Year: 1874




MORTAL


SFROM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRlBuSE'l


LONDON Nav 27--TM Times has suddenly become
enterprising 1t gets its daily letter from rams
by telegraph and for that purpose has hired
special wire, rather the exclusive use OF WIRE,
from Paris to London between the hours of in the
evening and 8 in the morning. For this it pays
RS5oo year. being in dollars 1880, precisely the
sum which the United States thinks proper to pay
it's Minister at the Court of ST. James, the most
wealthy and most expensive capital in the world.
Out of this sum of fS5O0, the British Postal Tee-
graph takes fiOOO which will just fill the deficit in
the Government Postal Telegraph business foT one
week; if Mr.. SeudamOre will graciOusy permit the
fact TO be stated don't doubt the service is worth
the money 10 The Times, because that paper has
room enough TO PRINT, If it likes two OF three col
umns day from Paris The penny papers are so
crowded that they would have hard work to find
room for than a column, and column day
from Paris is perhaps much as the average penny
reader would be able to digest But they will GER
tany be driven or later to follow The 1imess
example. They cannot print as much as that Behe-
moth of journalism, but what they do print must be
fresher than the lukewarm diet which they now
serve, which was hot in Paris two days before.
There is no other foreign country in which English
men take so much interest France, no city which
TO them has so much attraction as Paris That po-
htical Palais Royal farce which is played at Yer
sales keeps English curiosity alive in the most
surprising way. The guest whom you SIT next at
dinner if he 60 outside London for a topic of con-
versaon, is we'll nigh certain TO fall upon Paris or
Versailles He will have strong prejudices. if not
clear views, about French parties; perhaps knows
that the Light Horse do not sit on the Left, and
most probably is partisan of Theirs, or the Wool
wieh Infant, or the Due dAumale-should he hap
pen to have met the latter In society. Whereas II
you beedessly touch on the quarrel between Count
Arnim and Prince Bismarck, polite stare will be
vour reward. and your neighbor Will inwardly won
der what sort of prodigy you can be to know or
care anything about German matters--now that the
Germans are no longer thrashing the French Ber-
lin is the ruling cty of Europe, but may safely say
that the English press publishes ten columns about
Paris to one from Berlin, and perhaps the figure
could be doubled.


Yet with all this appetite for French news, the
British public Las been hitherto content TO get it
two days old-srecia dispatches special occasions
during the last two or three years excepted. Lon
don is practically eleven hours from Paris, and
letter posted in Paris tonight at will not reach
London till tomorrow morning, nor he delivered
in ordinary course till $50. The French corre
spondence of the London morning papers has been
written IN the evening Of one day, dispatched by
the post of the next, and printed the morning of
the third. Encouragement of the mails and accel-
Grafton of the trains would bring letters leaving
Paris at ) in the afternoon to London in season for
publication next morning, but that would not quite
answer and the telegraph must eventually carry
the correspondence for every important paper as it
now does for The ISaes. j believe the managers OF
The telegram and Daily Nacs have informally
agreed that they don't care about The 1tmeSS
arrangement-cOuldnt publish long daily dis
patch aud On bat it won't hold water, They


in
England, and they cannot long 90 on pub
fishing Paris letters of the date which The Times
has published the day before. The truth is the use
of the telegraph gains yearly in journalism
We NAV struggle against IT, and rival papers agree
not to it. and all that. but we cannot help our-
selves. We nave created thirst for news which
will not be satisfied with the intelligence OF day
before yesterday if yesterdays is to be had at any
price The telegraph is only III its infancy and It's
relations to journalism Just beginning to be deyel
oped and the future is by no means one to be con-
templated with uDmixed emotions by the owners and
editors and correspondents of newspapers. Whether
we like it OF not the telegraph is our master
Where even nov are the halcyon days when writer
could quit his desk knowing that the last train was
in: that the next steamer could not arrive TIL bls
paper had gone to press and that the wise speeula-
tions on his editorial page could not be eonradcted
or turned into nonsense by piece of news arriving
At the last moment too late to change anything and
too important to be omitted Catastrophes Of that
sort have happened and still from time to time do
bappen to English journals. | will do them the
Justice to say they don't seem TO mind 1t much


There is chance that sub-Atlantc telegraphlng
will be cheaper this year than ever. The managers
of the new Direct Cable Company are sanguIne OF
spccess IN ayng their and establishing sllll-
ling rate Their new ship, the Faracay, is beileved
by her eng gineers be better adapted for the work
than the Great Eastern. As for the difficulty about
landing II is alleged that 1t has been over
come or can be. Unauthorized persons in the
interest Of the old company are reported to have
made threats that the Direct Cable If landed shall
he cut do not be eve there Will be any cutting OF
cables for the simple that # one was cut the
other four would be- and the is far too danger
ous to play Putting ali that aside and assuming
that the Direct Cable is duly laid. we may then ex-
meet some further information on the question bow
cbeaply telegraphing between Europe and America
can be done-wth profit TO the stockholders, OF
without. The Auglo-American directors have made
up their minds that their present monopoly rs
thing TO he perpetuated, If possible, and they are
going in for war. The Direct Cable Company on
the other band is in the cnntrol Of very resoute and
lhrevd men, who knew betoie they embarked their


money III tue enterprise what sort of opposition they
would have to encounter. Until the new cable ls
actually down. there is lot much use IL anticipating
what will be done with II. bnt can hardly agree
with people vino affect to believe that, after short
struggle it will either surrender or sell out.


hear no confirmation Of the report J mentioned
in previous letter that Mr. Sampson is to resign
his post as financial writer The Times. The
money article of that paper contains the best evi-
dence that be still controls IT, Within the last few