The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-21
DANA's LAST WISH Needed.
Why the sun Printed No Obituary.
The paDcr'S Future


The only announcement which the sun
has made of the death of its famous edi-
tor, Charles A. Dana, consists OF the fol-
lowing ten words, printed at the head of
the editorial columns:
Charles Anderson Dana, editor of the
sun died yesterday afternoon"
The brevity Of the notice occasioned
some surprise In newspaper circles, for
Mr.. Dana was a man of more than ma
tonal reputation, but the explanation is
simple. One of the last wishes Mr.. Dana
expressed to his son when he knew that
his end was not far off, was this:
Paul, when l am gone, don't have a
long obituary of me printed In the sun.
Simply announce my going away; that Is
an And this request was needed.
The future of the Sun will be watched
with great interest by newspaper men all
over the world and by the public In gen.
eral. The course that 1t will pursue the
influence 1t will have. the position that 1t
will maintain are all largely matters of
conjecture, even TO those who are most
intimately connected with the paper, as Is
also the matter of choosing a successor for
the late master.
With regard to this this matter the
New York correspondent of the Chicago
Times-Herald writes as follows:
One thing, however, can be said with
certainty-the Sun will not be Mr.. Danas
monument. That fond illusion of the great
editor will be shattered and he probably
knew months ago that 1t must be so.
There was a time when Mr. Dana believed
that his personality would perVade the
columns of his paper long after his body
had crumbled to dust but the best that he
could do was to keep firm control OF the
helm to the last moment. II was follow
ing his instructions that his death was
announced without the usual obituary no
tce.
For at least six months II has been
known that MIR. Dana was approaching
his end, and, anticipating that event, gos-
sip has been rife concerning the control of
the Sun. 1t is known that the paper Will
Immediately pass from the control of the
Dana family, and whoever secures control
of it must make terms with j. Pierrepont
Morgan, the banker
Thomas Hitchcock (Matthew MarshalD
is the heaviest individual stakeholder,
though he lacks many shares of controll-
ing interest.
At one time Mr.. Dana had absolute con-
troll of the Sun, either owning outright or
having an option upon majority of the
stock That was previous TO 1884, in
which year he made what is called the
greatest mistake of his life, boiling the
nomination of Grover Cleveland for the
presidency and swinging the Sun to the
support of Gen. Benjamin Butler Before
that disastrous move the Sun was a pow
er in democratic politics in this state, and
was earning large dividends. During the
campaign of 1884 and the four years that
followed the democratic clientele was allen
ated from the Sun, and fat dividends were
turned into deficits.
Mr.. Dana, who was never of a practical
turn continued his worship of art and
literature spending great sums to gratity
his tastes. The result was that he was
shortly a heavy borrower with his stock
posted as collateral. When it became APP
Al cell a - la
losing control of the stock, he obtained
by means of his options and holdings
life contract with the Sun, by which he
secured to himself the editorship of the
paper, at an annual salary of $4,000.
There came a resumption of prosperity
for the Sum- but not enough money was
made to counterbalance the demands made
by the United Press, of which organiza-
ton Mr.. Dana and William M. Laffan
were the ruling spirits, and which lost
vast sums in It's disastrous Ito itselD war
fare against the Associated Press. So
while Mr.. Dana did not lose the title to
his holdings Of Sun stock. he was never
able to redeem them. and his death leaves
them in the hands of Wall street bankers.
Only 100 shares of stock were issued by
the Sun Publishing Company. These each
have a nominal face value Of $1,000 but of
course have been and are worth many
times that amount.
Thomas Hitchcock, who Is a well-known
banker of this city, holds twenty shares of
the stock. His first connection with the
Sun was almost coincident with that of
Mr.. Dana, the two having for many years
been the closest of friends. Mr.. Hitch
cock has had leaning toward journalism,
and has, over the signature of Matthew
Marshall" written concerning the market
and investments. Matthew MARSHALL in
the Sun Of Monday mornings has long
been a distinctive feature of the paper.
Should he desire, he certainly could Inn
mediately assume control of the Sun, and
no other man is so well equipped to fol-
low along the lines laid down by his
friend. But MIR. Hitchcock is an old man,
and has declared that under no considera-
ton will he assume the responsibilities of
the editorship of the paper.
Undoubtedly, Mr. Danas son, Paul, will
make an effort to retain control of the pa
per That he Will succeed few believe. He
would have great difficulty in raising the
funds necessary for the redemption of the
stock held nomnally by his father More
than that, he has not the capacity OF the
man who made the name of Dana famous
wherever newspapers are known.
There Is still third obstacle for him to
overcome before he can control the Sun,
and to those who know him that obstacle
is considered greater even than the other
two 1t is raised by the present publisher
of the paper, Mr.. Laffan. Mr.. Laffan will
himself strive for control of the Sun, and,
as he is a man Of undoubted ability, es-
pecially in a business sense, he may sue
ceed While his relations with his late
chief were at all times harmonious, Mr..
Laffan has little regard for young Mr..