Sandy's link is here to the correct one:Newspaper Men Found mine today: NEWSPAPER EDITOR'S PRAYER by Kenneth Burke I pray thee, God, Send us for tomorrow's copy Some great flood or earthquake or disastrously erupting volcano Or picturesquely havoc-bearing storm Or other natural calamity such as we In piety Call "acts of God." Or may there transpire some big new step towards greater global malice Or may the peaceful work of the UN Be disrupted by a new flare-up, with corresponding walkout. Or may some admiral or general Blowhorn about the ever-mounting power To spread misery. Or if there is to be no true disaster for this day Then I pray thee Send us at least conditions for some rumor That we may flaunt it before the nation In foot-high front-page headlines (Being to truth dedicated We can deny it later, In a small item well hidden). Give us, I pray thee, Some such monstrosity As a way of drawing papers to market That our merchants may the better peddle their wares. And then happily Many thousands more acres of stately trees (Such as young Keats called "solemn senators") Trees that make a Cathedral of the forest Will have been successfully processed, Transformed into the printed yellow matter of journalism By the rules of hygiene To use once and throw away....
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