New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-25
ENGLISH JOURNALISM.
TIE PROBABLE TRUTH ABOUT THE oKl-F
GIN OF THE PAIL MALL GAZETTE
STORY OF MR. GI.ADSTONES
RESIGNATION

T. roed not he supposed that the storyHn The
Pail Mall Gazette of Mr. Gladstone's Impending
resignation was made out Of whole cloth mat
Il was a sheer fabrication was freely snggested
at the time and II is even now referred 70 do
the SILLY hoax of the anglo American Jour
nal There was, nevertheless, some tother oas'S
for Il than mere probability or coniec There
was n letter The history of the letter is OBJ
sc,,re but It IS said to have been written quite
recently by a very near friend of NJ Gladstone
one who knows as much about'him as any
bndv is allowed 10 know. He wrote to an int-
,rote friend OF his own The letter came into
,hc possession of a friend Of the valet'of this
last gentleman.
If was offered for SALE first Of vail. to the
Times" for s.. 500. The conductors'of that jour
nal declined to buy 1t. 1t was tfen offered l"r
the same sum to 1.-The Standard Mr.. Mudfofd
took two days to satisfy himself'on the subject
and he also declined to buy or publish the ie'-
Ter He was / am told. convinced that the let
ter was genuine. but that it was not TO use
slang phrase, good enough No definite coiciu-
sion was to be drawn from 1t, ana the lacts II
contained. or statements. not. in his judg-
ment Of a kind TO support an announcement
that Mr.. Gladstone had resolved to resign. Then
a. came into the hands of Sir Edward Lawson
NJ "The Daily Telegraph" He too. rejected
the PROPOSAL In the fourth place 1.-THE Chroni-
Gle, had an opportunity of becoming the owner
NJ this precious inissive But since II could not
presumably be worth so much to Gladstoniah
or Radical paper as to one OF the opposite iai'h
and since a document thus haWked ABOUT IhuSt
lose some of its freshness. the price asked now
fell TO 1.25O Even at that reduced rate the
Radical paper declined IL.
The fact that such Letter was IN existence
ond tbat Il WAS for sale. had begun to get about
and 1t was necessary u do something at once
or abandon the project. So it was taken to Mr.
Cust Editor of "The Pail Mall Gazette, and
there at last found a market. Whether Mr.
Gust bought the letter outright or only the
privilege of basing prophecy on 1t, do not
know nor how much he paid. Probably, had
the letter itself been published. it might have
made no great sensation. and it is upon sensa-
ton that an evening paper. in DEFAULT OF o'her
provender must live. At any rate, he preferred
so placard the streets of London with the yell
low contents-bis on which, in huge black let
ters the world read the Resignation of Mr.
Gladstone Had Mr.. Gust been a journalist OF
more experience. he might have shrunk from
uniting himself so deeply; or might not SINCE
after all it is not always experience in Journalism
which tends to sobrety. city might benamed
in which stories of sensation are not strictly
exc,uded even from journals of long standing;
10 know all that can be known about news and
the procuring and publishing Of news In one
sense II answered Mr.. Gusts purpose, or his
sunnosed purpose very we'll 1t attracted, as
Won know great attention. 1t was perhaps more
discussed and in a greater variety of tones. than
any other kite which has of late been flown
1.-The Pail MALI for days kept its headline Res
.ignation of Mr.. Gladstone" standing, and under
4t collected Of comment. mostly critical
and of what may be called collateral evidence
bearing on the point. The most serious journals
were obliged to discuss IT, whether they would
or not
As wrote you the other day. some Of them
chose to treat it as an American flight of fancy.
So when last week this incorrigible offender
came out with another yellow contents-bill and
other huge lines of type announcing that a
London Bank Stops, the London public was
again treated to a homily. to several homilies,
on american Methods in journalism. Next
day asked young English colleague in this
professional man who has made his mark and
will presently make greater-whether he
really thought were 50 much worse than
the rest Of the world. 1T Is too late in the
day." answered he, "to talk of American meth
DDS; we all do it." This frank confession might
be thought too frank by some of his elder
associates In his desire to be civil TO Ameri-
fully said that they all do it. here in London or
In England. Not all the morning papers are
edited in the hystercal key, nor many of them.
The question has been asked whether Its
resignation romance did The Pall-Mall' much
harm. Opinions differ. One Journalist said yes,
on the ground that The Pail MALI is. or tries
TO be, a serious paper. and appeals to a serious
public. Nonsense. retorted another mo even
ing paper is serious or can be News there
Is none, rule, and they must
have something to sci 1.-The paper" / decline to
be responsible for this cynical view. 1t is not
in that wholesale form. a true view. Serious
evening papers do exist 1.-THE Pall-Mall" Itself
contains matter which has every right to be
called serious especially those paragraphs and
articles intended to supply the casual reader
with amusement. 1t lacks repose. Edited with
much ability, and at times with smartness. it
has not yet under its new conductors estab-
lished reputation as safe guide: whether as
TO opinion or to fact. If there be news procura-
bic the money for procuring it is waiting 70 be
spent There are signs of enterprise about it,
often well directed
Its rival "The Westminster Gazette" is edited
good deal on the lines Of the provincial weekly,
which may be briefly defined as scissors and
paste There is no lack Of ability. Everybody
knows Mr. f. T Cook as a good writer and
good editor-twO sorts Of capacity which do
not always nor often go together. There seems
to be a lack of money. The owner Of this good
Giadstonian paper is Mr. George Newnes. NJ p.
whose ideas Of journalism seem 70 have been
derived from the putting together Of that curl
Gus weekly scrapbook known as Tit Bits" Ex-
pcrience in a concern Of that kind successful
though 1t be- is not good training for a daily
paper Mr. Ncwres Is man Of business. and
in any other business than journalism would
doubtless understand that in order TO make
money IL is necessary To- spend money. Not
InucA money, perhaps, but money; not
nearly much evening as "a morning
Journal. but still enough 10 provide his public
with matter that is not stale. and with some
thing which they may be induced to regard as
news. and for the sale Of which they will In
vest the sum OF penny. or cents. In the daily