The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-08-31
THE NEW YORK PRESS.
THE SEVEN GREAT JOURNALS OF NEW
YORK-TME TIMES, SUN, HERALD,
S'rAATs.ZEhTUNG, EVENING
POST, TRIBUNE AND
WORLD.

WORLD.
Their Circulation, system, Character,
speclaIties and General Management.
Especial Correspondence OF the Democrat
New YORK, August %, 1877.
sThe Press" is always toast and some
times topic. To me il Is, of course, O topic
of rare interest. love to watch the develop
ments of human nature through journalism;
to observe the manifestations of editorial in
dviduality even in journals Of the densest
"impersonalty," and to see how, like our poor
selves, the great daily newspaper is prone to
err and subject to weaknesses. Of late,
through much leisure and by reason Of pro-
pinquity, have been devoting my observa-
tion to
THE NEW YORK PRESS.
By this phrase / mean seven journals-the
Times, S,m, Herald, iStaats-Zeit,mg, Epening
Post, Tribune and Wortd-which / have emu
merated according to my judgment of their
excellence as purveyors of current intelli-
gence and their Importance as exponents of
public thought; and / will proceed to discuss
them in the same order.
II ran my pen on my preiudices, should
place
THE TIMES
several stages down toward the foot instead
of at the head of the list. But, leaving out
all questions of political difference, and look
ing at the paper in it's character OF purveyor
of current intelligence must frankly con-
eede that the Times is the first newspaper in
New York, and, next to it's Chicago namesake,
of out n
States. En- passant, let me remark that the
Chicago Times is conceded by all the best
judges of journalistic excellence, whom ! have
heard express view upon the subject, to be
the most perfect newspaper in the coun-
try The limits of this letter compel
me to omit extended discussion of
the merits Of the several New York journals,
so will mention but one salient feature OF
the Times of that ilk. / refer to it's admirable
and unsurpassed correspondence from the
seat of war in the East 1t does not reach the
extravaganza of the Herald in cable dis
patches, it is true; but it keeps the situation
fairly summarized by cable, and would ac-
tually rather buy it for it's letters two weeks
old than take the Herald for theslosh 1t prints
by cable at one days sight. The raison detre
is that the Ttnes is served at the seat of war
by intelligent and observing men, instructed
to report the facts while the Heratds corre-
spondents- those at the scene Of hostili-
ties and those who write
''wAR CORRESPONDENCE
| at the corner of Broadway and Ann streets
seem to be absorbed in q frantic effort to
whip the Turks whether the Russians do or
| no. The consequence is that the HerdJTs 8
war news is made up of turgid recitals of
Moslem "atrocities,' which nobody on this
side of the ocean believes or cares about, OF
transparent attempts to belittle Turkish sue
cesses, palliate Russian blunders and, in gen.
eral, depict the whole struggle in most in
tensely Russophile colors. But the Times
gives the facts day by day, in clear, strong,
unmistakable English, not straining after
brilliancy nor warping the truth to suit doc
| trine.
| suppose most newspaper readers, like my
SELF want the raw facts, and are both willing
and able to furnish all requisite sympathy or
prejudice themselves. For my part l have
very few prejudices enlisted in the struggle
and what have can be summed up in the
words Of my small brother-a lad Of sixteen.
took occasion the other day to ask the
, youthful scion of our house which he sympa-
thzed with, Turk or Russian.
ooh, don't care much which whips said
he, ''but / guess I'd like to see the Turks
whip cause they're the weakest and them
other cusses, the Russians, pitched ontoI EN-. "
Then after moment Of deep thought, the
young philosopher added Yes, and besides
that, sort O sympathize with the Turks
cause Henry Ward Beeecher's down on EN-. -
These were primitive notions, but think
they showed that the mental and moral
training Of my small brother is of the
proper school to produce correct develop
ment of manhood. A boy Of sixteen, who in
stinctively sympathizes with the weaker side
when it is 'tpitched onto and who instructive
ly coppers Henry Ward Beecher, may fairly
be considered as having in him the ''makings
| of man."
| The fault which the Herald commits and
which the Times avoids rests in the fact that
stories of "atrocity'' fall, for the most part
on languid ears this side of the water, and
the only avidity there is in regard to the
struggle is for Incidents of campaign and
developments in the general strategy. Tc
this avidity the New York Times ministers
with SURPRISING fidelity and, thus far, with
the most captivating grace. Now it may be
reasonable and logical for the opposition
press of England, led by the London Daits
4Neacs, to harp on
| TURKISH ATROCITIES
because the war has certain political aspects
that closely concern the politicians Of Great
Britain. But no such motives can possibly
obtain on this side Of the water, wherefore the
HeraIds ceaseless wall over atrocities,
mawkish at the beginning, becomes maudlir
in the end. Thus the Herald's war news has
lost all interest for those who desire the raw
military facts, and is rendered valueless tt
the historical student l have discussed this
particular feature thus at length as between
the Herald and Times, because they are the
only New York papers that seem to be doing
anything worth comment in the line Of East