The second was the fact that he was a
stranger to the State, having lived there less than two years. At his
present rate of progress, it was of course patent to any observer that
he was a potential editor of the _Post_, and a great one. But might it
not be, on the whole, desirable--Mr. West merely suggested the idea in
the most tentative way, and wholly out of his sense of sponsorship for
Mr. Queed--to give him a little longer chance to grow and broaden and
learn, before throwing the highest responsibility and the final honors
upon him?
Mr. West's graceful and sensible remarks made a distinct impression upon
the directors, and Mr. Hopkins took occasion to say that it was
precisely such thoughts as these that had led him to suggest looking
abroad for a man. Mr. Shorter and Mr. Porter asserted that they would
deprecate doing anything that Mr. West, with his closer knowledge of
actual conditions, thought premature. Mr. Boggs admitted that the
ability to write editorials of the first order was not all that should
be required of the editor of the _Post_. It might be doubtful, thought
he, whether so young a man could represent the _Post_ properly on
occasions of a semi-public nature, or in emergency situations such as
occasionally arose in an editorial office.
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