Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-01-17
THE LONDON TIMES.
Ranked as the Greatest Newspaper of
the World.

Ranked as the Greatest Newspaper OF
| the World.
The sale of the London Times al
though it does not pass entirely out OF
the hands Of the family which had al
ways owned it, Is as great an event in
England as a change in the admins
tration Of the government. The Lon
don Times Is and always has been the
leading newspaper Of the world, and,
although the lines upon which 1t has
been conducted are very conservative
and 1t has been different in several res
poets from every other paper, none has
ever exercised so powerful an infiu-
ence in political, social diplomatic, &c
clesiastical, financial and international
affairs. For that reason 1t has been
called The Thunderer. Men have
been made famous by the smiles Of the
Times; men have been ruined because
| it has frowned upon them. It's favor
has been courted by sovereigns. and a
political party could have been founded
upon It's sole support. There are thou
sands Of intelligent people in England
who still believe that the editorials In
the Times are written by the prime
minister Of Great Britain and other
members of the cabinet, and its money
article is still the most powerful agency
in the finances Of Europe. The integ-
rity as we'll as the influence Of the
Times has been seriously impaired dur
Ing the last twenty years. 1t received
a fearful blow when its attacks upon
Parnell, the Irish patriot, were exposed,
and it has never been able to recover
it's prestige. Several subsequent Incl
dents have shaken public confidence In
it's infallibility and omniscience, but 1t
has survived experiences which would
have ruined any other paper, and still
Is the most important publication In
the world.
The earliest newspaper in London
was called by the quaint title "Newes
Out of Holland" and was first published
May 16, 1919. THE Newes the Present
Week" was started three years later
and was edited by the famous Nathan
lei Butler: In 1896 there were nine
weekly newspapers and reviews in Lon
don: in 1909 there were eighteen, and
in that year the first daily newspaper
ever published was started and called
the Courant. In 1924 there were three
dailes six weeklies and seven tri-
weekly newspapers in London.
The Morning Chronicle was started
In 1747 and was edited by William
Woodfall until 1889. 1t was the first
paper to report the debates in parlia-
ment. and many famous men were con-
nected with it as editors and contribu-
tors including Coleridge and Campbell,
the poets; Sheridan, the wit and dra-
matist; Canning, the statesman, after
ward prime minister. Hazlitt was dra-
matte critic of the Chronicle, and
Charles Dickens was for several years
a reporter on the staff.
OF the other London papers now liv-
ing, the Post was started in 1772, and
the initial number Of the Times was is
sued on the first Of January, 1888, 120
years ago last Wednesday, by John
Walter 1t was a continuation of a
daily called the Universal Register.
Since it's first number the Times has
been, as 1 have already said, the lead
ing journal of Europe and the most in
fuential and prominent paper in the
world. Until recent years it has also
been the most progressive; it was the
first paper to be printed by steam. In
November, 1914, it set up wonderful
press that turned out 1900 copies an
hour and was inspected by all Of the
crowned heads Of Europe. A model Of
that press is now displayed in South
Kensington museum. In 1848 the i'm
provements had been so rapid that the
Times presses were able to print 5000
encyclopedias that were published fifty
years ago or even more recently you
will find descriptions Of the press and
composing rooms and business office,
terest as ST. Paul's or Westminster abb
hey.
The circulation Of the Times has new
er been very large. In 1850, according
to the encyclopedias, it had $4,000 sub
scribers, and from what heard in Lon
don two years ago it cannot have very
many more than that number now. In
1862 it printed an edition Of 10000 cop
les, containing an account Of the funer-
al of the duke of Wellington, which was
the largest edition ever issued by a
newspaper up to that time. In 1858 1t
printed $4,000 copies Of an edition
containing a description of the marriage
ceremonies of King Edward VII, then
prince of Wales, and the Princess Alex
andra of Denmark. That was high
water mark for newspaper circulation
in those days. But it was soon af-
ter surpassed by the New York Her
AIDS edition containing an account Of
the battle of Gettysburg.
Before the Parnel exposures the
Times fldu Il clrculd llOn Ol 0U,UUU VI OV,
900, which ran up to $4,000 or $4,000 on
special occasions. But since then It's
subscription lists have been growing
smaller and smaller and its earnings
less and less, while the other London
newspapers were coming money and
printing five and six times as many pa
pers. One reason for this falling off is
tie high price of the Times, which has
ht en- maintained at six cents copy
until today, while rival newspapers
were selling for two cents.
The advertising patronage of the
Times has also been falling off gradu-
ally as its circulation has gone down,
and this is explained by advertising eX-
perts on the theory that the merchants
realized that the classes of people who
read the Times are not subject to in
f!uence by advertisements. Hence the
classified ads" were very few in num-
Der and it was patronized only by first
class mercantile establishments, book
publishers, real estate agents, brokers,