The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-10-06
THE PRESS OF NEW YORK.
A Number of Editorial Funerals Needed
Papers without Influence.


Editorial writing in the city of New York has
usurped the true tuition Of the facts. Each in
dividual editor has tried to the town. If a
politician like john Kelly made a small effort
within his political society to initiate them they
all sprang on him at once and cried: mo king
clown shall rule this town" You have neTer
seen time when the editorial clowns were not
only trying to rule the town. but every private
interest i'll it. Such slush as | sec in some of the
Western papers written on the theory that the
people never think, and that they must be
crammed full of views every morning. ought to
go out of fashion in a clfrespectng land Signs
appear on every hand that every man is an edi
tor in the country Nobody can be cheated eX
cept the who thinks he is cheating every
body. This city is sadly in want of editorial
funerals.
These New York papers are limited by condi-
tons over which they have no control. No man
in this island is afraid of any one of them.
Their denuncation would not scare goose
They cannot make any more money than they
have made in the past, and they will do well to
make much, The Sun by its superior com
mon sense and popular adaptabiiity, held its way
in spite of the opposition Of three octave Jour
nails, but it may have lost some circulation since
it opposed Cleveland. Even in the presidential
contest now pending there is no more conscience
about the support of the New York press than
in any other matter 1t is with them wholly re
venge circulation and bad character The agent
of the Associated Press is now Western man.
and these journals which supposed they could
sit on the free opinion of the country are
themselves the Wallets of the Western newspa-
pers.
The sequel to this matter is close at hand
Jones will have to retire from the Times His
partner, Mr. Morgan, who owns forty nine shares
out of hundred, as | understand, has no polltl-
cal sympathy with him, and is also a sufferer
from his idiotic business policy. 1t has also been
found here, and is freely admitted on the inside
of the twocent papers, that the New York public
does not respond to heavy Geographic outlay.
The New York public is not portion of the
American people. 1t has the smallest interest Of
any great aggregation of men in the internal
affairs of the country. They do not know how
many States there are in the Union; hardly
know whether Chicago is north of Milwaukee or
not: and if a man should happen to say that he
is a citizen of the West they ask him, with a
tone of comlniseration, how he can bear to live
out there. To them the enormous crops raised
in the interior of this continent do not represent
breadstutfs but quotations to gamble on. For
gambling ends many of them would gladly burn
the whole crop of any year, with idiotic want
of logic and unconscious that if they should
starve the people would eat them up
| was talking not long ago to a man who has
had bitter experience in the change of the
price of these papers, and he said: Had we
spent the money anywhere in this country but
in New York should have had n response.
New York is literally the Paris of America; and
what is Paris! Paris does not support single
newspaper giving full intelligence on the con
and make a story or feuilleton there, where the
telegraph news ought to be Then the paper is
made up Of squios and things to excite a laugh.
Now" said my FRIEND IF we had taken our
money and put it into that kind of stuff here in
New York it would have had just as much effect
as if we had been getting twenty five thousand
words day. Here is population which does
not desire to know particulars of any matter of
fact. If two actresses have quarrel they want
to know all about it. They do not comprehend
their public men except as matters to turn a
paragraph. Now" said he, this idea I formed
some time ago and mentioned it, and it seems to
have got to Mr. Halstead's ears, and he has come
here and started a small sheet on on the French
plan But he has only killed the plan by carry
ing it out so badly The sheet he publishes is
a little obscure looking thing, and the name
itself The Extra, kills it."