New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-05

,sl a crisis. The word does not
cuitp apt. A crisis is defined as
.;,ol,v important or decisive state OF
',',ncs file point Of elimination; the
-. AZ which a change must come for
- or worse or from one state Of
,,,,os 10 another. But in this sense
&c * nothing critical In the present
ITO Of English journalism Such
hanses as have taken place have been
aaual not sudden. II is a process of
o,ution or of adaptation; very inter
eng hut not OF kind which denotes
,se A medical illustra ton, either re-
,.orv. or death The English public
,...f IS in a state OF evolution, II not
- revolution, and has been demanding,
,n ,ts dumb way. a new kind Of Journal
,sm which editors and owners have
baen doing their best to supply. But
.ao doctrine Of demand and supply has
uself been undergoing modification. In
the impatience which is one form OF
modernity the functions Of these two
factors have often been reversed, and
sunply creates the demand, or antici-
mates it. And that is what has happened
IN Journalism. The most potent factor
of all hes been the genius of one man,
the present Lord Northcliffe. still often
snoken Of as HarmswOrth, the name he
bore when he called The Daily Mail
into existence
However, ] have no thought of writ
ing an essay on modern English journal
ism: subject which must be handled
largely if at all. and not in any journal
The theory that in this world things
happen of themselves. and that the
causes at work are independent Of hu-
nan agencies, is not one which applies
10 Journalism. II there had been no
Alfred Harmsworth there would have
been no Daily Mall and if there had
been no Daily Mail" one Of the chief
influences whbh have brought about
these changes would have been lacking.
There were. IL is true other and earlier
influences The Daily Telegraph pre-
coded 1.-The Daily Mail" and Mr. j. M.
Levy came before the Harmsworths; and
so did his son. Mr.. Edward Levy Lawson,
bought The Daily Telegraph" the three
penny press was supreme. They chal-
lenged it's supremacy and theirs was the
first penny paper which became for
midable rival TO the threepenny aristo-
Gratis, and their success brought other
competitors into the field. and finally
Algernon Borthwick, as have elsewhere
related, turned The Morning Post" into
a penny paper.
The Times" alone survived al three
pence. though now If YOU care 10 sub
scribe for it by the year you can have it
at twopence. This conservative policy
OF the great leading journal, which is
to-day just as much the leading journal
a. ever involved, as everybody knows,
struggle, and finally reconstruction. in
which Lord Northcliffe himself bore
great part, and attained a controlling
power He is, therefore, to-day in an
Extraordinary position. He is still The
Daily Mail" and he has become to
great extent The Times He has his
hahd on ;he helm of the Oldest, and.
after all the concessions it has made TO
modern demands, still the most con-
sentative Of English newspapers In its
purely journalistic policy-and also on
the helm Of The Daily Mail" the most
revolutionary Of all. lie stands alone.
But in both these cases the amazing
results achieved were due to financial
as well as purely journalistic ability,
The Levys and Levy Lawsons built up a
great commercial enterprise. A great
newspaper must, of course, be a great
commercial enterprise. They understood
the conditions Of success in each and the
essential identity Of the two. Mr..
Harmsworth had, and has, the same
twofold creative capacity. Needless 10
say that both understood also how TO
use the brains and energies of other
people. The differences between them
and between their methods are very
marked but I do not enter upon that
delicate subject. The journalistic trim
ity will not be complete unless you add
the name Of the Lord Glenesk who was
Algernon Borthwick. In each case the
reward has been a great fortune, a great
power and authority, and a Peerage.
This is country which pays its debts
to its benefactors with liberal hand.
There are always cynics who will ell
you that the Press has no influence. or
that its editorial opinions and writings
have no influence. To them I offer an
anecdote which l owe to a friend. who
says:
Il often travel up TO London by
morning train, starting from small
station where there is no news stall. AT
the start ! always find myself in the
midst of a silent company, or, II there is
any talk. it is q bout the weather. Pres
entity We reach q station where the
morning papers may be bought. Bought
they are, and each man buries himself
in them. Another ten minutes and my
fellow travellers are all discussing the
problems Of the day, each reproducing
10 the other the arguments and views OF
the paper he is reading. And this in
spiration and the resulting low OF talk
last all the way. TO London
/ suppose the truth is that most OF us
like TO have our thinking done Tor u.s.
and even though we profess to read only
the news we absorb the leading articles.
Which is one reason why so many men
read only papers Of their own way OF
thinking.
The author Of The English Review
article on The Crisis in London Jour
nalism" is Mr.. r. A. Scott-James, who