The Washington herald., 1908-01-26

I son. wee president Ol lAe Iinptlldi 1 al ?
/ iG Reform League, and a leading eX-
ponent OF the new Journalism. The
news caused a Jolt even 10 those who
believe that Great Britain should depart
from the principle of free trade. The
/ Times has been for so long the organ
/ of British conservatism, that the change
/ of control, coming with little warning,
so far as the public was concerned, was
an uncommonly hard blow for the solid
/ Englishman who IS opposed 10 rapid in
n0vatlon, says the New York Evening
Post.
To London journalists, however, the
news brought only a small measure o.
mild surprise. OF late years they have
witnessed many revolutions in the news
paper field, and accordingly have been
/ prepared for almost any radical develop
ment They have seen new halfpenny
sheets bright but flashy, enter the field,
and force the older and sounder daiiies
+ to reduce their prices, they have watch
ed two men obtain control OF an extra
ordinary large number Of papers, both
in London and the provinces, and have
! themselves been the victims Of the ups
and downs IN weekly journalism.
one of those who passed through the
/ upheaval Is c. Lewis Hind, a London art
critic. journalist. and author who is in
+ New York al the moment, studying
American art in this city and elsewhere
Dir. Hind was subeditor Of the Art Jour
nal from 1857 to 1892; first editor Of the
Studio. 1892; editor of the Pail Mall Bud
get. 1Ss2-lSs6. editor OF the Academy,
lS97-1904. when ne retired from active
editorial work 70 devote himself 70 the
writing Of books. Being thoroughly con-
yersant with the London situation, Mr..
+ Hind undertook, "a day OF two ago. 10 tell
I something aboat IT,
/ First Of all he spoke Of oLrd North
clne (Sir Alfred HarmsW0rth. and c..
/ Arthur Pearson. the two men who upset
I English newspaper traditions and intro
duced new methods and ideals
Lord Northcliffe." said Mr. Hind lis
about forty-three years old. Mr.. Pearson
/ about forty-two. Both started in the
( publishing house Of Sir George Newnes.
/ HaTmsw0rth. as ne was then. was sub
editor and had charge Of a page devoted
to answers TO correspondents. He used to
! get perhaps a thousand questions a week
and was able 10 answer only about doz-
/ en-. on account Of space requirements He
/ apparently appreciated the interest Of
/ the readers, and / presume he said to
. himself This is a good thing. At any
rate. lie finally withdrew from the
/ Newnes firm and started a weekly paper,
which he called Answers 10 Correspond
euts. Soon he dropped the last two words
and named the paper Answers.
1T was a success from the start and
laid the foundation Of the Harmsworth
fortune. Answers was followed by other
| papers for different classes Of readers.
Then the Daily Mail was founded-the
first London morning newspaper to sell
at halfpenny II was an enterprising
sheet. brightly written. and owed some
thing Of its success 10 the brilliant G. W
steeveus. who afterward died.
"Of late years it has been engaged IN
a book war Il offered library advan-
+ sases 20 its subscribers and sold them
new books AT reduced prices. Finally, the
publishers demanded that no books be
sold by the Times at reduced prices
until six months after publication The
papers proprietors refused, and the pub
fishers withdrew their advertising from
its literary section. which, I consider, is
the best literary weekly in England
Even before the book war rumor
had been busy with the Times. and the
announcement Of Pearscn's control was
not q surprise TO newspaper men. Il
VIII be interesting to observe how it holds
/ its public under new conditions. It's price,
Ithreepence. is the highest asked for an
English daily Perhaps the price viii be
reduced under the new management
/ The strength Of the Times, apart from
its adnir ir4bIe foreign kilograms, has rest
ed largely in one of its features Its col
umns have always been open to public
men. who wished TO express an opinion
on subjects Of the day. This feature,
together with its detailed and impartial
parliamentary reports. has given the
! Times unusual weight. and made it a
national organ"
According to cable dispatch Mr.
/ Pearson-s company for the control Of the
Times will have a capital of $l,O00,O00 the
subscribers TO which include Lord Bras
Isev. Lord Rothschild. Lord Strathcona.
and Mount Royal, Viscount Iveagh, and
Sir Alexander Henderson. chairman of
the Great Central Railway-au men of
influence in the financial world, and pos
sibly in political councils.
speaking of the newspaper influence. ."
continued Mr. Hind, many London pa
pers still hold their own IN the prov
inces, despite the fact that many excel
lent rivals, such as the Manchester Guar
dian. exist. Here alSin Harmsworth
and Pearson have exerted an influence.
The Daily Mail is now published in the
north of England and in Paris. Local
stats get the news Of those cities, but
the world news is sent by wire from Lon
don. In some cases it is telephoned over
a private line. So. if you happen to be
in Manchester or Paris. you can have a
London paper to read at breakfast.
In the field OF weekly journalism the
old order Of things is changing. Men who
write for the dailies also write for the
weeklies. and the latter are feeling the
competition of the former It stands to rea-
son that the person who pays a halfpcnHy
or a penny for his daily paper. grudges
sixpence for a weekly. Illustrated week
lies such as the Graphic and Illustrated