THE INKY WAY.

NZ Truth, Issue 107, 6 July 1907, Page 4

THE INKY WAY.

While competition is said to ; be the soul of business, it occurs 'to a great many of Wellington's sens-ible-minded individuals that the certain advent of a new morning paper m Wellington, and the proposal to set another inky Niagara rolling m tho skape of an opposition evening daily is likely to land a lot of people into the Bankruptcy Court. Of course, it is a high compliment to pay to the people, of the Wellington province to ask them to support four dailies; but nevertheless it is certain that Wellington cannot stand the strain of the big four, and that necessarily the weaker will pro under, and the prospects of picking up a cheap newspaper .plant looms large. Now that the new morning capitalistic dishclout is regarded as a certainty, it is interesting, if not amusing, to note how the columns of the country press are being used to boom ihe hired literary assassins that Comma nder-in-chief Earle has, "by a masterful .stroke of policy," gathered around him, although the said masterful stroke of policy consists m the offer of a big screw, an alluring bait always, and the result is tha/_ sub-editors on other New Zealafflr dailies are resting content to at the bottom of the literary 1 ' ladder. The said staff is by no means a lot of journalistic geniuses ; it's a common daily paper stpof, no better, and certainly no/worse, than that of any daily i;rf the four centres of the Dominion. Now that i=> h>*ng, threatened to Blundell's bIuJP/rbuss, .street corner talk is <i£fent concerning the vast improvements that are to be made -on "Post," improvements which strangle at its birth anything m the fhape of an opposing mg.v Feople, who thought that thfK proposed new afternoon paper was a sublime and profound secret, -have wondered, and can keep on wondering., how on earth the- information leaked out, and how "Truth" came to get wind of the joke, but that doesn't much matter. There is still talk of a -new afternoon daily, and whether it will ever see the light is, is, of course, quite a bird of another feather. But what is the "Times" doing, or, rather, what is the "Times" not doing ? It is really hard to say. Now . that the morning "Thunderer" is threatened with annihilation the Lampton Quay conundrum is getting quite flustered. Deserted m the hour of need by the choicest of literary hot-house and "hot air" plants, the '-'Times" directorate is said to be m the devil of a stew, and does not know how to turn or how to act. Editor Wilson, it is rumored, is not giving entire satisfaction, and there is a lot of ground for giving credence to that rumor. Manager Hoben has been relieved, from further responsibility. His place has been filled by Moßo-bie at £800 per annum .on., a three years' engagement. Hoben was under a 12 months' contract, but that did. not matter ; the Directorate made good the di Terence. Where Hoben goes nobody knows. It is" said that he is seeking fresh woods and pastures new. Of course, Editor Wilson is still to be at the 1 helm, and his editorials or? education will continue to please everybody who is m command of High Schools. Once mow.-. too. is rumor's tongue busy, with t^e assertion that assistant sittr-oditor Redding- and reporter Schofiftld axe not going over into the enemy's camp. It may be devotion, and again it may not be ; there was a meeting of the Directorate the other day, and something might have been determined on then. Anyhow, it is ■given out that the new morning moan^ er is not going to have the pick of New Zealand's literary flower basket. One thing is certain, and that ■is that whatever the "Times" directdrate decides to do it cannot vory well heal the wound the opposi^-on capitalists' rag has already infli/^d. It is going to be a fight be#. fen these two inky gladiators, and ijith whom success will ultimately remain is more than this impartial and firmly-established newspaperman very well say. It's a death p?*s£ple sure enough. It's somebody's funeral, whose time alone will .tell.