Journal Invictus

When a new city administration, led by State Senator James F. Murray Jr., was elected in Jersey City last May, one of its first aims was to get revenge on the Jersey Journal (circ. 101,162), which had editorially supported an opposition slate hand-picked by Democratic Boss John V. Kenny. Murray's men transferred all city legal advertising to the rival Hudson Dispatch (circ. 58,037), refused to give out any information to Journal newsmen (TIME, June 3), even scheduled public meetings so that major stories would break too late for the evening Journal but in time for the morning Dispatch.

Though his men were forced to ferret out news crumbs from such peccable sources as a blind coffee vendor in the City Hall lobby, Journal Editor Gene ("Lucky") Farrell refused to knuckle under. Said he: "They can't live without us." Sending as many as five legmen at a time to prowl City Hall, and eking out their reports with wire-service coverage, Editor Farrell explored in acid detail such practices by inexperienced officials as heavy overpayment for a batch of air conditioners and the "economy" of firing 17 city attorneys and replacing them with 19 at the cost of an extra $13,500. Needling Murray's personal foibles, Gene Farrell even told rewrite men and reporters to drop the Jr. from his name.

By last week it was plain to Journal readers--and to the rival Dispatch--that the feud had turned abruptly to friendship. In two exclusive Journal stories on the administration's slum-clearance projects, rewritemen carefully restored the Jr. to Jim Murray's name, while Editor Farrell ran the politician's picture on Page One for the first time in months. City Hall, in turn, promised to restore the Journal's traditional half-share of legal ads. Lucky Farrell promptly forged ahead with plans for a morning edition to compete with the Dispatch, started interviewing staffers from the opposition paper. Making its victory doubly sweet, the Dispatch's able City Hall reporter, Robert W. Waldron, started work last week (with a $40 raise) for the Journal.

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