5 SEPTEMBER 1931, Page 12

But why ? What is the charm of old newspapers

? Perhaps it is by virtue of an unwonted helplessness that they attract, like the millionaire in need of change, or the efficiency expert who has missed his train. The popular Press has only itself to blame if it arouses in its readers the resentment of the weak for the strong : well, for the forceful, anyhow. You must read it to-day ; to-morrow is no good. But an old newspaper has no claim on your attention. To read it at all is to confer the highest, the most disinterested and the most capricious form of patronage, for, since it deals with a period which has not yet acquired the status and the glamour of The Past, it has not even an antiquarian interest. For once, you are top dog. * * * *