, 1888-09-19
THE LONDON TIMES.
A WELL KNOWN CORRESPONDENTS
ACCOUNT OF THs JOURNAL.

The Famous Newspapers beginning One
Hundred Years Ago-PoIItical Shifting
of The Times-How Its Pages Are
Fined-EdItor John Delane.
M. Blowitz, the well known Paris cor
respondent of The London Times, has
been writing an account of his journal in
the luxuriously printed review called Art
and Letters. THE Times does not mean
the time. nor even the times, but the
ages, the centuries-that is to say, every
thing which, in the existence of peoples,
solicits human understanding. In
France 1t is often quoted as lie jour
nal de la cite, but N. Blowitz has been
unable to trace the origin or cause of this
designation. Its office, near Blackfriars
bridge. is scarcely, he thinks, part of the
CITY, while its leanings, its style, its pol
ltics, and its aim have no relation with
the city, strictly speaking" Everybody
knows, or ought to know, that The Times
first appeared on the LIST of January. 17SS.
and that The Morning Post is its only
senior among English dailies, The Post
having started ten years earlier.
The history of its birth and early strug-
giles under John Walter | has been often
told; how that worthy man, being an un-
derwriter, lost his hereditary fortune of
ESO.OOO by the capture of a feet of Eng
HDN h4N NeSSelS by u french squad
ron. and. failing to get satisfaction out of
the government, at once started a news
paper called h Universal Register,
primarily in order to develop a wonderful
printing patent, which has never to this
day been of any use; how, three years
later, he changed the name of his paper
to The Times; how he endured six months
Imprisonment, with the pillory and a fine,
for publishing ~scandalous reports about
no TsDNTDl -~I
abandoning journalism in CONSEQUENCE
but, fortunately, did not do SO. In 1908
John Walter ii, at the age of 81, was in
trusted by his father with the entire
management of the paper, and it's great
ness, influence and prosperity date. we
are told, from chat moment
The stiffness of The Times-though it
must be granted that it has been steady
enough lately in the o~ut-and-out toryism
is explained by M. Blowitz, but not very
lucidly. From the commencement of its
existence to our day the line of conduct
of The Times has not been varied, though
1t has often changed sides and combated
today those it supported yesterday, which
is just the case at this moment. But it
has never hesitated to subordinate uues-
lions of party or men to questions of
principle, and to what it believed to be
the supreme interest of the nation as re.
garded England, or the supreme interest
of society as regarded foreigners"
Leaving the politics and coming to the
actual composition of the paper, we learn
that in the reign of John Walter III
who reigns, but does not rule-the real
editorial work of The Times begins about
IL P. m. AT that hour the outer sheet,
containing the title, advertisements and
some lengthy articles, is ready printed,
and the editor has given his general
orders. lie is now comforting with his
leader writers, who will shortly retire to
their rooms. From 11:30 o'clock the
printers boys will come and fetch the
copy every ten minutes-fancy the strain
of writing a leader under the perpetual
interruption thus indicated-and it is at
once set up by a special staff of compost
tors assigned to each article. The editor
meanwhile, with his assistant and sub
editors, proceeds to the arrangement and
revision of the other matters forming the
paper.
As every reader of The Times knows,
there are certain pages unalterably al
lotted to the same subjects. This must
a lot of trouble, and the same re-
mark applies to the liked headings in the
columns of foreign news. For how many
weary months were we daily confronted
with that same heading, Egypt, England
and the Soudan," and others OF similar
general import. Page five has become of
exceptional Importance since May 4, 1874,
as from that date The Times has received
continental letters only by wire, from 0
m; till y a. m, going from the Bourse
TO the newspaper Offices. Berlin and
Vienna have daily special wires, and all
other European capitals nave them, but
without fixed time. Philadelphia and
have the wire on certain days.
Ihuse every one knows that a long Indian
telegram will appear in Mondays edition
of The Times, and that whether there is
any important news to send or not.
The Times is every day printed with
writers in the two houses of parliament,
and the telephone is employed for trans
hitting the copy" to the compositor, or,
rather, no copy" is sent, but the mes
sage is set up directly as it is received by
the compositor's ear. For thirty-two
years Mr.. John Delane reached his office
at 1920 p. M, n left at 4 a. M, Just
when the first printed copy issued from
the press. About 8 a. m. the maker up
stated the amount of matter, and Mr.. De-
lane, without looking at this mass of 100
columns, indicated from memory what
had to be added to or cut out, paragraph
by paragraph. and almost line for line.
At 4 o'clock he went home, took a light
supper, went to bed and arose about
noon. He lunched about l D.. M, dig
his correspondence, received
calls, went out about 4 o'clock fol-, a ride
on horseback. went to his club, dressed
for dinner, dined min times out of ten
at the club in town, took a glance at what
there was to see; and wherever he might
be, took leave at a quarter past 10 and
went to his Office. Il go into these de-
tails" adds M Blowitz. ito show at what
cost a man can aspire to the honor of
the Times. Literary World.