Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-08-24
THE LONDON TIMES.
A WELL KNOWN CORRESPONDENTS
ACCOUNT OF THE JOURNAL.


of Tho Times-uow Its Pages Arc
Filled-Editor John Delane.
NJ. Blowitz, the we'll known Paris corr
respondent of Tho London Times, has
been writing an account of his journal in
the luxuriously printed review called Art
and Letters. 1.-The Times does not mean
the time, nor even the times, but tho
ages. the centuries-that is to say, every
thing which, in the existence of peoples,
solicits human understanding. In
France it is often quoted as 'le Jour
nal de la cite, but NJ. 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
itics, 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, 1888,
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
$50, 0OO by the capture of fleet of Eng
lish merchant vessels by q French squad
ron, and, failing to get satisfaction out of
the government, at once started a news
paper called The Universal Register.
primarily in order to develop wonderful
| printing patent, which has never to this
day been of any use; how, three years
later, no changed the name of his paper
to The Times; how he endured six months
imprisonment, with the pillory and fire,
for publishing scandalous reports about
laf1 II Al a
abandoning journalism in consequence,
but, fortunately, did not do So In 1903
John Walter ii, at the age of 81, 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 chat moment
The stiffness of The Times-though it
must be granted that it has been steady
enough lately in the out-and-out toryism
lis 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
it 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 ques-
tions of party or men to questions of
| principle, and to what it believed to bc
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. He is now conferring 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 leader under the perpetual
interruption thus indicated-and it is at
once set up by 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 same re-
mark applies to the fixed headings in the
| columns of foreign news. For how many
| 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
p. m. till 3 a. m, 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 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
new type. 1t employs sixteen shorthand
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 1890 p. M, and left at a. m, just
when the first printed copy issued from
| the press. About 3 a. N. 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 / p. m, dis
patched his correspondence, received
calls, went out about o'clock for ride
Oh 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
be, took leave at q quarter past 10 aud
went to his office II 60 into these de-
tails, adds II. Blowitz, TO show at what
cost man can aspire to the honor Of
editing the Times. Literary World
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