New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-04-12

,ext March 10, 1919, VIII ne puCHshtc
- sold at a penny II may be worth
.O,,srking that in this country news
,s-s are sold. or delivered by news
ocert 10 any address in any part of
49,. kingdom, at the publication price.
~, ,snny is the equivalent Of two
.,.-;can cents. 1t is less than year
since the price OF The Times was re-
,..ad from threepence to twopence.
lord Northcliffe is not usually man
Aol, measures. and this one, like
most Of its kind. failed. It has long
s..r understood that the business por-
ZION Of this great journal was not in all
.a.,sets satisfactory. Its profits were
,.ss than they ought TO be and its
.,-culation did not increase to the point
desired. Either at threepence or two
nsnce it was, to the average newspaper
A.,vsr a luxury. 1t is hoped that at a
o,,v both buyer and reader may come
% regard il as necessity.
puvers and readers are always OF two
..narate classes. and especially so IN
,hs case Of The Times" The number
# people who would spend threepence
eor q newspaper was always limited
Hence grew up the custom OF lenaihg
,be naper. at a price. The same sheet
vent through news agents into several
dTerent hands at different prices, &C
oo-dinr 70 the hour of the day and the
,s,o,h Of time il was on hire. 1t was
read in clubs, hotels. libraries and else
where. In such matters the average
r,g,isbman spends frugally and the
average Scot more frugally still. 10
The minority. 10 people with a serious
interest in serious things. THE Times
was indispensa e. No matter what
ether paper o. papers you read, you
had never exhausted the possibilities OF
the morning until YOU had read this
greatest Of them all. don't know
whether il may offend the susceptible
tics Of any American to call il the first
and greatest Of all newspapers, the
world over. but that is what the Euro
pean thinks it:-not merely the Eng
Nshman. but the European. l am not
sure that its position and reputation
are not even higher on the Continent
than in these islands. II is the authen-
tic voice Of England.
In the days when Mr.. Moberly Bell
was its manager and had begun to
make certain changes, some of which
were distasteful to old-fashioned peo-
pie. I asked Bell:
What about PRESTIGE
He answered in a grave tone:
prestige is not thing you can live
on-you may die by it if you like
He added at once:
There is OF course. no question Of
DYING, but there is a very real question
Of financial prosperity, and Of keeping
the paper abreast Of the time and dams
le mourement"
Bell. in short. wanted TO modernize
it He was a good man of business; a
good Journalist and news manager. lie
had prodigious energy and self-conf1-
dence. and for some years, though there
we're strict limits TO his authority, he
was the chief force on the paper, and
took great responsibilities at critical
moments. He was not editor, but he
had a voice in the editing, and his voice
was one which carried weight. Since
Delane, though in a totally different
way, he had been, I think, the strong
est personality on the paper. except. II
Il be an exception, the late Mr.. John
Walter. whose force was a conserva-
tive force.
Bel, in word, launched The
Tines on a new course, cautiously. for
the most part sagaciously, but always
experimentally. I was one Of his ex-
periments. / went home TO America
as the representative Of The Times.
al his request. II was characteristic Of
him that when he gave a man his con-
fdence he gave it without reserve. We
had often talked over the subject Of
American news in the English papers;
II which the supply had always been
nsagre. We discussed it all freely, and
when ] had finally accepted his pro-
rosal he knew what l meant or hoped
70 do But / went TO America with a
free hand. without instructions, and
With no limit OF expense. That state
u things lasted for eleven years. There
have always been stories that the cor
respondents Of The Times" were cx-
pected 70 write TO order. / do not be-
hsye II was ever true Of any Of them.
In my case the exact contrary was
true. / offer that testimony, that tri5-
Ute, % the memory Of man who, IN
bis own sphere. was like President
Wilson in his; or at least in the Pan
ANA business. He thought that 70 do
the large thing was the only thing you
eo1ld afford 20 do.
AL thee are open secrets. They are
Just a. well known in Fleet Street as
N Printing House Square. ! am re-
'ealny nothing. But though 1t Is OF
common knowledge here IL may not be
|. 70 View York. and state II for the
'shefi o. The few who may happen to
are about the machinery OF Journal
IN ! % no mean that Mr.. Moberly