Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-02-02

one of the most important features Of
modern journalism and may be con-
sidered almost an invention of that
greatest of European dailies, The
/ London Times
| John Walter founded The Times in
lIS5, and was the first to understand
the popularity and overwhelming i'm
portance of early information. He
was not satisfied by the treatment he
received from the British postal au-
thoriues of his day and proceeded to
organize an Independent news service.
I 1t is not hard TO imagine the enor-
momus cost of such an enterprise;
but he was able in this way to beat
the government again and again with
important political and military news.
lie printed an account of the capture
OF Flushing twenty-four hours before
the government at London knew any
thing about it, He sent to cover"
the Peninsular Campaign the first of
all war correspondents.
Among the fourteen great editorial
departments of The Times the for
eign and military departments have
always been the most important, the
organization of the foreign depart
ment being exceedingly far-reaChing.
All these vast resources of The Times
are being used TO prepare The Lon
don Times History of the War"
The Battle of Trafalgar. where Nell
son scored his great naval victory
over the French and the Spanish
fleets in 1895. was first announced in
The Times. From the field Of Water
loo. June IS. 1915. Times dispatches
announced the downfall Of Napoleon
several hours before the regular mill
tary Couriers reached the government
officials in London.
At time when the other and less
enterprising European papers were
printing conventional reports of what
was going on in the Crimean War.
1895, where Great Britain and her
allies were pitted a gainst Russia. The
London Times printed the corre-
spondence of William Howard Rus
sell. His letters not only gave early
and complete reports Of the cam
paign, but were amazingly outspoken
in their criticism of how the war was
being waged. and ultimately lead to
the fall of the British Ministry. then
in power. and an entire revision of
the plan of campaign.
one of the most celebrated of
scoops" was the announcement by
The London Times Gin the third of a
series of long editorials-not in the
news columns at alD of the exceed
ingly important fact that DisraeH had
purchased on behalf of the British
government a majority of the stock
of the Suez Canal Company. This
coup on the part of the astute Prime
Minister was actually suggested to
him by one of the editors of The
Times. and was one of the most i'm
portant political steps ever taken by
Great Britain.
An English provincial paper, in
spired by the great "scoups' OF The
Times. once laid its plans for big
beat" of its own. This was in the
boat race loomed up as the one great
sporting event of the year. Before
the race the paper printed two COM
plete editions, one in dark-blue ink.
announcing the victory Of the dark
blue OXfords; the other edition in
lighter shade, telling how the pale
blue Cantabrigians had swept the
river. The race resulted in a dead
heat.
a scoop" said to be unparalleled
in the history of journalism, was ac-
complished by the celebrated London
Times correspondent. NJ De Blowitz.
This journalist held the key to diplo-
matte secrets of the greatest impor-
|tance throughout the continent When
the Congress of Berlin which in
cluded delegates from Germany. Aus
tria. Russia, Great Britain. France,
Italy and Turkey was in session un-
der the presidency of Bismarck, De
BlowitZ was in the cloest touch with
a certain member of the diplomatic
CORPS He met this friend every day
at a restaurant in Berlin but no salu-
tatiou or word of recognition passed
between them. They daily took ad
jacent tables and hung their hats on
the wall. on adjacent hooks. At the
conclusion of the meal the two men.
who wore the same size hats, used
to exchange hats, and in this way De
BlowitZ gathered the most accurate
and complete information possible Of
the session of the Congress. Finally,
on examining the hat on leaving the
restaurant, De Blowitz, to his great
satisfaction, discovered inside no less
a prize tina nthe complete text of the
treaty that was about to be signed.
He Immediately sent this by tele
graph to The Times. where it ap
peared several hours before the vari-
Gus diplomats attached their sigma
lures to the treaty
This same De Blowtz, who pos
sessed sources of information more
complete than most of the rulers and
diplomats with whom he came in con-
tact. is also credited with having
averted. in 1875, a second Franco
Prussian War. This was ACCOMPLISHED
of certain diplomatic conditions which
in continental newspapers could not
POSSIBLY have been put in print with
/ out bringing on war.
! During the year 1898 the foreign
Intelligence of The London Times cost
about S250,000 A single cable mes
sage. on the subject of a revolution
| in Argentina, cost $4,000. During the
Boer War The Times supplied it's
readers with war dispatches from
SOME twenty-four correspondents.
| If the censorship during the pres
| Ient war was not so extraordinarily
rigid, The London Times would be
looked TO to-day for great scoops. -
which it is amply well equipped 10
make. AS matter of fact, the early
and accurate Information which The
Times has gathered now is fully avail
able for THE London Times History
/ of the War" and it is i'm this great
work that are to be found the spIen-
did results OF the elaborate news
gathering organization of The Times.