The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-11-10
BUILDING A NEWSPAPER.

The Romance of LOndOn's Great Penny Pa
per, the Daily Telegraph.
Dion Boucicault, in San Francisco Call.
But perhaps this talk is not quite so pal
atable as that pate. Let me come from the
abstract to the concrete. Did you ever hear
the history of the London Daily Telegraph,
the present great penny paper of London?
No? Well it is a sort of trade romance. I
knew the paper when it was struggling in the
depths of poverty. 1t was originally owned
by man named Sleigh, who could not make
1t pay He parted with it to Smith, and from
his hands it came to the present owners, the
Lawsons, whose family name some wears ago
was Levy. When Smith was wrestling with
the Telegraph, Lionel Brough, the actor, was
an attache of the office, book-keeper, sales
mana sort of general man of all work-and
they owed him a few hundred pounds of
back salary. Smith, getting desperate at the
repeated knock-downs fortune gave him, told
Brough he could take the whole concern. if
he would, in payment of the amount due
him. This was deEurred to, Brough saying
he would rather hold Smith, who was worth
something, than take a newspaper worth
nothing"
THAT was the time Lionel whistled his
fortune down the wind"
II am not so sure of that The paper was
something, it is true: but management and
industry were great deal more. Brough
was not blessed largely with either quality.
But the Levys were, and, besides, they knew
the business. Old man Levy, who was a
manufacturer of printing ink, and who had
lien on the office, took it over for a mere
song. He was afterward joined by his
brother, who has since changed his name to
Lawson, and his own son, Edward, VINO be-
came famous subsequently, as a man about
town and by his rencontre with Labouchere,
and the legal troubles growing out of it.
But at the time they took hold of the Daily
Telegraph all the Levys were sharp, shrewd
men of the world There were no leaks
about the establishment, and every penny
they made told. Edward, or Ted, as he was
called, is a practical printer, and l have
known him to return to the office after the
theater was out and set up long critique of
the play directly from the case. They
raised the Telegraph from moth
ing to a position equal in importance
and profit to that of the Times. Dizzy was
great friend; but greater was their own!
well-directed energy You remember the,
Lawson-Labouchere lawsuit. Labby, who
managed his own suit, made it unconforta<
bly, hot for Ted when he had him on the
witness-stand, especially when an answer to-
one of his questions being required, he
demonstra ted the fact that the Daily Tele-
graph proprietor, the representative of the
third estate so called-of the force that
moves the world'-did not know whetherl
Constantinople was in Asia, Africa or Amer
lea! Old Levy, who died some years age, was
a fast one, with all his years. He owned the
Gaiety Theater, of which Hollingshead isl
the manager The uncle and nephew now
remain as managers of the Telegraph. l have
heard that Sergeant Ballentine the eminent
Queens counsel, had small pecuniary in
terest in the paper; but Of this know moth
ing. l only know the proprietors have a
princely fortune as the result of their la
bors"