Headlines
BY their Headlines ye shall know them 1 To one who knows something of the habits of mind of different countries, it is a peculiar pleasure sometimes to study the different ways in which they reveal themselves, and to compare them. Few of these manifestations can equal for interest and value the headlines of the daily newspapers. By what stages the mere title or label, as e.g., " King Lear," becomes the headline it would be a delicate matter to decide ; but most people could determine in a given case whether a phrase were the one or the other. Few would he willing to allow that " Holy Bible " was a headline ; probably as few would be found ready to admit that " The Future of the Country- side " was merely a title : it has the tang of the Press column about it.
The headline is essentially barbarous, and would be superfluous in a perfectly civilized society. Like advertisement, its object is competitive, and its effect to limit freedom of choice. It uses the methods of violence rather than of persuasion. " Look this way," it peremptorily cries, even as the advertiser would force us to buy the particular thing which he stridently claims to " sell for less."
In America, where there is little freedom of choice left to the majority of people, the use of the headline has been pushed furthest ; an American headline is frequently quite unintelligible to one equipped only with a knowledge of the English language. See what you can make of, " Coast life skips beat " (=" Those dwelling on the coast were terrified ") or " Sane, so guilty noose, or prison term for Hickman " ! Who would think that " Forest Slayer Proved Courage in Lone Last Fight with Death " referred merely to the killing of a wolf which turned to bay ? And these are very mild examples. In America the headlines fall between two stools. They aim at emphasis, and at the same time attempt to give all the important details of the event—for that large class of people who have lost the power to read a complete sentence, much more a whole paragraph. I often wonder why these newspapers go to the trouble of printing an account of the event in extenso at all. Logically, the headline is enough : the rest is due to mere force of habit.
In England things have not quite reached this pass. The headlines are raucous enough in many eases, but they do endeavour to attract us to read the article ; they do not try to be self-sufficient in themselves. " Tidal Wave in Newfoundland " would be their equivalent for the " Coast life skips beat," &c., of the transatlantic newspaper quoted above. In some of the snore dignified journals one can feel a deliberate caution and restraint about their use of the headline ; they remind one of father paddling at the seaside. This is because these journals draw their special form and style from the eighteenth century ; the headline to them is alien and only partially assimilated.
Of all peoples that I can think of, the French employ
the headline in the most civilized manner, i.e., least of all. Their newspapers and journals are meant to be read, not to act as factory sirens. They imply an attitude of cultivated leisure in the reader, a willingness, in fact, to read. The same is true of Austria. Who does not recollect with delight the cafés of Vienna, with a view out on the street, and all the newspapers of the day there to be read, whilst you linger as long as you will ? That is civilization, not the hasty glance of a headline as you buy an evening paper in the street, from the boy who is shouting out the latest murder or police court scandal. The suggestion made above, for American and some English newspapers, to omit the article and include only the headline, would give more space for advertisement, pictures, and stock quotations, the three principal items of mental nourishment for which readers of those newspapers buy them ; these three things, with the headline, would give them all that they could possibly want. Another possibility would be to write the headlines in verse. We note how popular arc some verses recounting the adventures of such heroes as Teddy Tail, or Mutt and Jeff, Esquires ; let sonic enterprising editor try to brighten his account of the sessions of a Naval Confer- ence with verse headlines of a similar kind ; he will need bright men to do it, but the public would revel in it, Or let him print his most important heading upside down, like some vigorous advertisers. Nothing could ensure its receiving more attention than this device. But if it is really the article that he Wants people to read, then there is nothing for it but omission of the heading altogether. Leave a blank, and in the shock of surprise and curiosity, his victims will read his article. Little by little they would grow accustomed to it, and we should see them becoming civilized and reasoning creatures. Filially, here is a secret for those who are firmly wedded to headlines and really wish to achieve perfection in them. I give it away gratis. Write them in Latin, for no language yet invented can equal Latin for such a purpose, for inscriptions, headlines, notices, all cases where terse emphatic statement is all-important. One can recall immediately half-a-dozen instances of this arresting " headline quality " of Latin : Veni, vidi, vici ; nil desperandum ; expert° crede ; dis aliter visum, occur to my mind at once. It is no valid objection to this that many people cannot read Latin ; they cannot—as yet, but they would, if they thought it was the thing ; it would only need to be introduced gradually. Signposts are good, but we do not place them in the middle of the road. Why put our headlines there ? J. II. IL1FFE.
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