The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-04-23
LETTERS ON JOUREALIsM.
Cbarneterirtics oftbe Lending English Papers
Their Editors-Delane.L Levy. Frank Hfi,
William Black, Frederick tsreenweod.


There Is popularity about English jour
nnlism which distinguishes IL more than any
thing else from the press OF other countries.
The editor Of an English paper notwithstanding
the unlimited power he possesses In conducting
his journal, Is very little known to the public at
large. In other countries the name OF the editor
Ia either printed on the paper, OF Is known by
all ITS readers, even II II Is not daily inserted
right under the title Of the paper. In America,
as well ~ on the Continent Of Europe, the pub
lie always wish TO know who Is the man
conducting the organ which they select AZ
their adviser aud purveyor OF daily news.
In England, on the contrary, nine men out Of
ten do not know even as much as the name Of
the editor OF their daily Journal.
One OF the consequences OF this state OF Affairs
Is that you frequently see Radical conducting
a Conservative paper or writing for u, and a
stanch Tory supplying leading articles for an
ultra Liberal paper. The individuality Of a
jourDa Let is thus completely ensced and al
responsibility for Inconsistency OF political opin-
ions is taken on OF the journalists shoulders.
To Judge by the London Times, the English
pubhc rather likes this readiness OF the English
Journalist to change his views at any given 20
ment At all events, the organ Of the city OF Lon
don Is politically speaking, probably the most in
consistent paper In the world, yet II IL the most
composed Of men Of all political colors but
none OF them would ever think Of expressing his
personal view. They have write In the tone
prescribed by DIR. Delane and DIR. Dolane gets
his keynote from the mass Of letters which daily
| reach him from every part OF England. An En-.
| glishman would think himself quite wanting 10
his duty a patriot, N he had not written at
least four or Ave times a year a letter to the edi
tor Of the times on some subjects he might be
I
these letters daily reach the once 10 Printing
Square without ever being printed, but all Of
them read and serve DIR. Delane as a basis
| for his opinion of public sentiment. lie has fire.
| quently said that he did not know Of a better
| political and social indic than that which
| forms itself from the conflicting Views expressed
by unknown persons OF all stations Of life and Of
| al y rts Of the country.
| II would seem that the main work OF Or. De-
lane consists IN reading these letters, In distT-
| buuUg the themes to the contributors, and In
watching the symptoms OF forthcoming events
| NJ far as thcy can be dscerned In the diplo-
matte, governmental. aud high-hfe drawing
rooms. OF writing he scarcely does any himself.
| and most Of the work Of editing, too, lies on tue
| shoulders Of Mr.. Dacent- the younger who has
| been always spoken Of az the probable successor
| to Mr.. Delane, and vino by this time may have,
| for all know, taken possession Of the post, as
| Mr.. Deane has felt tired for some years past,
and his oyesisht has been constantly declining.
Personally DR.. DelAne lie much less known To
| the general public than a man OF his influence
and position would have been anywhere else.
| With the exception OF the contributors to his
| paper, and OF the members Of the diplOmatcal
| parliamentary. and governme Mt Al circles Of Lon
doa-all of whom greatly court hitn-he Is known
To scarcely ANYBODY The Russian and Germ IN
ahaaa AMI "A nf Ilr
Deiane. so much 50 that the Times was frequent
| ly accused Of being IN the pay OF one OF these
| Governments This was undoubtedly a false
| accusation but there can be doubt that the
| cunning old Baron Brunnow, late Russian Minis
ter at the Court OF St. James's managed to great
| ly influence the foreign politics of the Times,
| through supplying It With Information whicn
could not be obtained elsewhere. 1t is only from
the time Of the rupture OF the Black Sea treaty
that the tone OF the Times with reference to Rus
STA has changed, and lie leniency toward the
| great northern empire been s1andoeed.
Personally DR.. pelaue Is very courteous AID
| pleasant geutiem IN, Of middle size and cor
pulence, with mutton-c chop whiskers and a face
| which has nothing striking about It, except the
expression OF the self-cuntent Of a middle-class
| Bughshman enjoying an income Of tGO,OOO h
year. When you see DIR. Delane coming from "a
| dinner or an evening party about midnight to
tire ONCE OF the Ttmes, TO looh at the proofs OF
the editorials destined for the next MORNINGS
pas eT, you would never think that you see tho
sl-powerful master Of the most inf ential pa per
IN the world. VITA his white neck tie, his swal-
low-tail coat, MS rose IN the button mole, and
his itreproachably clean-shaycn chin and
smoo thly -coni bed black hair, he could be much
more easily taken for a lawyer, a banker OF a
calico manufacturer than for what Lie Is In
reality
| Next 10 the Times, as far az influence goes,
stands undoubtedly the DdGv 1tlc0rdrh, not.
withstandng all that Is constantly SAID against
that paper. Its weight "a bv no means the re-
suit Of It's intrinsic merits, but OF the skill with
which 1t has always pandered TO the tastes Of
the vulgar portion OF tue English public. or
late years the progress made by the Daily Noes
has reduced good deal Of the influence Of the
Telegraph. esaeoialiY since the fall OF Gladstone,
whose humble servant aud sycophint the Itlt-
0ruph always was. sun, the large circulation Of
the paper, the vast number Of advertisements 1t
contains, aud the skilfully sustained style OF
hashy writing. make Of that paper an organ VI
almost exactly the same standing as the Herald
Is Ia New York
Levy, the editor Of the ToL graph Is as differ
ent from Dr. Delane as the two papers are from
each other. lie IA the Incarnation of London
snoDbishness and SD 0ddyism. A short, stoutsh
| SNOWY wife, with a residence in Park lane, Levy
is known TO every London urchin Just US well as
| Tony Pastor, to whom he has Striking resem-
| blunce IN face, IL known to the street boys Of
| New York. His large income enables him TO
| live with considerable osteDtation, through
which invaiie..y plps, however, all the char
acterstcs Of Hebrew paryenu. Tue object Of
| his most ardent aspirations Is To get into the
circles OF English aristocracy but all his efforts
In this direction have been baffied, and his in
tercourse with that class Of society Is limited to
his daily taking before breakfast ride slong-
side Of English nobiemen In Rotten Row, during
the three or four months that the aristocracy
| rem9in In town.
There are altogether two LEWIS, the father and
the son, and the one spoken of here Is Mir.
Levy, Jr. The old gentleman Is quiet sort Of
person, looking after the publishing oflce,
superinendln the theatrical, artistic, and must
cal departments Of the paper, and leaving the
general edltorship entirely IN the hands OF his
| sou.
Next to the Telegraph Ia influence stands
the Dddy Ntus, the organ Of religious non
| conformism and middle class liberalism.
To peoplS Of Conservative views, as well as TO
the sincere Liberals OF Radicals the D0,lH Nous
| Is equally distasteful. Hut with that class OF