New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-11-25

vote was pOlled and Mr.. George ID. Robinson, Re
publican, has probably $4,000 majority over Gen
eral Butler the present Governor of Pennsylvania.
This exciting intelligence is not really to he cred
tied to the Philadelphia correspondent, but is sim
ply an illustration of the careful intelligence with
which The Times is edited CIV. S.
JOURNALISTIC J-THEATRICAL-PERs0NAL.
lFRoN THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF The TETBuSEl
LONDON, November ..
Seldom has the British public been entertained
by more curious disclosure of certain methods at
news-manufacture than that of Thursday. The
central News Newspaper Company is the concern
which provided this amusement. The managers OF
that company thought themselves Obliged to insti-
tute a criminal prosecution for libel against the
publishers and prOpretOrs Of Judy and of The Sports
man The alleged offence of these two journals con-
sisted in publishing an accusation against the Cen
trail News people of selling bogus" Orhctltious dis
patches and particularly dispatch relating TO the
arrival of the Marquis of Lansdowne in Canada.
You can hardly have forgotten the echo of those dis
patches on your side. The sensation they produced
here was still greater. 1t was The Daily Telegraph
which gave currency to them; having bought them,
il would appear in the regular course of business
from the Central News Agency whose mission and
business in the world are TO collect and sell news
from various parts Of the globe.
Now the dispatches as published i'll The Daily Tie
graph filed the better part OF a column: They were
written in a ford STYLE and were full Of paIticu-
larites reflections and differences. The actual tele
gram OH which they were based was this:
Special Cabinet meeting Quebec dynamite plot
Lansdowne discovered arrests probable intense eX-
element Princess indisposed ndaIned eye.
Which was subsequently reinforced by the follow
ing:
Plot explode Circassian Rimouski thwartcd
Lansdownc movement circutous Halifax dyna-
mters sent trial.
These five lines were expanded" by the sub
editor of the Central News a system which hc de-
scribed in court with ingenious pride. lie assured
the crossexaining counsel for the defence that he
regarded a quarter of "a column fair and proper
" expansion of the twelve words relating 20 the
plot in the first telegram. Asked where hc got
authority for saying that the Marquis of Lornc and
other people were told about the plots, he said lac
should require great deal of authority 10 convince
him they were not. He wrote in the expanded and
published dispatch: Indeed there must have been
some suspicion of foul intentions on the part of The
Invincibles." Asked where he found anything in the
original telegram about Inyinciblcs, the witness an.
swered with unprofeSsonal concisencss Dyna-
mite plot" Well, then, continued the inquiSitvc
counsel, "you were kind enough to say that Lord
and Lady Lansdownc have become intensely pOpu-
lar even before landing; where did that fromT
That would be quite in accordance with the public
mind" responded tue sub-editOr. Then again:
As a rule Canadians have rather unduly dcspiscd
dynamite alarms and they are terribly startled by
the reports what was there in the telegram
which you expanded into that statement7' But il
appcared that this based upon "postal material
which came from Montreal And elsewhere the
witness declared that he filed up his skeleton tce-
grams with knowledge which he was able to gain
from reference books, documents or kilograms.
OF from personal knowledge Of events which have
recently happened;" or, he omitted to add, from
his moral consciousness
1t will interest you TO know that the sub-cditor Of
the Central News Agency justifes his performance
by reference to American authority. | shOuld not
omit TO say that the name Of this genius is Mr..
Frank CoebroOk and his address in case you have
occasion for his services No. "a Amcrsham Road
New Cross Another witness, Mr.. John Moore, Of
No ii Cambridge Terrace Peckham Rye manager
of the Foreign Department of the Central News,
sworc TO his belief that out OF the fifty words which
he himself considered good germ Of quarter Of a
column, in America they would make two columns
Who they" are, he omitted to state.
Out of these samples of testimony in behalf Of the
Central News You may perhaps be able To make up
vour minds as TO the degree of guilt of the defend
ants in their use Of the words bogus telegram 1t is
more difficult to decide on the degree of tnoral OBJ
tuseness and general insensbily to public opinion
which could induce any news agency whatever to
appear voluntarily in court with such a case as this
Expansion " if you like, but, as The Times which
devotes leader TO the matter observes the public
is not let into any of these secrets at could never
guess that telegram of thirty lines Iit was far
morel headed Quebec, had come from Montreal I'm a
few significant words, and that its dry bones had
been so padded out as to cover its original naked
nessn The counsel for the news agency admitted
that to be known as cOncoctcrs of fictitious news
w0nld be fatal to their business. But they expect
the public TO consider that expansion of this sort
and to this extent is legitimate and proper method
of dealing with news. 1t is nevertheless probable
that the public will ultimately prefer its news in
such shape as to be able to distinguish between
telegraphed facts OH the hand, and on the
other the guesses and inventions of dealers in ex
banded dispatches.
The performance of the sleep-walxing scene from
Ladv Macbeth by Madame. Sarah Bernbardt produced
if kilograms from Paris may be trusted, deep i'm
preston on her French audience. I quote from a
dispatch which you will recognize as NJ. de Blow
tits, hope long before you get to the end Of the
passage:
Nobody remembers having ever seen greater tragic
nj mower on the French stage. Sarah BernhaTdt IN
hef white flowing garments, her body seemingly
emaciated with remorse her leatnIes aslotled win
the blood run cold declaiped the scene from begin
ming to end with extraordinary force. She showed
In this passage q dramatic insight nneXampled ny
this moment on the French stage: and the repeated