be prepared by what I have said to comprehend that itâs just in this line of creating the news beforehand that we want to make use of you, and at the same time it will be the making of you, do you see?â
âNot quite,â said Sam. âHow do you mean?â
âWhy, we understand that youâre a most promising military man and that you intend to distinguish yourself. Suppose you do, what good will it do, if nobody ever hears of it? Doesnât your idea of heroism include a certain degree of appreciation?â
âYes.â
âOf publicity, I may say?â
Sam nodded assent.
âOr even in plain newspaper talk, of advertising?â
âI shouldnât quite like to be advertised,â said Sam uneasily.
âThatâs a rather blunt word, I confess; but when you do some fine exploit, you wouldnât mind seeing it printed in full in the papers that the people at home read, would you?â
âNo-o-o, not exactly; but then I should only want you to tell the truth about it.â
âOf course; I know that, but there are lots of ways of telling the truth. We might put it in at the bottom of an inside page and give only a stick to it, or we might let it have the whole first page here, with your portrait at the top and headlines like thatâ; and he showed him a title in letters six inches long. âYouâd prefer that, wouldnât you?â
âIâm afraid I would,â said Sam.
âWell, if you didnât youâd be a blamed fool, thatâs all Iâve got to say, and we wouldnât care to bother about you.â
âIâm sure itâs very good of you to take me up,â said Sam. âWhy do you select me instead of one of the great generals at the front?â
âWhy, donât you see? You wouldnât make a practical newspaper man. The people are half tired of the names of the generals already. They want some new names. Itâs our business to provide them. Then all the other newspapers are on the track of the generals. We must have a little hero of our own. When General Laughter or General Notice do anything, all the press of the country have got hold of them. Theyâve got their photographs in every possible attitude and their biographies down to the last detail, and pictures of their birthplaces and of their families and ancestors, and all the rest of it. We simply canât get ahead of them, and people are beginning to think that itâs not our war after all. When we begin to boom you, theyâll find out that weâve got a mortgage on it yet. Weâll have the stuff all ready here to fire off, and no one else will have a word. Itâll be the greatest beat yet, unless Mr. Cleary is mistaken in you and you are not going to distinguish yourself.â
âI donât think he is mistaken,â said Sam solemnly. âI do intend to distinguish myself if I get the chance.â
âAnd weâll see that you have the chance. Itâs a big game weâre playing, but we hold the cards and we donât often lose. Youâre not the only card, to be sure. Weâve got a lot of men at the front now representing us. Several of our correspondents have made a hit already, and some of them have made themselves more famous than the generals! Ha, ha! Our head editor is going out next month, and of course weâll see to it that he does wonders. Hullo! thereâs Jonas now. Why, this is a lucky meeting. Here, Jonas. You know Cleary. Mr. Jonas, Captain Jinks. Iâll be blessed if here isnât the whole combination.â
Mr. Jonas, who had come into the room unannounced, and perched himself on the corner of a table, was a rather short man with a brown beard and eyeglasses, and
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