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Show NOTED PUBLISHER DEAD SENT STANLEYTO AFRICA 1, " nl JAMES GORDON BENNETT. " k Managed New York News papers From Paris, With Many Eccentricities. BKAULIEU. France, May 14. James Gordon Bennett, proprietor of the New York Herald, died at 5:30 o'clock this morning after having been unconscious for two days. Mr. Bennett's last words before relapsing relaps-ing into unconsciousness were In relation to his newspaper interests. Mrs. Bennett was with her husband when he died. PARIS, May 14. The French government, govern-ment, through Armand Bernard, prefect of Alpes-Marl times, conveyed its condolences condo-lences to Mrs. Bennett. The Paris evening even-ing papers comment warmly In their editorial edi-torial columns on Mr. Bennett's great friendship for France, his understanding of French qualities, his admiration for French culture and his effective service to t lie French people before and during the war in making known in America the French aims and policies. "It is a great friend we lose," says the lntransigeant. "What a friend of France!'' says L'Heure. The Temps and Liberie recall lengthily Mr. Bennett's brilliant journalistic successes. suc-cesses. Several thousand miles away from his main newspaper office. James Gordon Bennett directed in minute detail tbe affairs af-fairs of the New York Herald and maintained main-tained for himself one of the most commanding com-manding positions In American journalism. journal-ism. For more than a quarter of a century cen-tury he lived In Paris and worked simultaneously simul-taneously there and in New York. No man before him or since has attempted such long-distance editing. From almost every angle, his position in the newspaper world has been unique. Upon the death of his father, who was founder of the Herald, the younger Bennett, Ben-nett, then just past 30 years of age. Inherited In-herited the larcest newspaper fortune accumulated ac-cumulated by any American publisher up to that time. Tie applied it toward achievements to startle the public and thus redound lo the credit of his newspaper. news-paper. In many instances these achievements achieve-ments became important Hems in the world's history. Such was the policy lie inaugurated when, as managing editor In 1870, he ordered or-dered Henry M. Stanley Into the heart of Africa to find Livingstone; such when He sent the Ill-fated Jeur.ette expedition to discover the North pole ; such when tie joined in the laying of the commercial cable all typical Instances of enterprise to "make news" or further lis transmission. transmis-sion. In contrast to titf personal journalism I KITED PUBLISHER CALLED B! DEATH (Continued from Page One.) of the elder Bennett and Greeley type, the younger Bennett was one of the first to sound the impersonal note. He declared de-clared that his paper should become a sort of republic, of which no man or party should hold control. From the first he refused to recognize "celebrities," as compared with "workers," on his staff, and it is related that even when Stanley Stan-ley came back from his triumph in Africa young Bennett rewarded him with the mean assignment of "covering" the tenderloin ten-derloin police district in New York. After developing the Herald, Mr. Bennett Ben-nett established the New York Evening Telegram, the Paris Herald and a London Lon-don newspaper. This he later discontinued. discon-tinued. He also became interested in the Postal Telegraph company and the Commercial Cable company. It is related that Mr. Bennett was invited to be a guest at the laying of the San Francisco end of a Pacific Pa-cific cable by his company. So great was his energy that when something went wrong he leaped from the group of capitalists capi-talists and their wives and personally lent a hand to the stevedores and electricians elec-tricians who were laboring to pay the cable over the edge of a pier. He personally captained his large yacht, the Lysistrata, and was proud of his master's mas-ter's license. He gave the two leading trophies for balloon and aeroplane competitions. com-petitions. He established a home for injured in-jured dogs in Paris. When Mr. Bennett moved to Paris in 18S7 he started the Paris edition of the New York Heraiit and again took a unique position, as this is still the only American Ameri-can daily newspaper published in Europe. During his residence abroad, broken only by the unexpected arrival of the Bennett yacht in New York harbor once every two or three years for a short stop, the editors in immediate control of the New York Herald kept a chair at their conference table always vacant for the absent editor one of his own ideas to keep his men imbued with the spirit that he was "boss." although several thousand miles away. The Herald, marked minutely with the names of the men .who had written certain cer-tain articles or news stories, was forwarded for-warded to him in Paris daily. He kept in touch with every detail of personnel and policy. Daily, or oftener, the cable from Paris, or wherever he might be sojourning In his yacht, brought the editor-in-chief's executive orders, for promotion pro-motion or discharge, for compliment or reprimand, or sketch of general policies. poli-cies. His whims, amounting, his critics said, to eccentricities, were one of the most interesting in-teresting angles of his personality. It is related that he dismissed a musical critic simply because "he was such a funny-looking funny-looking man," and put the financial editor in his place; and that a "copy" boy who ran into the pit of Mr. Bennett's stomach in the Herald office received several sev-eral dollars' reward for his unusual haste. These, and many instances like them, were traditions of Herald employees. He laughed at conventions, and invariably invaria-bly printed in the Herald the worst things his enemies said about him. When Jay Gould gave to the press a letter of 10,-000 10,-000 words attacking Bennett's personal life the editor of the Herald turned about and published it In full, with the curt remark re-mark that Mr. Gould was "a gentleman." gentle-man." When John Kelley, leader of Tammany Hall, publicly assailed Mr. Bennett's character, be retorted: ' The proprietor of the Herald lost his reputation reputa-tion long before Mr. Kelley was ever heard of." He swung his newspaper from one side to another on public questions with startling abruptness. He was assailed for many years for the "personal" advertisements which were once an unrestrained feature of his paper pa-per In 1907 he bowed to the law with payment of a fine of $25,000, when the court characterized the Herald personals as "a public stench." In his innumerable promotions, all bearing bear-ing upon the promotion of his newspaper, Mr Bennett figured as a notable patron of sport. He introduced polo into America Amer-ica revived coaching in France, organized orga-nized international automobile and aeronautical aero-nautical races, and built and sailed numerous nu-merous yachts. Mr Bennett was born in Chambers street New York City, just off Park row. in May, 1841. His father had then wrung success from repeated failures and the Bennett home was In a fashionable neighborhood. neigh-borhood. The son was well educated by tutoro and acquired several languages abroad, also the taste for European life, which grew upon him with age. Dispatches from France early this month reported Mr. Bennett so seriously-ill seriously-ill that his condition was giving cause for anxiety He had been for some months at his villa at Beaulieu. in the Riviera, after an illness, and advices from Nice at this time announced that he had had a relapse. |