Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-11-26
A NOTABLE BICENTENNLAL
By Frederic j. Haskin.

The majority of the century-old pub.
LEGATIONS are in the eastern states, of
course, Pennsylvania heading the list
with 10, followed by New York with Is.
Strangely enough. Ohio comes next with
nine, and then Massachusetts, with seven.
The st. Louis Republic. 1O1 years old. In
the only one west of the Mississippi river.
The first newspaper west of the Ale
ghenies was the "Kentucke Gazette" Of
Lexington, founded in 1857. and which
still flourishes.
The growth of the newspaper business
was so great that by 1880 the United
States, with 100000 population had more
newspapers than all Europe, with 10000.
600 people. The American record has been
maintained and the United States still
has more newspapers than all Europe.
and until the rise of the newspaper IN
Asia, it had more than all the rest of
the world.
The New. York Herald, founded by
James Gordon Bennett in 1885, was the
first of the modern school of newspapers.
In December of that year a great fire
IN New York destroyed property worth
SO, 900, COO. Mr. Bennett wrote a report OF
the fire. with human interest" embeIl-
ishments. The people were astounded.
and the story was repeated in the Her
aid the second day in response to popu-
lar demand. Before that time newspapers
had devoted practically all their attention
10 politics and political news. and to
news from other cities. Local news was
ignored. If a fire occurred, 1t was sup
posed that everybody knew about 1t al
ready, and that it would be silly to print
anything about ii. That attitude toward
local news is responsible for the fact
that the first voyage of Robert Fulton's
ClermOnt was considered to be worth on
ly seven lines in the New York Evening
Post, and not that until after an adver-
tisement Of the rates of passage to Al
bany was inserted. Mr. Bennett wrots
all about the great fire. and made the
great discovery that the people who ses
a thing are the very people who most
want to read about ii. He made anoth-
er discovery at the same time, that "hu-
man interest is quite as much feature
of the news as is Importance"
In England the Times became supreme
In the journalistic field in the latter part
of the 18th century. In 1907 the Times
sent q special correspondent to the con-
tinent to report the Napoleonic wars. Be
fore that time the newspapers had de-
pended altogether upon official sources for
news Within a year the Times demon
strated the usefulness of the special cor
respondent by furnishing important news
to the government days in advance OF the
official dispatches. From that day until
this the special correspondent has been
an increasingly important factor In In
ternationa1 affairs, and the Times has
occupied a position OF commanding infiu-
ence in political journalism. But the Eng
fish idea, as exemplihed in the Times
had to fall before the more catholic
American idea, and the English newspa-
pers of the largest circulation do not
fail to realize the Importance OF human
interest"
These beginnings of the newspaper
business were small and Insignificant
compared with the journalism Of today.
The invention of the locomotive and the
telegraph, each in turn, aided enormous
Iy in the development of the press. But.
the civil war in America was the most
potent factor in the evolution of the
newspaper of today. During that con-
flict the American newspapers began
the use of the telegraph for gathering
news. they illustrated their dispatches
with drawings and maps. and they learn
ed how to write headlines and turn out
extras.
ment of the American press was the
spanish-American war. 1t wasn't much
of war, as we see it now, but it seemed
to be the biggest thing in the world just
then And the newspapers did seeming
ly impossible things every day, which
they have continued to do every day
since The close of the war didn't emo
the war Journalism at all. For the past
decade there has been little change in
American newspapers except that they
have shared in the wonderful growth
of the nation.
II Mr.. Bennett in 1910, when his paper
was five years old and a prosperous
sheet. with the facilities he then pos
sessed, had undertaken to publish the
Sunday Herald as it appeared last week,
his presses would be running yet and
the edition would not be finished. Things
progress rapidly in these days-in fact
there has been more progress in the
newspaper business in the last 20
years than there was in the preceding
$50 years since the birth of the first daily
newspaper. What wonders will be de-
veloped in the next century no man may
ssV. 1t appears that war has most
potent Influence upon journalism. II
there shall be a great war in Europe,
what then? What with aeroplanes hav-
ing wireless apparatus attached, with d.
rigible balloons, with wireless telephones
and with things not now unfolded to the
gaze of man, it is a safe wager that
the newspapers would set a new mark
for themselves and fill every "Iong-felt
want"