balaam basket or box

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Balaam \Ba"laam\, n.
   A paragraph describing something wonderful, used to fill out
   a newspaper column; -- an allusion to the miracle of Balaam's
   ass speaking. --Numb. xxii. 30. [Cant]
   [1913 Webster]

   {Balaam basket or box} (Print.), the receptacle for rejected
      articles. --Blackw. Mag.
      [1913 Webster]