The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-02-09

| like the cry Of CESAR. Help me or sinh. All such
efforts to get subscrb'rs are Ike the signal Of i's's
when shin j. ruddercss and drifting on the rocks fuu
don't fer any dictionaries to induce the people to take
TN suS people their own accord want 10 know
your NJ miun. all the topics OF the times including
he'll People where Ike TO read the thoughts OF an
and told editor, and one who Is evidently
tho friend o the rcovc's interests This was the secret
OF Mr. RlLnts popularity, and OF the power Of the ftb
| M, under his oditorih management Such men
make mistakes but the people have confidence in the in
| tgr.ty OF their character and purposes
Please inform thousands Of those who like myself.
arr di.gusted with the e, how and why rnnous
change has the paper Tho history Of 1t would
be- interesting aud instructive Besides the old readers
and support ct the 7,tb,se who valued IL many
Years have rght to know the history Of decline and
fail oi course this history cannot get by calling at
the Tall Tower and therefore ask TnE srs 10 shed
It's hight on the subject An ON fARsHH"
The first and main cause of the lament
able deterioration in the tribune is that it *
no longer an honest paper. When, after the
death of Mr. GREELEY, the majority OF the
stock Of the establishment was purchased
by JAY GOULD, that willy stock operator
sought TO conceal his connection with tho
tribune, and his complete control of its col
umns, by putting his shares In tho name OF
weak young man whom he hired to edit the
paper His purpose was 20 stand asidc, and,
unknown to the public, use the property, fOr
which he had paid over half million of
dollars, to help along his stVck-j obbing ope-
ratiOus.
These were then and are now so vast that
he could we'll afford to invest that large sum
Of money IN u newspaper organ, provided
he could cause it 10 play just the tunes he
wished. and deceive the public into thinking
it was making music for them and not for
him alone. In order 60 successfully humbug
the readers of the paper, and to keep them
from suspocting its real purposes, JAY
GorLD made prctcncc Of great impartial
ity and independence, and exhibited a very
deep interest in piOn- subjects. in science,
aud in domestic themes. His young editor
would work at his masters jobs in one
column and discuss maternal affection in
another. The idea the pair sought to con-
vey was that under their charge the old I'1b-
G,e had been Icgcncrated, was more truly
religious sheet, and was better fitted for the
reading Of highly respectable people, whose
prcjudlces and sQueamishuess 1t would
never more offend
1t certainly did print stun that could not
shock or rudely agitate the most feeble in
tellects, and some of the Miss Nancics about
the country may have thought it very fine
writing. More judicious readers, however,
were surprised that an editor could talk
such platitudcs, aud indulge in such swashy
scntimentalitv, without standing in fear Of
nau,cating the public.
For some time JAY GOULD kept his owner
ship in the Tribune, and his sinister ends in
purchasing the control Of the paper, from
the knowledge of the press and the people.
His stock jobbing articles, however at
length exposed him, and THE Sun was soon
| l. a - 4. 1.
and defeat his subterranean tactics. Mean
while his young editor had conceived the
idea that what the Tr,b,ae needed to assure
its position as " the leading American news
paper" was the tallcst newspaper Office in
the world. JAY GOULD cared little about
making money directly out of his paper, and
very likely he thought that il he should SO
spend its accommodations that the holders OF
the minority Of the stock would be left with
out dividends, he might in the end be the
| gamer. At any rate. a fund which had been
| gathered for erecting a new building, and
| the proceeds Of an insurance policy on the
| life of Mr.. GREELEY, were put together,
| aud to them was added large sum OBJ
tanned ON u mortgage. Then the Tall Tower
was put M NJ an enormous expense. Though
only port ion Of the structure as originally
planned has been built, the money is all gone.
The building may possibly bo worth in good
mes the amount Of the mortgages on it,
| but il will not be worth more than that and
no one wants IT, 1t Is reported that one or
! two mon have negotiated for the purchase
! Of the Tribune. but they have refused to be
burdoncd with the Tall Tower. The finan-
cial disasters Of the paper are largely due to
To- .e.l. a 10
the coneeQucnce of the stock obhing journal
ism of JAY GOULD. Since the death of Mr..
GREELEY the Tribune has paid no money in
dividends TO its stockholders and now the
shares 60 begging for n purchaser Some Of
them belonging to the estate Of DR.. j. {.
AVER were lately offered for sale, and the
highest price anybody was willing 10 bid
WAS less than 800 a share; and the heirs OF
Mr., GREELEY count their stock as Of no
present worth. When tits remembered that
JAY GOULD paid $4,000 apiece for his fifty
one shares. it will be scnn how great has
boon the decline in Che value OF the property
since its control passed into his hands.
During that time tho paper has pursued n
dishonest. timc-scrving, hypocritcal, and
mercenary political course. 1t is always
ready to accommodate it's principles to suit
the railway schemes Of its master, and its
columns have been noted for the fcoblcncss
of thc writing they contain and its shallow
prctrnco. Our Pennsylvania friend must
now understand why the Tribvhe has become
so odious to him and to thousands of Others
of it, old readers. The trouble with it l.
that il Is a fraud through and through.
Unlike John Young Brown.