St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-23
SOME NOTED EDITORS
Knights Of the Quill Who Play
at Statesmen and
Diplomat.
Notable Instances in This
Country and in Old
England.
London Editors Who Have
Been Ennobled by the
Queen.
Diplomatic Missions Are the
Reward of American
Seribes.

Lord Salisbury marked his retirement
from the premiership of Great Britain 10y
ennobling four great newspaper men.
and, though there are no titles of the
aristocratic sort in the United States,
President Harrison has done the best he
could for several equally eminent Amer
lean writers. In fact, says the New
York Advertiser, journalism is most de-
cidedly looking up all over the world,
and in republican France there are some
men equally great in the sanctum and
the political arena.
Edward Lawson of the London Daily
Telegraph: John Jaffroy, of the Biz
mingham Post, and Capt. G. c. Arm
strong, of the Londan Globe, are made
baronets, and DR.. William Smith. the
venerable scholar and editor of the
Quarterly, is made knight. 1t was
long thought that the premier would
raise the noted John Walter, of the
London Times, to peerage, but it was
not done. 1t is also taken for granted
in England that Sir Algernon Borth-
wick, proprietor of the Morning Post,
could have been raised to the peerage
under certain conditions, but declined
to accede thereto.
All these gentlemen are hereafter to
be addressed as Sir" that being com
mon to knight and baronet, though the
latter is the higher dignity. The most
important distinction from the English
point of view is that the knights title
dies with him, while that of the baronet
continues in his family. Nevertheless
the barOnet is, as to law privileges. a
commonwealth is, he has no seat in the
house of lords, as baron has. All these
titles have tinge of abSurdity when
traced to their origin. A baron simply
means man, real man. So it would
seem that barOnet means little man, or
next door to man. Knight originally
meant one who fought on horseback.
Without slang it might be added that it
now oftener implies one who fights with
his mouth.
Most noted of the new dignitaries is
Sir Edward Lawson, chief proprietor of
the Telegraph and son of j. NJ. Levy
Lawson, who founded that paper. The
son began at the lowest place in Jour
nalism, served long apprenticeship
under his father. and rose by long-con-
tinued labor to be editor-manager. His
country seat is in Bucks, and he is an
alderman in the Bucks county council,
AS welt as president of the Institute of
Journalists. His support of the minority
government, as that of Lord Salisbury
was called. was great element of its
success. Sir John Jaffray stood next to
him. il not his equal, in the value of his
services with the Birmingham Daily
Post. He was one of those Liberals
who refused to follow Gladstone in his
Irish policy, and is known as an indie
pendent Liberal-Unionist.
The most interesting parsonage, how
ever, among the new noblemen is Sir
q. Z. Armstrong, once Capt.Armstrong,
OF the India army, as after brilliant
career as soldier and being disabled
In middle life he chose new profession,
and soon reached very high place in
it. His father was Col. Armstrong. of
the Bengal army, and the son was bred
to arms from boyhood. After some
general work he served through the
famous Indian mutiny in the irregular
cavalry, was badly wounded and re-
celved a pension. He then served
some time at the Royal military college,
and III 1874 entered journalism as man
ager of the Globe, of which he is now
proprietor. The crisis of 1881 caused
the establishment of The People, of
which he is part proprietor.
DR.. William Smith, LID, of the
Quarterly, was best known in the
United States as editor of those ponder.
Gus dictionaries of the Bible and elias.
sizes. In fact, Smiths Bible Dictionary
is IN almost every scholarly gentleman's
library. He is Seventy-nine years old
and a retired scholar, so it is hard to
think of him as knight.
1t is matter of common observation
that literature and politics are steadily
coming nearer together, and at present
the statesman who cannot on occasion
dash off ''spicy EDITORIAL or write
an article for the Forum, the Arena,
or the North American Review is
thought to be lacking in an important
qualification. When Horace Greeley
was sent to congress there was an edi
torial "horse laugh" throughout the
country, and when he was '.struck by
Rust" as the slang of the day had it
instead of being indignant the journal
lists appeared to take it as good Joke
on his pretenSions as all editorial writer
Horace himself was not particularly
proud of his congressional career, new
ertheless he again entered politics, de-
feated Mr.. Evarts for senator, was III
turn defeated by combination, anC
ended drumming as 4 combination can
didate for president in campaign
which soon degenerated into bur
lesque.
His successor in the Tribune, how
ever, has had career of phenomena
good fortune. A popular speaker a
nineteen, journalist at twenty, soor
after the most noted of war correspond
ents, he became at thirty-five the re
sponsible manager of the Tribune, anl
without having ever been candidate
before the people, received from Presi
dent Harrison the highest save one o
diplomatic appointments. His success
as minister to France was such that, i
an Englishman, he would now be 81
Whitelaw, at least. In America it ha
made him candidate for vice president
and further this deronent saith not.
Murat HalStead failed of confirmation
to the German mission. He looks lik,
a German nobleman of the highes
rank. He likes the Germans and the,
like him. When Thorndike Rice wa:
appointed and confirmed as minister t.
Russia all the profession regarded it a
an honor to them, and his untimel
death was real calamity. Charlie
Emory Smith, of the Phlladelphl
Press, was chosen to succeed him. Tn
liberality of this administration to news
paper men recalls the fact, almost fol
gotten, that both President Hayes an
Garfield rendered first-class foreig
missions to Whitelaw Reid, but at tina
time nothing could induce him to abar
don journalism.
Among congressman, two have ha
careers that. as Artemus Ward said, ar
''interestin' enough for yaller kivers"-
Amos Cummings and John Finerty
'"They say'' that the former began lif
as tramp printer, but it should b.
noted that in the Olden time the wor
tramp" had no such base meaning a
now. 1t simply meant a Jour" VIII
worked in many places. At any rat
Mr.. Cummings rose to be one of TIL
brightest journalists, and received tn
distinguished honor of being made tn
successor in congress of S. S. Cox. Car
tain John Finerty. as his friends ca
him, got that title in a Fenian raid o
Canada; but he went to the Northwes
for the Chicago Times soon after th
Custer massacre, joined the fighting
and is the only civilian in the natio
who has been three times mentioned i
general orders for conspicuous ga