The New York herald., 1869-05-18
The Herald and the HerGId's Progress.

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keep pace with the important movements of
the age, and it should be the ambition of every
enterprising journalist to be ahead of his con-
temporaries in the publication of intelligence
and in grasping and comprehending public
events as they occur. He should not stop to
count the cost of obtaining news from any
| quarter. The most remote and difficult Of ac-
| cess the more the necessity for procuring it.
He must be in advance in encouraging all en-
| terprises calculated to promote the national
| interests of the country, the local improve
ments of his city and suburbs, and everything
else which helps the trade, increases the
| population and wealth, enhances the beauty,
| contributes to the public conveniences and
amusements, and otherwise augments the pros
perity, health and happiness of the people
among whom he has established his business
81 lead" should always be his motto; for
the moment he loses sight of it away
vanishes his influence, his patronage, his
prestige. Some papers have been started,
backed up by millions in money, headed by
some prominent man and secretly sustained by
persons of wealth, intelligence and respecta-
bility in any other business but when they
attempt journalism they cut the figure of the
veriest tyros, without genius, capacity, tact or
talent. They permit the columns of their paper
to be occupied with exaggerated police reports,
twice told tales of horrible occurrences, broad
side reports of some huge jobbing speculation,
under the plea Of developing the resources
of the country" dash off in Illuminated fables
about how the people are cheated and de-
frauded by merchants and traders, make a
display of sophomore one-sided editorials on
political topics, give space to a suspicious
financial column, sum up the bulk of the days
journalism by relying upon the reports Of the
Associated Press, and then they lay back in
their easy chairs, waiting for subscribers and
advertisers to come in. In due time they are
surprised to find that while the money goes
out like water running down HILL impelled by
steam hydraulic ram, the subscribers don't
make their appearance, the advertisers are coy
end bashful as country madens, and the great
public are remaining in blissful ignorance that
such newspaper concern has any existence at
all.
Now, in order to conduct successful Jour
nal, there should be in 1t but one controlling
mind. II there be more the whole concern
will, sooner or later, be thrown into confusion,
and finally into bankruptcy. The battle of
the journalist should be fought as Grant
fought his battles--hand to hand and face to
face with public events, capturing public
thoughts and ideas just as fast as they ap-
pear, whether in front or fank-(the rear
will take care Of itself). That battle should
not be fought like McClellan's, by slow ap-
proaches, by hedging and ditching, by en-
trenching and maneuvring, wasting time, pa
tience, money and public confidence by pro-
crastination. To attack with force and energy,
to seize and comprehend with lightning-like
rapidity every subject of public interest the
moment it transpires, is the true secret of sue
cessful journalism. That is the way the HERALD
has reached its present prodigious circulation,
its enormous advertising patronage, and its
commanding influence throughout the country
an influence which vibrates all over the globe.
Shallow newspaper men have endeavored to
initiate the HERALD, to match its enter
prise, emulate its lavish expenditures, adopt
its political course, share in its popularity with
the public, and otherwise to tread in the foot
steps Of its gigantic progress. But all these
attempts at rivalry have proved abortive and
as over thirty years ago the HERALD invari-
ably beat the numbering blanket sheets in pub
fishing the earliest reports Of important
events-the landing of Louis Napoleon at
tl,nrl. ,,x e. -
when il came to the aid of Professor Morse
in his then langushing enterprise of
introducing the magnetic telegraph TO its ad-
vocacy Of American ocean steam lines as well
as the lines from San Francisco to Japan; to
its Jealous support Of the construction of the
Atlantic cable, over which for six weeks IL re-
ceived exclusive dispatches and furnished
them to the American press TO its support OF
that grand, accomplished fact, the Pacific
Railroad; to its admirable system OF obtaining
ship news in New York harbor by the aid of
its own steam yachts, and in which enterprise
il has to fight paliry and an inscriptions
opposition; to its achievements during the war
in Abyssina, furnishing to the London press,
the British people and the British government !
the first intelligence Of the progress of that !
war, including, of course, accounts of the |
battles and victories Of their own army to its |
recent great enterprise in having the highly |
important debate in Parliament on the Alabama |
claims sent to il exclusively by cable-all the
other New York papers being obliged TO copy |
IL from the HERALD, the Associated Press not !
having furnished anything of ito It's early
Alaska correspondence, its Australian. China, |
Japan, San Francisco and It's Across the Con- |
tincnr correspondence; Its extensive aud