There is, as is well-known, a long-standing convention among newspapers
whereby books arc sent out for review in advance on the understanding that no notice appears anywhere till the day of the book's publication. Thus an unseemly scramble to get in first with an important book is satisfactorily avoided. The same con- vention, I suggest, should be established regarding articles on cen- tenaries, and similar events of fixed date. The British Weekly, on November zrth, and the Sunday Times, on November 14th, published articles, both by Sir Norman Birkett, on Isaac Watts, in connection with the bicentenary, which occurs on November 25th. They are, of course, perfectly free to do that, but the "anticipation" policy could be carried to absurd lengths if everyone adopted it. You might, for example, commemorate Watts on November 1st in order to be able to begin, " This month," or even on January 1st in order to begin, "This year." It would save gratuitous and un- edifying rivalry if it were generally agreed that daily papers should publish such articles if possible on the actual day, and weeklies on the last issue before the actual day.
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