A G GardinerAlfred George Gardiner was an English author, editor, and journalist. His works under the pseudonym "Alpha of the Plough" are highly respected. He was also Chairman of the National Anti-Sweating League, an advocacy group that advocated for a minimum age in the workplace. Gardiner was born in Chelmsford as the son of Henry James Gardiner, a cabinet manufacturer and alcoholic, and his wife, Susanna Taylor. As a child, he worked for the Chelmsford Chronicle and the Bournemouth Directory. He joined the Northern Daily Telegraph in 1887, which had been launched the previous year by Thomas Purvis Ritzema. In 1899, he was appointed editor of the Blackburn Weekly Telegraph. Ritzema became the Daily News' general manager in 1902. He needed an editor and looked to his teenage pupil to fill the position. The choice proved to be a huge success; under Gardiner's supervision, it became one of the premier liberal magazines of its time, as he improved its coverage of both news and literature while crusading against social inequalities. However, despite increasing circulation from 80,000 when he joined the paper to 151,000 in 1907 and 400,000 with the introduction of a Manchester edition in 1909, the firm continued to lose money. Despite being close to George Cadbury, the proprietor of the Daily News, Gardiner departed in 1919 due to a disagreement with him over Gardiner's opposition to David Lloyd George. Read More Read Less