New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-03-08
AyTE-BELLUM CONSIDERATIONS.

Desirable as war seems TO be for the enc0ur
arement of newspaper enterprise and the rapid
increase in circulation of the journals which
have so nobly assumed the custody Of the Ma
toms honor, there are one or two points that
deserve special and careful consideration be-
fore we enter upon actual hostlities. BY this
we do not mean that there should he any delay
in opening fire for the dastardly and utterly In
consequent reason that we are not quite ready
or that we are out Of training. Nor do we
mean that heed should be given to the crcum-
stance that whatever investigation and future
developments may show, we have not at the
present moment what amounts in the 1udg-
ment Of the civilized world to an adequate
provocation To q community solely Intent on
the advancement Of the general welfare by the
diffusion Of the latest intelligence Of events
which are liable to occur at any moment, II
they have not already happened, the matter OF
being ready for a fight or having what cold
blooded outsiders would consider a reasonable
provocation Is utterly trivial and unimportant
When National honor Is at stake no newspaper
of large and hourly increasing circulation hay
ing the National honor in its keeping and suit
| ably conscious Of its responsibility VIII hest
| tate for moment to declare war upon the
cowardly pretext that the other fellow has his
| fighting togs on while we are, to speak, In
canonicals or pajamas or upon the equally IN
satisfactory excuse that no adequate provoca-
| ton has been offered.
When 1t comes to question OF honor the
man Of high-strung impulses and chivalric tenn
per never stops TO consider the cost or walt for
| occasion For him, as Cardinal Richclieu once
remarked during a theatrical performance. all
peace Is bargaln-counter and all seasons are
summer Frequently he does not stop to peel
off, his topcoat or wait for unconventional col
loqulalsms rejecting upon his ancestry to be
explained as terms of endearment. He Just
sails in. He may get clicked" He frequently
does But what does a man Of nice sense Of
honor care for that? Has he not next day
the exquisite sensatlon-that most exhllaraing
as we'll as soothing OF mortal delights-of see
Ing his name In print; sometimes even In head
lines large enough to cover all his bruises and
assure him for half day at least undyng
fame? Some Of the most stirring passages-at
| arms of modern times have occurred when
high-strung person known to his friends as the
soul Of honor. leaning against bar and dis
GUESSING great political themes-such, for in
stance, the return Of Croker to his own-has
resented some such thing as not being asked
/ 10 0rlnK, dnO on the spur OF the moment, ldnO-
ed his left duke" on the other fellows smell
err only to be jumped on and pounded beyond
recognition Immediately afterward. The re-
suits may have been a little rough physically
but Of what small account when the upbuild-
ing OF his sense Of honor and personal pride is
| considered.
| No. we would not by any means suggest con-
siderations OF lack OF preparation OF provoca-
! ton as reasons for postponing the which
the newspapers Of large circulation have so
courageously declared and are so unsclfshly
| carrying on with their own resources In blood
red extras. But II does occur 70 Us that II this
unpatriotic, inert and sluggish Administration
should decide TO come to the assistance Of the
newspapers which are struggling desperately
TO maintain the National honor and begin firing
real guns with actual powder and ball there
must necessarily be a cessation of hostll!tes
after the first discharge In order TO afford time
and opportunity for the purchase Of larger type
The type In NJ this stage OF the war Ia the
largest ever known in newspaper Offices, though
occasionally used on blboards 10 announce the
advent Of some phenomenal theatrical attrac
ton or the discovery Of some uncommonly
potent pill For actual war we may not need
larger guns. but we could not get along with
out larger type The public appetite would
never be satisfied without IT, 1t may be snid
Of course. that II the type were any larger than
! that now in use there would he no room for
the picturesque and thrilling details furnished
/ by the hundreds Of thousands Of war CORE
spondents. The answer To that Is that with
actual war In progress very few facts. prop
erly condensed, accompanying the headlines
would satisfy the readers appetite and obviate
the necessity for gluttng 1t with the highly
wrought nctions and fahcles OF the industrious
and copious correspondents. No reasonable
person Of the millions Of readers of those news
papers would grumble II the acres of things
that are not so which appear under the head
lines nowin use were displaced for one or two