The sun., 1918-10-27
THE STORY or 1.-THE SUM-.
A Notice Of Mr.. O'Brien's Comprehen.
sive Book. Together With Some
Personal "reminiscences Of Dana.

II
| sive Book. Together With Some
Personal "reminiscences Of Dana.
ny WILLARD BARTLETT.
''The Story Of The SUM-" by Frank
NJ. o'Brien, with an introduction by
Edward p. Mitchell, the editor Of THE
Sun. has Just been published In hand
some form, with portraits and other in
teresting illustrations. by the George
II. Doran Company.
THE Story OF The Sun" is the biog-
raphy Of a great living American news
paper from its birth, in 1888. down to
the present time. AS has been
suggested In the introduction such
newspaper in the course of time comes
to be a veritable personality. not only
In the eyes of its readers, but In the
minds Of the very men who make it
from day to day: SO we may properly
speak Of Mr.. O'Brien's book as BIZ
1 ography rather than a history, Since
It's foundation in 1893 THE vSUN has
been owned or controlled by Mr.. Day
and Mr.. Beach and Mr.. Dana and Mr..
Laffan and Mr.. Reick and Mr.. Mum
sey; since 1868 It has been edited by
Mr.. Dana and Mr.. Paul Dana and
MIR. Mitchell: yet during all these
years THE Sun has been n spiritual
entity distinct and different from Its
owners and editor-something more
| than the mere outcome of their in
| dividual labors and the exponent OF
| their individual Thoughts totality of
influence which might be likened to
| the legal concept of a corporation,
only that a newspaper, unlike a cor
poration. has a soul.
| Mr.. Frank NJ O'Brien has made THE
SuN in this sense the subject of his
book. as distinguished from the, men
who have made 1t. He was well dual-
flied for the undertaking, which, as
the introduction points out, was with
out precise precedent. The only book
which at all resembles the present vol
ume is Lord Glenesk and the Morning
Post" by Reginald Lucas (The John
Lane Company. 1910; but this is a
biography Of Algernon Borthwick
rather than the story of the famous
Conservative journal which he con-
Quoted with so much distinction and
success. The author disavows any at
tempt on his part TO trace the sue
cessive editors and proprietors of the
I Morning Post until the Borthwick
family became connected with the pa
per in 1S49. although 1t was founded
in 1872, the first number having APP
peared on the I'd of November in that
year. 1t is equally In vain that we
turn to John Thadeus Delane. Editor
OF The Times. His Life and Corre-
spondence." by Arthur Irwin Dasent
e vols. London, 1908, John Murray
for the story OF the London Times in
its entirety. The work is a life OF that
great papers greatest editor, expanded
into n history of such European events
as the author deemed necessary in
| order to enable the reader to under
stand Delane's career and appreciate
the extent Of the influence eXerted by
the Times under his sagacious man.
Agement. Although Charles A. Dana
is naturally the most prominent figure
in THE Story Of The Sun" Mr.. O'Brien
has kept the paper itself foremost
throughout his narrative and has pre-
served the due proportion which his
plan requires. between the producers
| anu tue ne natter
is THE SuN, which shines for all.
| A chronology of THE SuN tells us
that the paper was founded by Ben
Jamin II. Day. printer. and first
published on September 3, 1893: that
the Day regime lasted until 1888.
when Moses Yale Beach became the
proprietor; that Mr.. Beach and his
sons retained control except for a
short interval of time in 1860 when
THE Sun was i'm the hands of a group
| OF religious persons, until 1868; and
that in 1868 the paper became the
property OF Charles A. Dana and his
associates, who raised it at once from
a journal OF modest welfare TO a mod
ern newspaper of the first rank.
Mr.. Dana's original plan contem-
plated the establishment OF a new
afternoon newspaper to be called
The Evening Telegraph. and to this
end he and his friends organized the
| Evening Telegraph Association under
the New York statute providing gen.
orally for the formulation OF cor
porations for manufacturing and
other purposes. When 1t was decided
to abandon this plan in favor OF a
THE SUN had been successfully nego-
tiated. it became eXpedient, if not
necessary. to change the name Of the
proposed corporate owner. Thus 1t
is that in the first volume OF the New
! York Session Laws for 1868 will be
found an act Of the Legislature num-
bered Chapter 4, changing the name
of the Evening Telegraph Association
to the Sun Printing and Publishing
Association, which has ever since
been and now liz the proprietor of
THE Sun. The subsequent changes in
the ownership of the paper have been
effected by changes in the ownership
of the capital stock.
| III.
In relating the life of THE Sun.
Mr.. O'Brien has produced a most in
teresting book. Ills style is clear,
lively and vigorous, and illuminated
| 4