The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-01-16


classes, not alone in this city but all
over the country, is unusually great, and is
due to circumstances wholly beyond their con-
troll. In view of the exceptional distress ex-
isting it would be both wise and polite to
give as much employment ON the public works
as regard for the general interest will sane
ton. But it is disgraceful that misunder-
standings and jealousies between public OFF,
Gals should be allowed to stand in the way of
prompt and efficient aid being extended to
alleviate the sufferings of thousands of the
honest poor There ought to be no further
delay in this matter. Whoever is standing in
the way of setting the starving people to work
Is mourning grave responsibility, and one
for which he will have to answer at the bar Of
public opinion unless he stands aside.
Modern Journalism-Our Ashantee Cor
respondence.
The letter from Cape Coast Castle printed
in another part of the HERALD is but one of
series of the class of correspondence which we
have been laying before our readers since the
new era of modern journalism dawned. Lively,
chatty, sparkling with camp badinage and
varied with graphic paragraphs of descrip-
ton, the blase atmosphere of an English
colonial army has rarely been drawn with
such happy touches of the pen. The picture
is complete We recognize in the opening
lines the style of an accomplished writer and
the haphazard, easy-going criticism of that
old campaigner, Mr.. Henry M. Stanley.
Correspondents like myself" says Mr..
Stanley, accustomed to the display of
human powers, of deadly pyrotechnics, to the
hearing of great deal Of noise and fanfare
made, found it hard work to live week after
week in Fantee hut, situated in malarious
valley, doing nothing but smelling the
denominations around us or counting the
minutes which must elapse before being
Frustrated by another attack of fever,
listening to the tweedledee and tweedledum
of Fantee music staring in kind of lack
lustre-eyed way at the antics of sireless little
niggers, who seem to have been born God
knows how" The stagnation was too weary
ing, and, overcome by the feeling that ''life is
Short" our correspondent with party of
conuiues, started out on voyage down
turesque yet gloomy region OF Africa The
HERALD steamer purchased for our correspond
ents operations was used for the OCCASION and
the adventures that happened on the cruise
we find recorded in vivid language. From
those mishaps which occur in every well regu-
lated marine family our correspondent turns
to the enchanting vishs on shore and por-
trays the gorgeous scenery OF the landscape.
The curious customs Of the natives, the bar
barrie architecture the nonchalance of the
African watermen and the physical geography
of the region are not forgotten. Life in the
villages, climatic dangers and the mission
aries are duly and faithfully described. In
fine, the letter is of that character and COM
prshensiveness which, in the day before jour
nalism reached it's present perfection, would
have made, by skilful amplifostion,
very entertaining book on African
travel But the journalist has superseded the
bookmaker. The publishers are all complain
ing that the people are no longer reading
books as they did few years ago, and this
falling off they attribute to the fact that =" the
newspapers are publishing everything" The
reader can the better appreciate this truth
when he reflects that first class journals are
now able and ready to equip expeditions,
whether they be military or marine, to pro-
coed to any point where great event is an
ticipated in the worlds history. A HERALD
caravan but recently returned over the steppes
Of Central Asia, with its intrepid leader, Mr..
j. A. MacGahan. whose letters, published in
these columns, have received popular as well
ais the first scientific concentrations being
regarded as valuable contributions to science.
The annual address of Sir Henry Rawlinson
before the Royal Geographical Society con-
tanned full letter copied from the HERALD,
and which was written by Mr.. Hansell, our
correspondent at Khartoom. This letter,
treating of the expedition of Sir Samuel
Baker, was commended tor its extreme accu-
racy It will thus be seen that first class
| journals are able to command and pay
for first class talent. The English press
| are beginning to recognize the revolution, for
Mr.. Winwood Reade, the traveller, represents
the London Times in Ashantee, and Mr.. Arch
ibald Forbes who distinguished himself as
a military critic with the Prussian army, rep
resents the London DAILY Ners in the same
quarter. We might cite other cases, as, for
instance, the funny letters of Mark Twain, the
able correspondence of Mr.. Edmund Yates
and the contributions of Mr.. Granville Muir
ray, the author Of ''rhe Member for Paris"
all of which have been printed in the HERALD.
Every letter Of Mr.. Murray's is a magazine
article in itself. We do not pretend to say
that the HERALD has monopoly of all these
literary and journalistic achievements Our
neighbor, the Tribune, has staff which en-
braces stars like Mr.. John Hay ana Bayard
Taylor. Hence the talent of the country, OF
the English-speaking world, is drifting into
journalism calling which has its fascina-