Woodpile

When the Nashville Times (p. m.) first appeared as a daily last May, even newshawks in the same city were in the dark as to its backers. They knew it had evolved from a small weekly (Shop and Play) and the story was that it was being put out on the pooled resources of men who lost their jobs when the long-established Tennesseean (a. m.) and Banner (p. m.) consolidated all but their editorial departments. Even well-posted Editor & Publisher was not aware of the Times's existence for three months.

In September a dapper State House politico and ex-tire salesman named Wallace Edwards suddenly announced he was publisher of the Times. But not until last week did another power behind the paper emerge from a woodpile of rumor and conjecture: Tennessee's Senator-reject George Leonard Berry, who got his start in a newspaper pressroom.

With Senator Berry as chairman of its board of directors, the Times took on a strong anti-New Deal tone. This seemed to mean that Democrat Berry, who was a loud New Dealer until he was discredited for trying to collect $1,600,000 from TVA for some questionable marble claims, was ready to make an entirely fresh start in Tennessee politics.

To date the Times has made no dent in the circulation or advertising revenue of the Banner or Tennesseean, though it sells for 3-c- while they sell for 5-c-.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.