The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-08-31


tional organ under Greeley's manage
ment, never had half and sometimes
not more than one-third the daily circulation
of the Times, which, by the way, was scarce
y known in those days west of the Allegha-
MES or south Of the Potomac. Mr. Raymond
left the Times firmly established, but in
narrow rut of custom and patronage. After
his death it underwent various shifts Of for
tune, but finally fell into the exclusive hands
Of
GEORGE JONES,
who had been Raymond's associate in its
formation and who had always been its busi-
ness manager. Jones is q shrewd, shifty
Yankee, now about sixty years old, but as
keen as youth of twenty-five. He is a
modest, almost retiring man at first
sight, but widens and dcepens, upon
acquaintance, surprisingly Jones is now
business manager editor and, for
aught ] know, superintendent Of the
press-room to boot. At all events he is all
over the Times establishment all the time.
He used to hire an editor, Louis Jennings by
name, and thoroughbred editor he was too,
barring some faults incidental to q strong
character, positive to conceit and aggressive
to arrogance
jennings was undoubtedly the most uni
versally hated man in the profession while
he was at the head of the Times. / never
heard OF read q good word of him, and thus,
with my customary perversity, presumed he
was good fellow if he could only be found
out. SO / happened to meet him once
casually at Wormley's in Washington
and liked him. He was simply bluff, sturdy
Englishman, running largely to opinion OF
himself, and not hypocritieal enough to be
popular in the northern half of the United
States. In New Orleans he would have peen
made to fight inside Of a fortnight, and would
probably have been killed-for he would
| fight.
Well, Jennings found the Times in the deep
| narrow rut of Manhattan Islandism, where
| Raymond left it; he lifted it out, made it
THE NATIONAL ORGAN OF GRANTIsM,
and got rich by buying few shares cheap
when he began. and selling them for ten or
eleven thousand dollars apiece when he quit.
| AS political organ the Times has always
been to me the climax of the detestable. But
as O journalistic enterprise I have been forced
| to admit it's excellence for years, and
never so 1nreservedly as now. However,
| just at present the politics of the Times are
| like the old woman's soap. Jones is not q
| philosopher, nor is he statesman; but d
plain, matter-of-fact Yankee printer, with an
| eve to the main chance. Thus he is bewil-
dered at what his eyes have seen since Hayes
came in The Southern Policy, Schurz, Civil
Service Reform, John Sherman, Conkling
i Ky haf
his disordered political vision in fantastic
cancnn, until he is dumb-founded to know
who he is himself half the time. AS in whist
you take the trick when in doubt, so Jones
when bewildered by the antics OF the Ad
ministration, falls to abusing the South. "H
thy friend aggrieve thee, bear in silence until
thou meetest thine enemy; then visit upon
him the sins of thy friend, is an old Turkish
proverb. Jones seems to have adopted it,
and 80 whenever he is disgusted with Schurz
he whales away at the South. Ah well, il
does not hurt us and seems to do Jones a
power of good. At rough guess, / should
say the Times had the third best circulation
and paid the second best dividends of any
paper in New York.
| THE SUN
is my favorite. When my eZchequer is re-
duced to two cents / always freely bankrupt
myself to buy the Sun. Time was when il
had the largest daily circulation on this con.
tinent, but now the Herald is said by gooc
newspaper judges to lead it several thou
sand. The Herald always jumps ahead wher
there Is commotion in Europe-On tht
strength Of it's ancient reputation, however
for mercy knows it's Turkish war news has
been mainly as worthless slosh as ever dis
figured white paper / think the Sim made {
mistake in giving the Eastern war the go-by
A trifle Of cable service, short, sharp, crisI
and comprehensive, with such line Of letters
as say three active correspondents could fur
nish, would have given the San sale OF 49, ,00
copies more than it has now, and need no
have cost more than half the sum derived
from the additional sale of papers-say 500
to $3.50 day. By the way the Sun did star
BUREAU OF WAR CORRESPONDENCE
but it fell early in the action. 1t was funny
episode: The Chicago Times had senta young
gentleman of the name Of Keenan,, somewhat
known in Washington for couple Of winters
past, to London to organize a Chicago Time,
European Bureau. The ,Sun undertook tt
take Keenan's specials at New York in trd1,si
tn, paying a share of the cable tolls for tht
use of them, or something to that effect.
believe the .Saln printed one Of these partner
ship specials, accompanying it with double
loaded editorial setting forth its excellences-
which, by the way, were not visi
BILE to the unassisted eye. This was
a memorable special. | judged wher
/ read it that Victor Hugo must have fur
nished the facts, and Miss Braddon the rhet
oric. 1t related mainly to the map OF Europ'
for the year 1900. With that special vanished
the Suns great bureau Of Eastern wal
correspondence, and / suppose Mr.. Dana, see
ing that his correspondent had arranged
everything for the next thirty years, felt tha
it would be a waste of money to pay CABLE
tolls upon dry details Of events as they nigh
transpire in the interim. In about weel
the Chicago Times reached similar conclu
sion, and thus keenan,, who is my friend ant