New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-03-21
NOT THE PEOPLES VOICE.
BRITISH MILLIONAIREs AND THEIR
OWNERSHIP OF THE LONDON PRESS

NEWSPAPERS BOUGHT TO HUSH ofr''ii'0'
r,vop SOCIAL, AIMS OR TO FURTHER
GREAT sPEcULArIoN-THE ENGLISH
REGARD FOR ANONYMOUS
JOURNALISM.
Anonymity was the keynote Of the Ensiish
nress twenty and thirty years ago. and the pfin-
Gina, source Of it's power, the editorial we III
those DAYS standing, not for the proprie'ois u
the newspaper. nor yet for its managers 'u
the people. Its utterances were resa''e''
any rate by the public at large not do W.
sentrg the opinions Of any one huNiuu"'
,bosa either Of some great political party OF eiSe
~ the nation at large The press was In every
sense of the word the 'vox popuil' anu INC
consequence was that it was power ho' '",'
at home but also abroad. An EhsHsii
threat to write and complain to Inc LINZ
Times, was treated as no empty menace ps
Continental officials, in whose eyes NV 49,,
iournal in question represented the Views no'
merely OF the United Kingdom as "hoie' 80
also of its Government. In one word the press
"a - nor,icular THE Times" was held 70 BE-
No, merely the echo OF the roar OF 'ie "'i'
I,o, l,ut the actual voice of the beast.
To oil those who have at heart the Weirarc ol
.,a, is known as the Fourth Estate. the ue-
c,i,e Of this impersonal phase OF Brlilsh Jo"i
ro,iero n,ust constitute a source OF regret ro'
q entails a coincident decline OF the power anu
prestige of the press. Newspapers III r"e'
nowadays no longer are supposed u S'''e
oninions of the public, of party OF vi '"'
hut merely those of their propfle'ois' ""V'
names instead Of being concealed are heid''
from the very housetops. Thus now VIII INV
raadinC public ne able hencef"r'h l" "''""
tho same degree Of confidence to Ihe Sdtuiu"S
Review" AS in times gone by? Three ana i""'
decades ago il a power III the i"'iu' "
',,,,,.or, was valued as much as its enmity was
dreaded by the political leaders Oh ''e u"s.
:, fa,, initiated not only its ownership pu'
even it's very editorship, was unknown II was
,onr,arlv believed that Lord Salisbury ana
,,..s,,aoes of equal light and leading con-
tributcd to it's columns. But TINS was '"e'e'
o ,,ia... of GOSSIP No one knew anything ABOUT
,,a .,,,tor with any degree of gertrude Ana
The readers IF the journal in question compose"
a. the more intellectual and thouShtiui por'i""
~ the British public. were content not Only -
accent but also to he guided by its ADVICE III al
matters political. social, economic ana N'e'a'S'
firmly convinced that it represented the con-
,rs,,s of views of a number Of men suihciehu!
eminent TO qualify them for the role Of mentors
FOUGHT TO BE CHOKED OFF
According Ia information just received from
England The Saturday Review mas ho"
PASSED nv purchase into the possession Vi WI
Hejt. ? gentleman Of AnGio-Germah hauohd"'H'
whose chief calm To celebrity is that ne Is
mariner of Cecil Rhodes and the latters eP"di
in wealth For some time The SATURDAY Ne
,a,.'' has been distinguishes itself ny the Niru
,once IF its attacks upon Mr.. Rhodes MS aSSo-
cia,cs and mis- undertakings in south Africa
ponting out with much Of its old-tme cauS'l'-
i,y Of STYLE and directncss OF expression inv
economic and political dangers entaiied upon "e
rng,isb nation by the doings of the Chartered
Compary As a rule, Mr. Rh' des mas s"o""
.rdirrererce To- newspaper abuse. But there are
an ., the present moment number of ex-
tremely influential people who have contn"eU
49,, ., nov 10 base their opinions and their at
,ttrdc ,ron the advice contained in The ke-
,.,nv..-rcoule who have not the leisure TO study
81. ms and outs the rights and wrongs ana al
The details of a great question or uhoer'ah"F
Int who rely upon The Saturday heNle" 10
perform their task for them.
Nr Rhodes therefore held that it was neces-
gary 70 choke off that journal. and with TINS "'-
iect caused his partner to offer for II sum
which is declared by newspaper experts 10 haNe
been exactly fifteen times as much as the eoou
,.iU and subscription list Werc worth. The oncr
6ienif.d. Il perhaps sour-tempered and sarcastic
o,a saturday Review" will no longer reflect
tho crinions Of an anonymous body considered
:, rstresont what was most eminent In politics
mos, SAT-, IT, economy, and most conservative
IN all social questions. but merely the by no
means dienterested views of Mr.. Rhodes and
Mr. Belt the latter Of whom has. in spite OF
most nustrlous sponsorship. been blackbdued
al nearly all IF the London clubs for which he
has been put up.
II may ne argued that the new proprietor Of
.The SATURDAY Review" will possibly ma means
IL retain the staff by which it has hitherto been
edited and written. 50 that its old-'lme pres
toe and brlliancy may remain unimpaired
But this scarcely admits of discussion FOR MT
Bei+ hought the paper for the express purpose of
radically altering it's policy with regard 10
South Africa. especially to that portion OF the
MARK Continent with which he is connected
Moreover the anonymity Of the journal. which
WAS the principal source of its strength with the
british pubIic is gone everybody being aware
that it is now the property of Mr.. Belt
THE CHANGES IN THE PAIL MALL
Prior n the date when Mr.. Yates Thompson
,nnorted Mr. Stead from the provinces tC
1opdon inst TO horrify and then 70 dull the edge
n. nuhlic decency by the frightful series o.
articles entitled The Maiden Tribute no one
had anv idea az to the ownership OF The Pal
Mil Gazette" which was at the time. perhaps
tho most influential of the London evening news
napers 1t was known in political circles tha'
Mr. Frederick Greenwood writer high In th'
councils of the Tory party. and subsequently
the Right Honorable John Morley, a man SUI
more eminent in the Liberal camp had beer as
sociated In its conduct. But Mr.. Stead first drew
attention TO the fact that II had been purchased
nv the enormously wealthy Mr. Yates Thomp
son when he began a series Of articles on th'
immortality of the British metroI oils articles
which eliminated in his own Imprisonment
and now every one knows that The Pail Nal