4. Make it a point to keep on friendly terms with the telegraph operators. They can often be of great service.
5. Write your dispatches plainly.
6. If possible, use the typewriter in preparing stories to be mailed.
7. Never send letters or photographs by express. The express companies deliver only during the day.
8. Study the style of the newspaper you represent by comparing your stories as sent with the stories as printed.
9. Spell out round numbers in dispatches.
10. When an extract from a speech or a document is sent by wire, indicate the beginning of the quoted matter with the word “quote” and the end with the words “end quote.”
11. Incur any legitimate expense in getting important news and photographs. If possible, however, query the office and get instructions before doing so.
PAYMENT
The correspondent is paid on the basis of matter used. Rates vary, but the average is $5 a column, usually estimated at 1,500 words. Extra payment is allowed for exclusive news. A few newspapers require correspondents to send in at the end of each month a “string” of their published stories, but the majority keep an account with each correspondent by means of credit tabs showing the date of each story, the name of the sender and the number of words.