objective criterion the most thorough,nmost complete, most responsiblennewspaper that time, money,ntalent and technology in the secondnhalf of the twentieth century hadnbeen able to produce.nAs I Studied Mr. Salisbury’s book, Infound only one accusation that he failednto hurl in the face of the New YorknTimes: that all the female employeesnare the most beautiful women on earth,nwhile the men constitute the greatestnassemblage of cool elegance everngathered.nLike all experienced flatterers, Mr.nSalisbury has created a cloying fantasynand called it an “uncompromising look”nat the object of his adulation. The intermittentnreferences to reality, such as thenpublishing of the Pentagon papers ornWatergate, are intended only to illustratenhow the conservative upper echelonnof the Times won genuine freedomnof the press (for the Times, that is, thenAmerican people, of course). Mr. Salisburynfantasizes that this, the most perfectnof newspapers, has always been,napart from its other virtues, strictly conservative,nvigilantly anticommunist,ntirelessly prodefense. For this is thenpublic mood these days, and so Mr. Salisburynprojects his mimicry into the pastnof the New York Times.nAnother noticeable aspect is Mr. Salisbury’snannouncement that a “NewnAmerican Revolution” has taken place,nas a result of which the New YorknTimes (not the press, mind you, but thenNew York Times) has become then”fourth coeval branch of government.”nIndeed, the New York Times rules thencountry to a greater extent than eithernthe president or Congress. If New YorknTimes, Inc. does not like the president,nthe president will go. Those who do notnidentify New York Times, Inc. with thenAmerican people should heed this aspectnof Mr. Salisbury’s tribute to his belovedninstitution.nL>haracteristically, Without Fear ornFavor resembles an anniversary album.n14nChronicles of CulturenOn the left-side front page we read:nTo Give the News Impartially withoutnFear or Favor Regardless of anynParty, Sect or Interest Involved.n-Adolph S. Ochs/1896nOn the right-side page we read the dedicationnto the “only child of Adolph S.nOchs,” including due mention of allnthe interrelated founding fathers, mothers,nwives and in-laws. “Quintessentially,”nSalisbury explains in his preface tonthe book, “it [the story of the New YorknTimes] is the story of … a strugglenagainst what the poet Robert Bly oncencalled the ‘American system of hypocrisy,’nthe seamless belts of lies (as Blynput it, ‘the ministers lie, the professorsnlie, the television lies, the priests lie’).”nWhere did Mr. Ely’s unique gift forntruth-telling come from if everyone elsenlied.’ Obviously, its origin was not environmental,nbut genetic and defying allnenvironment, from television to profesÂÂnsors. According to Mr. Salisbury, theninstitution called the New York Timesnreceived the same unique ability at itsninception. Its triumphs of truth-tellingnin a country (or a world?) of seamlessnbelts of lies “flow out of the continuitynof the Times, of its rebirth under AdolphnS. Ochs.” The preface duly ends withnanother variation on the same theme: innthe world of the “BIGS, Big Government,nBig Bureaucracy, Big Spying, BignInterests, Big Labor, Big Business,” thenNew York Times is “carrying on thentask as Mr. Ochs promised, ‘without fearnor favor.’ ” Curiously, Mr. Salisbury forgetsnthat on the next page he boastsnthat the New York Times was (as ofn1971) one of the 500 biggest Americanncorporations. He repeats the foundingnfather’s behest throughout, and endsnwith the same, displaying the perseVerancenof those Soviet truth-seekers whonexplain that Lenin’s pledge to make mankindnfree and happy is now brilliantlynrealized. DnDirect Clarity & Elliptical SubtletynLouis Auchincloss: The House ofnthe Prophet; Houghton Mifflin Co.;nBoston.nShirley Hazzard: The Transit ofnVenus; Viking Press; New York.nby Stephen L. TannernX he title of Louis Auchincloss’s ThenHouse of the Prophet derives from Matthewn13:57: “A prophet is not withoutnhonor, save in his own country and innhis own house.” The prophet in thisncase, Felix Leitner, is not a religiousnman at all. He is a prophet of humanismnand rationalism, an admirer of the late-n18th century vision of human societynDr. Tanner is professor of English atnBrigham Young University.nnnrun by reason and equity. As a distinguishednlawyer, an influential author ofnbooks on constitutional law and internationalnpolitics and a celebrated columnist,nhe has achieved prophetic staturenby his apparently uncompromisingnquest for intellectual truth. His loyaltynto truth takes precedence over loyaltynto any person, group or organizationnwith whom he might associate. Suchncommitment to rational truth, so admirednby the public, often bewilders,nunsettles and antagonizes those closento him.nAs Felix reaches the end of his career,nhis long-time assistant and protege,nRoger Cutter, gathers material for anbiography. The novel consists of thisnmaterial, which includes, in additionnto Roger’s own recollections, those ofnFelix, his two wives, a law partner, ann
January 1975April 21, 2022By The Archive
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