Wichita eagle., 1888-08-31
THE LONDON TINES.
A WELL KNOWN CORRESPONDENTS
ACCOUNT OF THE JOURNAL.

The Famous Newspapers beginning One
/ Hundred Years Ago-Po1itical Shifting
| OF The Times-How Its Pages Arc
Fuied-Editor John Delane.
Il Blowiiz, the well known Paris cor
respondent Of The London Times, has
been writing an account of his journal In
the luxurio0sly printed review called Art
| and Letters. 1.-The Times does not mean
! the time nor even the tines but the
ages, the centuries-that Is to say, every
thing which, in the existence of peoples,
! soiicits human understanding In
/ France it is often quoted as lie Jour
I nal de Il cite," but n Blowitz has been
unable TO trace the origin or cause Of this
/ designation. It's Office. near Blackfriars
bridge. is scarcely, he thinks, part Of the
city, while Its leanings. its style, its pol
! tics, and its aim have no relation with
! the city, strictly speaking" Everybody
( knows, or ought TO know, that The Times
/ first appeared on the 1st 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 It's birth and early strug-
| giles under John Walter has been often
+ told; how that worthy man, being sn IN
! derwriter, lost his hereditary fortune Of
/ e80.000 by the capture Of q feet of Eng
/ Esh merchant vessels by o French squad
/ ron, and, failing TO get satisfaction out Of
! the government, 81 once started q news
! paper called The Universal Register,
! primarily in order TO develop wonderful
{ printing patent, which has never 10 this
~ Of
la-er, he changed the name OF his paper
/ to The Times; how he endured six month";
Imprisonment, with the pillory and fine.
for publishing scandalous reports about
/ the royal dukes, and was on the point of
abandoning journalism in consequence,
but, fortunately, did not do so. In 1903
! John Walter Ii, at the age of q, was in
trusted by his father with the entire
management Of the paper, and its great
ness, influence and prosperity date, we
are told, from That moment.
+ The stiffness of The TEnes-thourh It
must be granted that it has been steady
enough lately in the out-and-out toryism
is explained by NJ Blowitz, but not very
IucidIy. Prom the commencement Of it's
existence to our day the line of conduct
OF The Times has not been varied, though
1t has often changed sides and c0mbated
today those it supported yesterday, which
Is just the case at this moment. But il
has never heSitated To subordinate Ques-
tons Of party or men 70 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 HI
who reigns, but does not rule-the real
editorial work Of The Times begins about
II P. II. 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. He is now comforting with his
leader writer's, who viii shortly retire 10
their rooms. From 11:30 o'clock the
printers boys viii come and fetch the
copy every ten minUtes-fancy the strain
of writing 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
save lot of trouble, and the sane re-
mark applies to the fixed headings in tbs
columns Of foreign news. For hew 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 o
P. H. till a. IN, going from the Bourse
to the newspaper Offices. Berlin and
Vienna have daily special wires, and all
other European capitals have them, but
without fixed time. Philadelphia and
Calcutta have the wire On certain days.
Thus every one knows that long Indian
telegram viii 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
years Mr.. John Delane reached his Office
81 1880 p. m, and left at a. n, just
when the first printed copy issued from
the press. About 8 a. n. the maker up
stated the amount Of matter, and Mr. De
lane, without looking al this mass OF 100
columns, indicated from memory what
had TO be added to or cut out, paragraph
by paragraph, ard almost line for line
ct clock he went home, took light
supper, went to bed and arose about
noon BE lunched about l p. n, dis
patched his correspondence, received
calls, went out about o'clock for ride
On horseback. went to his club, dressed
for dinner. dined nine times out Of ten
at the club in town, took glance at what !
there was to see; and WHEREVER he might I
BE, toos leave at quarter past 10 and !
went to his ofice. II 90 into these de- !
tails" adds u. Blowitz, Ito show at what |
cost man can aspire to the honor Of |
Editing the Tines-"-Lterary World.