The Reply.=--In fifteen or twenty minutes, or perhaps a half-hour,
a reply will come, reading, say, "Rush three hundred banker's death."
This means that the correspondent must keep his story within three
hundred words,--an injunction which he must observe strictly. Woe to the
self-confident writer who sends five hundred words when three hundred
have been ordered. He will receive a prompt reprimand for his first
offense and probable discharge for the second. If, however, he has used
his time wisely since sending the query and has written his story
rightly, he will have no trouble in lopping off the final paragraph and
putting the three hundred words on the wire within a few minutes after
receipt of the order.

=295. No Reply.=--The correspondent need not be surprised or chagrined,
however, if no reply comes,--the paper's silence meaning that the story
is not wanted. The accident may have been covered by one of the regular
news bureaus--the Associated Press, the United Press, or possibly a
local news-gathering organization. Or the bulletin itself may have been
all the paper wanted,--due credit and pay for which the correspondent
will receive at the end of the month. Or the story may have been crowded
out by news of greater importance. This last reason is a very possible
one, which every correspondent should consider whenever a story breaks.
The space value of a paper's columns doubles and quadruples as press
time approaches,--so that a story which would be given generous space if
received at eight o'clock may be thrown into the wastebasket if received
four hours later.

=296. Hours for Filing.=--The extreme hours for filing dispatches to
catch the various editions are worth noting and remembering. For an
afternoon paper the story should be in the hands of the telegraph
operator not later than 9:00 A.M. for the noon edition, 12:00 M. for the
three o'clock, and 2:00 P.M. for the five o'clock edition. If the news
is extraordinary--big enough to justify ripping open the front page--it
may be filed as late as 2:30 P.M., though the columns of an afternoon
paper are practically closed to correspondents after 12:30 or 1:00 P.M.
Any news occurring after 2:30 P.M. should be filed as early as possible,
but should be marked N. P. R. (night press rate), so that it will be
sent after 6:00 P.M., when telegraphic charges are smaller. For a
morning paper news may be filed as late as 2:00 A.M., though the columns
are practically closed to