New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-06-16


.>-or,o" who signs 1.-THE Daily Mali
..,o,e from which l quoted in previous
tiers. is understood to be Lord North
a,,ese himself He is master not only OF
foc+s with an unrivalled knowledge
.ho true inwardness of English jour
,,glisrn. but of a style signallzeo ny
dpractness and force. He writes as
NON Of business writes who has some
thing to say. His great object is TO say
a en- as 10 convey to his readers exactiy
chat he has in his own mind. His is a
id which concerns itself with causes
&C well as facts. He tells us that the
cbange in the situation has been brought
about chiefly by the fact that the lntelh-
cence of the public outgrew that OF the
.roducers of the newspapers. Passing
from the absorption of THE Leader by
mrbe Daily News" of which, perhaps
enough h. ) been said, he considers the
case of the Unionist Press. Mr.. GarVln
hed told us that I, 4 Unionist news
napers are in the market. That is 10
sneak gently, observes Lord Northcline,
who remarks:
"He might have added that others are
81 waterlogged with mortgages ana
adventures as to be barely able to leave
mort for their daily or evening trip.
He does not think it good thing that
the power Of making public opinion
should be getting into fewer and fewer
hands: albeit he himself has done as
much as anybody to concentrate that
mower. He uses a freedom of speech I'M
usual here; and eTen personalities are
made TO serve his turn. We hear or
"tbat Incompatible brain, Lord Burn
ham" as the real ruling editor of THE
Daily Telegrap'." until quite recently.
II stiI rules, when occasion requires, and
e. still Incompatible, although on the
staff of that paper are three or four men
whose abilities are equal TO anything.
He SAYS of another Incompatible brain:
"Delane was a real editor, but always
in harness with proprietor and man
ager.'
Which does not seem a good account.
Delane was the greatest of editors, but
his business was editing, not owning nor
managing. His method was his own.
At II o'clock every morning he left his
chambers in Serjeant's Inn, Fleet street.
on horseback. Let us suppose it was in
the DAYS of Lord Palmerstons Prime
Ministership. He rode first 10 Lord
PaImerston's house, in Piccadilly, then
known as Cambridge House. now the
Naval and Military Club. He saw Lord
Palmerston. and they discussed together
whatever was uppermost that morning
Then he went on TO Lord John Russell
who was Foreign Minister, and talked
over Continental affairs with him. Then
10 some other Minister; then back to
the City and some of the great CITY
houses. With all these men, whether IN
politics or finance, Delane was on terms
of confidence When he had finished his
round he went to The Times" office and
thence back to his chambers. Then he
dressed and dined out and with him
dining out was part of his professional
work He dined at the best houses
among the best people. He was an ac-
complished man of the world, and knew
how either to direct a conversation or 10
extract from it what was essential to his
purpose.
AT balf-past ten he returned TO The
Times: his head filed with knowledge
derived from the most authentic and
authoritative sources. ON this ne had
had time TO mediate. He had formed,
in the course Of his conversations and In
the saddle, clear notions of policy. lie
had made up his mind what topics ought
TO be discussed In next morning
grimes" and what line the paper ought
10 take. As the day wore on news had
heen coming into the office In the
leisurely fashion of those days. Delane
habit was TO put together skeleton lead
ers: brief notes indicati. to the man
who was to write on given subject
what ground ought to be covered and
what ought to be said. The whole had
been matured in leisurely and DELHI
crate way. The next days Times had
been thought out. Delane never wrote.
He supplied his leader writer's with ma
terial. and in each case his was the
directing mind; Of which the leader page
next morning was the expression. 1t
was in this way that the immense
authority Of "The Times" was built up.
There was then no telephone, and for
most purposes no telegraph. The use OF
the telegraph was limited to the trans
mission of brief items Of news. Not one
latf
come through by wire. The first dis
patch a column long ever printed In
London newspaper was a war letter
from Holt White to The New-York Trib-
une. and by The Tribune. in pursuance
Of it's agreement, handed to The Daily
News" which received II with distrust.
Robinson, its manager, hesitated long
before resolving to publish It; nor was
he happy till he had seen the telegraph
forms on which II had arrived.
From the news point Of view all this
seems to us now condition of the DARK
Ages, but for such editorial work as De-
lane did IL was a blessed state OF affairs.
Leading articles are now written often
enough On the faith of a Geographic dis
patch arriving late In the evening
There is little time for reflection or for
considered views. 1t is done with aston
ishing ability, under stress OF which the
public knows nothing, and presents itself
to the reader In a plausible and often
convincing form. But It has not, on the
whole, the weight OF the momentum or
the air Of coming from the Judgment