The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-02-03

Nothing demonstrates more trutnruny the
condition and activity Of the public mind of
nation in the paths Of progress than the plan
and scheme of administration OF its leading
journals. They are the reflex Of the daily
demands Of its active intelligence, and in pro-
portion as this Is limited or catholic in its
view so will be the labors Of the journalists
who cater for its supply. Taking the London
Times as the leading exponent OF British
Journalism, q brief summary of the contents
of any one number will illustrate the point Of
our argument, and the issue of any day will
serve our purpose; for they are all so much
alike one might suppose they were run in one
mould.
We have before us the Times Of January l5,
taken at random and without selection. 1t Is
q twelve page paper, like the HERALD, ana
the four pages Of the outside sheet are crowded
with advertisements. Opening at the editoriai
page we find the usual four loaded editorial
articles, each occupying its prescribed space
of about one column, whether the subject mat
ter be Of greater or lesser interest. Then
come the court circular and university intelii-
ligence, followed by its entire matter
received by telegraph, which amounts
to one and half loaded columns,
embracing all of Europe and America, the
west coast of Africa, India and Japan, three
quarters of column of military and naval
intelligence and three OF those widely known
letters to the Times, which constitutes John
Bulls balm for every i'll. These matters COM
prise the entire list Of the two main pages OF
England's leading newspaper. On the sue
ceeding page we find foreign intelligence eked
out with q three-quarter column letter from
Paris, another letter or two to the Times and
four columns of law reports. The next page
presents nearly five columns of police and
criminal court reports, given with minute
ness Of disgusting detail that would be admitted
only in professed police gazette in this
country. Another page has three column
essay on the armies of the Continent, with
another letter to the Times, and column of
election intelligence in three long paragraphs
to fill up. An advertising page follows, with
column closely packed of names of donors OF
five pounds to charitable institutions, and
few more letters to the Times The city page
contains the money article, state of trade,
share and other markets. with another letter
to the Times; and the eighth page gives col
umn and half letter from Dublin on Irish
affairs, couple of columns of election petit
tions five more letters to the Times, and then
with quarter of column of ship news and
half column weather report the bill is closed.
We submit that this faithful exhibit of
Britain's leading newspaper, published in
city of more than three millions of inhabitants
and capital of the United Kingdom, whose in
terests ramify to every quarter of the world,
shows professional inertness or incapacity
which is only equalled by the most poverty
stricken journals of the smaller cities of the
United States. Every page exhibits matter
the only apparent object of which is to fill
space. There is nothing of the worldwide
system Of correspondence which is found in
the columns of all the principal journals Of
New York; nothing Of that long grasp which
seizes news in every quarter of the world;
nothing of the labor which collects, Sits and
condenses the occurrences Of the day in the
vast city of which it is the great exposition;
nothing of that journals tic acumen and ability
which rapidly assigns subject its merited
space of column in discussion, or dsmisses
it with paragraph. We will not compare it
to the HERALD, for the comparison would be
an unfair one to the Times, inasmuch as the
HERALD was the leader in the system of mod
ern live journalism, which has grown into
greatness after the Times attained all the ad
vantages of mature and prosperous existence,
but we may say that comparison of the Lon
don Times with any of the principal non-me-
tropolitan newspapers of America will show
great inertia in the public mind of England,
America.
We know it will be said that the Times is
not now the journal Of greatest circulation in
England; that younger and more active
rivals excel 1t in ability and professional tact.
But they are all built after the same model
and all travel with the same gait. Not one Of
them is reflex of the daily news of Great
Britain, telling what is Of interest and keeping
silent when their is nothing to be told. They
all have their stereotyped occupants of space,
and their efforts at editorial comment resem-
BILE what might be the capers of an elephant
bringing down ponderous foot to hold wild
bull or to crush a fly. As for enterprise, even
in matters that concern them nearly, it will be
sufficient comment to cite the fact that our
special reports Of their army operations in
Abyssinia were looked to in London as the
sources of earliest news from that quarter.
These facts prove one of two things-either
the British mind is stagnant and inactive amid
the march of events or the journalists of Great
Britain are behind their age. In either case IL
needs reformer in its system Of journalism !;
in the first To wake the public mind from its