The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-08-22

Hundred Years igo-political Shifting.
, of Tho riIncs-Ilow Its Pages Are
Filled Editor John Delanc.
: NJ Blowits. tho well known Paris cor.
respondent Of Tho London Times. has
ben writing ~ recount Of Is journal in
tho luSuriously printed review called Art
and Letters The Times does not mean
the time. nor even the times. but the
ages tAe ccn'uries-that is 10 say. every
thing which. in the existence Of peoples,
solici,s human understanding. In
France it ia often quoted as "le Jour
nal dc la cite. bat NJ. Blowitz has been
unable to trace the origin or cause Of this
designation. It's Office, near Blackfriars
bridge IS scarcely, lie thinks. part of the
city. while Its lcanings, its style, it's pol
fcs. and its aim have no relation with
the city. strictly speaking" Everybody
knows, or ought TO know, that The Times
trst appeared on the Is; 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-
Sitj Iadcr Jc.l ;, ai,cr h.5 been often
told: how that worthy man. being an I'M
dcrwriter lost his hereditary fortrpo Of
! $4,000 by the capture of feet of Eng.
lisa merchant vessels by French squad
ron. and. falling to get satisfaction ont Of
/ the government. ~ once started a news
I 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, he changed the namc of his paper
10 The Times, how no endured six months
imprisonment. with the pillory and a fine.
for publishing scandaiou, reports about
the royal dukes. and was on the point of
abandoning journalism I'm consequence.
but, fortunately, did not DO so. In 1908
John Walter II. at the age Of -. was in
trusted 10y his father with the entire
management Of the paper, and It's great.
ness influence and prosperity date, wo
are told, from hat moment.
The shlItnoss Of Tho Iimcs-though it
must be granted that it has been steady
eiSush lately in the ont and out toryism
is explained b. VI. blowitz. but not very
lucidly. From the commencement of its
exist nee TO our day tho line of conduct
of ihc Tines has not Ncnn varied. though
1t las often changed sides and comboted
today those II supDo-,c. Yesterday. which
Is just TIE case ot thil ,,clent. But it
has meyer hesi.-ted TO subordinate cues
to-. nl party OK men 70 questions of
principle, and 10 what IL believed to DO
the supreme interest Of the nation az re.
Ga1d'd England, or the supreme interest
Of society as regarded foroi.ncrs."
Lf-' ing the politics and coming to the
actual composition Of the paper, we learn
that IN the reign of John Walter III
who roigns, bat docs 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
home 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 1l.30 o'clock the
printers boys will como and fetch tho
copy every ten minutes-fancy the strain
of writing leader under tho perpetual
Interruption thus indicated-and it is at
once set up by Il 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 tho
paper.
there are certain pages unalterably al
Iottcd g. thc same subjects This must
save q lot If trouble and the same re
mark applies 20 the fixed headings in tho
columns Of foreign news. For how many
weary months were We daily confronted
with that samo heading, Egypt, England
md the Soudan. and others of similar
general import. Page five has become of
80.
IS from that date The Times has received
Continental letters only by wire, from0
,. m TIL n. m, going from the Boursc
0 the newspaper offices. Berlin and
Jenna have daily special wires, and all
ther European capitals have them, but
without fixed time. Philadelphia and
'alcutta have the wire on certain days.
nus every one knows that long Indian
elegram will appear in Mondays edition
I The Times. and that whether there is
ny important news TO send or not.
The Times is every day printed with
ew type. II employs sixteen shorthand
'rters in the two houses OF parliament,
nd the telephone is employed for trans
llttinS the copy" TO the compositor, or,
lthcr no copy is sent but the mes
'gc is set MP directly as it l. received by
40 compositor's ear. For thirty-two
Ears Mr.. John Delane reached his office
lO:3Op. IN, and left at a M, Just
hen the first printed copy issued from
10 press. About 3 a. m the maker uD
a:ed the amount of matter, and Mr. Do
ne, without looking at this mass of 100
'lumns, indicated from memory what
Id to be added to or cut out, paragraph
7 paragraph, and almost line for line.
o'clock he went home, took light
upper, went TO bed ar! arose about
'on. He lunched about l D. m, dis
ltched his correspondence, received
lis, went out about o'clock for ride
| horseback, went to his club, dressed
r dinner, dined nine times out of ten
the club in town, took glance ut what
ere was to see; and wherever he might
:, took leave at quarter past 10 and
INT to his Office. II 90 into these dc.
lis, adds n. Blowitz, Ito show ut what
st man can aspire to the honor OF
iting the Times. Literary World.