The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1854-04-13
How the London Times is Edited.


the management of the Times, from which
it copies few paragraphs.
The care and the responsibility of con-
ducting the business Of the Times has de-
veloped on manager, Mr.. M. M. This
gentleman is neither what we in Germany
call areAactuer, nor is he what we would
call an expeditor or accountant. He is
just all in all, being the sovereign lord
and master within the precincts of Print
ing House Square.
A heap of papers lies on his desk. At
his side sits the editor du jour- What
his functions are will be seen in the fol-
lowing lines:
The editorial function of the Times are
in the hands of several individuals, exact
ly as in the case of the great German
journals. But, in Germany each editor
has his separte department-for instance,
home politics and foreign politics, or the
literary and critical departments. They
come to an understanding on the most i'm
portant points, and then act altogether in
dependently of one another. Besides,
they meet frequently, and have plenty of
opportunities to exchange their views and
defend their opinions. Hence they very
often quarrel, and their quarrels lead to
frequent crises. Far different is the case
with the Times, where, besides the mana
gers there are two editors-Mr John D.
and Mr.. George D., with third gentle
man as sub-edtor. The two editors take
the service by turns, but they do notcon
fine themselves to separate departments.
Each of them has, at the time he con-
ducts the paper, to see that it has that
tone which has been decided upon in coun-
Gil. However, we will not anticipate.--
Having here limited at the many merits of
the editorial department, we continue to
act as invisible spectators in the Times
Office.
We mentioned before, that large heap
of papers was lying on the desk of Mr..
M. M, and that the editor du jour was
sitting by his side. What are these two
gentlemen doing? They read the most
important journals of the day, take note
of their leading features, they talk over
the topic of their leading articles for the
next days paper; but this is not enough.
The material for the leaders having been
selected, they are discussed in detail:-
notes are taken of some of the more lead
ing features of the subject, and, if need
be, the tendency is marked out In many
cases there is no need of this, but on some
occasions the last measure is indispensa-
BILE.
The consultation is over. A few short
notes have been taken of its result, and
a sort of programme for every leader
Documents, letters from correspondents,
and other papers are added to the each
programme, which is put into an envel-
ope, and sent by messengers to certain
article writer, who, in few hours for
ten. These leading writers Of the Times
are altogether in an exceptional position.
At the German newspapers, the leader
writing is generally done by the editor;-
now at the Times, the principle is general
ly acted upon, that the editor should rath
er edit the paper, than write it. The ar
rangement is thoroughly reasonable in
theory, as well as in practice. Every one
is naturally partial 10 his own productions.
would quarrel with an editor, if he pre-
fers his own article to other essays, when
he has the selection among various papers
on the same subject? To save the editors
from for this temptation, and to give them
full leisure to edit extensively and impair
tally, they have been mostly relieved
from writing. There are, however, ex-
ceptions to this salutary rule; and we un-
derstand that the witty and humoristic
leaders on local affairs, which vie with the
best of the French ,1uilletons, are from
the pen of Mr.. M. M.
The leading article writers have the
programme of their article sent to their
respective domicils. None but the editors
know who these gentlemen are, and what
their position in life is. They never ex-
cept upon extraordinary occasions, come
to the Times Office. They have pledged
their words to lay no claim to the author
ship of their own articles or to reveal their
connection with the Times They have
renounced all hopes of literary fame;-I
whatever credit is due to their productions
belongs to the Times, which monopolizes
all the honor, and bears all the response
bility Such an author has nothing but
his pay, he has sold his work to the jour
mel; and with it, he has sold the right to
change it, to alter the expressions, to re-
model parts of it, or to condemn the arti-
Gle altogether The article is piece of
merchandise, with which the purchaser
may do what he likes If the writer
ceases to agree with the tendencies
of the Times, he is always at liberty to
break off the connections; but so long as