Evening star., 1951-09-18
The New York Times 7 Tells Its Own Story
By Corter Brooke Jones


ago today, there was strange activity in
an unfinished Office building on Nassau
street between Ann and Beekman
streets. Through windows yet to be
glassed, the wind sifted in, f1uttering
scores of candles on several floors. Men
with heavy whiskers and mustaches
were bent over fiat surfaces or Scurrying
about. There was hurry and yet preci-
sion in what they did When the break
fast hour for most New Workers struck,
there was new cry on the downtown
street corners.
The first issue of the New York Times
had come off the press. The editor,
young Henry j. Raymond, must have
grinned in relief. The long promised
new paper, already several days later
than the date set, at last was reality.
Mr. Raymond did not share the COM
mon belief in newspaper row that the
title of his paper somehow had been
hexed There had been seven dailies
that called themselves the Times, the
first started in 1913. None had lasted
long. But this young editor, schooled
by Horace Greeley and James Watson
Webb, had his own ideas of what a
paper needed to succeed. And his new
paper caught on, almost at once And,
though it was the eighth daily to bear
the name, Vol. l, No. /, of September Is,
1851. was the first edition of the present
New York Times, for after that 1t never
stopped publication, and today'S paper,
with its complete summary of the
worlds news, is RaymondS heritage
On this centennial date appears THE
Story of the New York Times" by Meyer
Berger (Simon & .Schuster; So. A
month ago Francis Browns biography,
Raymond of the Times" was published.
Mr.. Berger. one of the Times ablest
reporters. tells story that never is
bomoastic with boasting or stuffy with
data. though he never fails to give his
paper the credit as a great newspaper
it has earned over the years or to ex-
plain fully how it grew to greatness.
There really were two long eras in
the Times history, each separate and
distinctive. When Mr.. Raymond died
in 1869, the paper was firmly established
as one of the country's influential
journals He was succeeded by his
partner George Jones, who had run
the business end The paper missed
the fine Raymond editorial touch. Mr.
Jones was no writer. but he did know
courage anc integrity He carried on
the Raymond tradition of covering the
world and getting the news first if pos
sible. He set up as the first great
businessman publisher, type that was
destined to take over. almost every
where" Mr.. Berger relates. But Mr..
Jones added something more than
business acumen and news senSe-a
crusading spirit which wanted to i'm
prove his city and Nation. 1t was he
who began to wonder in 1870 how Boss
Bill Tweed bankrupt in 1865. now was
able to own magnificent mansion, a
yacht and cuStom-built carriages. The
long Investigation the publisher started
resulted in Shattering the Tweed ring
and sending the boss to prison.
There were other crusadeS, such as
the one that exposed the rural mail
delivery frauds in 1881, Aside from
these campaigns. Mr.. Jones carried on
the Raymond tradition of getting all the
news and presenting it impartially. The
Raymond-JoneS management of 40 years
was like one regime; there was so much
of newspaper ethics and enterprise the
partners shared When Mr.. Jones died
in 1891, that regime faded. With his
death "the magic touch of the original
dynasty was gone" The heirs faltered,
the paper sickened. The profits fell from
$188, 900 in 1888 to $4,000; the circula-
ton to 5000 The Times seemed past
all saving"
But new era was about to start,
though no one knew it. In 1896, the
Times was bought by Adolph S. Ochs,
young publisher of the Chattanooga
Times He had started in Knoxville as
a printers devil in 1872, and, beginning
his real newspaper career in Chatta-
nooga without a dime, he made his way
to success and comparative att1uence.
How he invaded New York brashly, then
unknown, and convinced the influential
men who owned stock in the dying
Times that he was the man to revive 1t.
and how he managed to finance the
purchase-these are colorful details Mr.
Berger makes the most OF.
MI. Ochs, like Mr.. Jones. was essen
TALLY businessman. Yet he was
practical printer who knew and loved
newspapers He realized that paper
has one commodity to sell the public
news. This was always paramount, ana
advertising, though vital to a papers
support, was secondary, and he never
hesitated. when overwhelmed by some
news of inventions and wars which the
Goth century brought. to sacrifice ad-
vertising space for news. His prin-
ciples,' says Mr.. Berger, ''were Ray
mond's principles. The two thought
alike. The time had come again for
straight news sheet to lead the way
Circulation swept from 5000 to $4,000
in 1900 and advertising grew propor-
tionately. In the first two decades Of
the new century the Times became one
of the worlds most important news
papers. The circulation scared to 323,-
900. Mr.. Ochs died in 1885. but the
Ochs era goes on under the guidance OF
his son-in-law Arthur Hays Sulzberger,
the present publisher.
Mr.. Berger explains in vivid detail how
the Times climbed to its paramount