A break in diplomatic relations between the United States and Germany as a result of the torpedoing of the Lusitania by a German submarine is the expressed belief to-day of high Washington officials.
266. Clues for Identification.—In stories of crime, when the offenders have escaped, the lead to the follow-up may begin with clues for establishing the identity of the criminals.
If a piano tuner about forty years of age, wearing a pair of silver spectacles and accompanied by a petite, brown-eyed girl twenty years his junior, comes to your house for work, telephone the Boston police. They are the two, it is alleged, who robbed the Mather apartments yesterday.
267. Featuring Lack of News.—In rare cases the very fact that there is no additional news is worth featuring.
Up to a late hour to-night nothing had been heard of Henry O. Mallory, prosecuting attorney in the Howard murder case, who disappeared yesterday on his way to Lexington.
268. Opinions of Prominent Persons.—An otherwise unimportant follow story may sometimes be made a good one by interviewing prominent persons and localizing the reader's interest in men or women he knows.
That the new eugenics law passed by the state legislature of Wisconsin yesterday is doomed to failure from the start, is the opinion of Health Commissioner Shannon, who was in Madison when the final vote was taken.
269. Summary of Opinions.—Sometimes, indeed, it is well to interview a number of local persons and make the lead a summary of their views.
Widely different opinions were expressed by prominent physicians, professors, clergymen, and social workers throughout this city to-day on the ethics of the course taken by Dr. H. J. Haiselden of Chicago in allowing the defective son of a patient to die.
270. Connecting Links.—In all these stories, the reader should note, sufficient explanatory matter has been included to connect the incidents readily with the events of the preceding days. This is important in every follow-up; for always many readers will have missed the earlier stories and consequently will need definite connection to relate the new events with preceding occurrences. It is also important for these connecting links to be included in, or to follow immediately after, the lead, because they give the reader necessary facts for understanding the new information—give him his bearings, as it were,—without which he will not read far into the story.