New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-05-06

son is good manager; in some respects an -
cellent one. He has. at times, done much .,
the paper in that capacity. But for soma -.
son. the period Of decadence set in; probable =.
cause Of the difficulty about an editor Ar
paper does really need an editor It will ~.
as a rule or for a long period, edit itself "a.
conditions Of politics In this country DURING "a.
last eight years have been extremely difp.u,.
1t was no time for putting the helm in the hsns-
of amateurs or for transferring, shall we s.r
the chief engineer to the quarterback. Yet th,,
Is what has happened In this case
Sir j. r. Robinson has probably done ho...-
than most business managers would have aos.
But the spirit OF tie countng-house is one thin.
and the sprit of the editorial rooms f. or o,rs.
to be. another. If the latter Is to be made su,
servient to the former, the paper suffers. q.
tone changes; It's attitude to the public chan,e.
and the attitude of the public to the r,n.,
changes also. The tendency inside every n.r.
paper Office is TO take too exclusively Office v,.u.-
That is true Of most editorial rooms. no ro,,,,-
how independent Of the business department, r.
may be. 1t becomes much more narksa -
proportion as the ascendancy Of the money e,..
Increases. The public Is half forgotten q, =.
thought Of as a mich cow with an irdse,..
quantity Of milk and an unlimited readiness
give down this agreeable fluid.
But the public is not a fool. II it were. who..
would be the fault, If not the journals who han.
for so many years set themselves to tell o..
public what 1t ought to think and 10 ed,c,,.
its judgment? The public Is perfectly canah,. :.
perceiving in what spirit paper is conduc,a.
and whether the appeal it makes is TO the a.
telligence. The appeal Of THE Daily News, h..
been TO party passion rather than to intelligence.
That a party journal should take party Wan.
must. ! suppose, be conceded. But IL need ~.
express them in a form which implies tha, a..
readers have no Views of their own and -
power Of judgment. or knowledge OF facts No.
need IL be acrimonious. The tone Of the GA
Bailey advocate 70 an Old Bailey fury is M,
good one for an important and once extreme-v
powerful paper OF course. The Daily News.
is still powerful but It has lost authority to q,
extent which it is difficult to gauge Too much
blame need not be laid on Sir J. Robinson,
shoulders. lie !s In a measure the victim Of cir.
cumstances Editors are certainly scarce. bu,
the proprietors might during all this time hav.
found one If they had tried or If they had reall,
appreciated the urgent need Of the paper
The new departure and new features are Al
ual balance Of the paper. Literature Is promoted
TO a higher place. and that admirable and win
be more admirable still when the readers hsu
learned 10 have confidence IN the literary juda.
ment OF the reviewer. There is an article B,
Mr.. Andrew Lang on the Anniversary Of Cul.
loden-not very thrilling or even fresh TOPIC
There are Literary Notes There Is an article
on Richmond Park. and plea for Nightwork.
ers ard a column Of gossip about the Budget
and there are three columns on Poetry OF the
Day. These seem to be the chief new and In
teresting features thus far Mr. Lucy contin
ues his excellent Pictures Of Parliament always
one Of the best things in the paper: but that Is
not a new feature. Those which | have men.
toned are those Of the first two DAYS since the
change. The editorial page. where the need Of
change was greatest. remains for the present
what 1t was. The number of superlatiyes has
not been decreased The view is no broader; the
sa gaclty no more marked: the temper is the
same: the want Of seriousness. in the sense Of
reasoned conviction. and tae untrustworthnes
OF It's judgment on its news are as great as
ever. There must BE- time \ Journal is not
revoutionized in a day. But one would like 70
feel sure that there Is really to be a revolution.
G.. w. s.