A NOTABLE EDITOR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12761, 3 October 1919, Page 5

A NOTABLE EDITOR.

CREATOR OF THE “BULLETIN.”

DEATH OF MR J. F.

ARCHIBALD.

nf\ I L J Q h l Fra^ s Archibald, founder of the Sydney “Bulletin” and one of Australia s greatest journalists, died in a private hospital at Darlinghurst, Sydney on September 10, a t tie age of sixty-one years. He had been in precarious health for some time past. hj ° f i F ‘ Archibald removes one whose reputation stood deservedly' /ivR tl« A \r St iik alian ne £ s P a P or work (says the Melbourne “Herald”!, Hh ScT hjt ‘ V ’ C m a i i T < ? P° wers . and tireless mdustp enabled him to give form and lde ? s whlch cast in a definite mould a unique and characteristic d«- ? S J ° joarnalism. Undoubtedly he has left his mark ,and his achievement ?°K Soon I* forgotten. He climbed SnJ adde a * from »ts lower JS f ’ and » \ a cl ‘ m jln S> never laid to ms generous heart the cynicism of Kipling s aphorism. * sessed the rare faculty of bnnSn«oirt what was best in the capabSc Vf crerv writer who eidiJtod W and his aid. For twenty-fire years except for a short interval, when W H Traill was part proprietor, editor and manager, Mr* Archibald occupied the I °lJ ) ll Cdlt ° r of “ The Bulletin ” meS 1 g y n remamß his menu-

A WARRNAMBOOL BOY. The late Mr Archibald was born at Warrnambool m 1858. His father I veteran ot the Peninsular Wai an,) davs^f°thl 1 rr t Ti a fr i° m L T ondon in the aaj sor the gold rushes. He was afterwards an inspector of police. A scholarly man, he perceived the value of n good education for his son, who at the ap of eleven had announced to his loirpi?’ h teT r + 6adi - n * tlle Essav on OwL r ’ v S J ° tentl ?» of rivalling Aro)nK^irP ,an !r\- point young L d ’ s^ nc % car! y be said to have begun. He was sent to the Warrnambool Grammar School where he learned some S \rchi£hfw aDd VlrgiL At fifteen,’ to “ w appi T t , 3ced M a Pinter The Warrnambool Examiner,’*

EARLY RAYS AT THE “ CASE.” ex^±?^ ald s ? sedil y becam ® a « fn POSI^ r \ wafi Ws boast tvnf wJ earS r that “could snatch type with most men.” While still at tee case he wrote his first parafif. pb ’. f ncJ obtained some insight into i- " a work- As soon as his apprenfcicesbp was completed he learnt shortand went to Melbourne Xflih! P osl^ lol held by Archibald in offiS°or-Th C l U H d a i^ Qal i° b “ the tW t ~ f He ? ld i succeeded by that of a stone hand” in the comonSl^gTh°°n’-?’ P £ S V as i nnior reporter Telegraph” (now de- %• and a clerkship m the Education Repayment. Subsequently Archibald went to Queensland, and, after a varied jOTrnahstm experience, ho joined n f “Evening News. On January 31, 1880, being then m his early twenties, he, in comBulfetin” J ° hn founded “The

A JOURNALISTIC PIONEER. 1 lu-vS,/e I u-v S ,/ e ? e l rally conceded that Mr Archibald did mor© than anv on© man to endow “ The Bulletin” ‘with those characteristics which have given it a unique place in journalism. In Its early days it sought to give expression to a spirit of radical revolt against many of the tendencies of the time. Mr Archibald was a radical' in politics, but he was too much of a cynic to take politics as seriously .os Mr James Edmond who succeeded him as editor. Mr Edmpnd, who was the author of that notable senes of articles, “ A Policy for the Commonwealth,” gave the paper a definite constructive policy in the realm of politics, but Mr Archibald may be said to have been its “ soul.” He was a hater of shams, and displayed cynical disrespect, nearlv always gay and sometimes fierce, for both social and journalistic conventions. Mr Archibald could wield a facile and brilliant pen, but it was chiefly as an editor that he won fame. He gathered round him a notable company of writers and encouraged people aif over Australia to send in paragraphs. to the •.'** , wo, dd take ‘copy’ from the Devil sojong as it was bright,” he onto remarked

BRILLIANT SUB-EDITOR. Mr Edmund Fisher, the Melbourne representative of “The Bulletin,” who has been associated with the paper since its early days says that Mr Archibald was the most brilliant sub-editor ho has known. lou never felt sorry for vour paragraphs after they had passed threugh his hands,” says Mr Fisher He never touched : copy ’ without adorning ic. He would give to a paragraph an original humorous twist by merely inserting a word or two. H© had a gift for epigram and was a brilhant phrase-maker. In the early days of The Bulletin’ he stated that the public eye took m only about onetenth of what was contained in an average newsoaper. and it was his object to provide that one-tenth and nothing more. So far as ‘copy’ was concerned he was without prejudices ana lie made it his business not onlv to encourage, but even to flatter young writers so as to induce them to give of their best.”

Mr Henry Lawson is probably the most notable of the writers whom it may be claimed that Mr Archibald discovered. Lmrson’s first comparalively crude efforts as a young man passed through his hands and were published in “ The .Bulletin.” Several other writers who have since become famous owe portion at least of their success to his advice and encourageand his wonderful flair for matter of literary or journalistic value.

ACTIVITY TV RETIREMENT. Ahcr his retirement from the eclitonal chair of “ The Bulletin,” some y° RTS Mr Archibald was chiefly instrumental in launching “ The Lone Hand ” magazine, of which Mr Frank Fox was the nrst editor. About this time Mr Archibald suffered a breakdown in health, and ever since has been subject at intervals to <severe attacks of nervous exhaustion. lie made journalism a most strenuous profession for himself. When editor of “ Tlie Bulletin " he read practically every scrap of “ copy ” that came into the office, revised much of it and rewrote some, in addition to writing, original articles and paragraphs. After his retirement Mr Archibald continued to live chiefly in Sydney, collecting pictures, encouraging young artists, and, (of recent years, manifest! ing a keen interest in motoring. Recently he accepted the position of literary editor of “ Smith’s Weekly,” and stories and reminiscent paragraphs which he contributed to that paper showed that his pen had lost little of its pungency. Until a short time before his death he attended the office daily, and it seemed to those who met him that keen interest in a new journalistic venture had given him a fresh lease of life. Each evening he took home a quantity of “ copy,” which he revised cut down, ana added to with all h'is old enthusiasm.

THE ART OF CONVERSATION. Mr Archibald’s conversation was always a source of delight to his friends. He was possessed of a sparkling wit and could “ compose ”#a story in the couise of conversation, which wgs prac- ’ T '