The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-11-01
AN INSIDE VIEW or PARIS NEWS


police reports, full detaiIs ao4us tS IaSS
or suicide, and the news OF the day-that ls
All The particulars relating to the state
of the weather and the money market,
and the sayings ana dolngs OF the more
| The ESSAY writer and tie novelist are the
| leading spirits Of the journal The former
| writes under the pseudonym of 'Timothee
| TrimmD y and produces articles which in happier
| days would scarcely have found q reader in
! nfance, hut which are now tne favorite intel
| ectual food of hundreds ofthousands of French
| men. His productions are equally remarkable
for their mpertlnence and their triviality. At
one time the public is informed how to make
SOUP at another how the writer felt when wit
Messing mother whipping her child. Not
only does he adopt the French pennyaliners
trick for filling space, which is to make para
graph of sentence, but he prints every clause
OF sentence as separate paragraph. Toe fol-
lowing passage is good Illustration OF the
rick referred to, and fair sample OF his style.
1t is the introduction to an essay on the pot
aufeu:"-
Let others during the hours of the Carnival, extol
good cheer, .'..l.
And pronounce panegyric on trufled fowls and
Let the apoogsts of bits praise the golden ployer
and the fat ooian, the delicate pheasant and the
deecable goose liver.
l will moi ioin the tram of those fatterers;
And since, for once IN my life, have taken fancy
tor treating gastronomy,
wish 10 uphold the cOmmonest and most custom
The n most tho nouTishlne and the most wholesome,
The true national dish Of France,
Popular maccarOni in Italy,
Sourkrout IN Germany, and roast beef in England
| have indicated the Pot-aufeu.
Thisls the sort Of stuff of which Timothy
| Trmm" writes four or five columns daily, and
| for which he finds about four hundred readers.
| IT is not worse, however, than the novels for
| which the Peid journal is famous They are
| generally from the pen OF NJ. Ponson du Terrail,
| a writer compared with whom the most "sen-
| sationaln of English novelists must be pro-
nounced tame, and who would easily distance
in a competitive examination the most able
among. the contributors OF bloody tales to our
| cheap journals, on the most popular among the
uramatists of the transporting theatres, Had
| Eugene Sue been alive he would have found
! more than his match in NJ. Ponson du Terrail.
| Success leads to rivalry. ltwas natural, then,
| that M. MIllaud, the founder of the Petit Jour
| nal, should have competitors for the sums which
paper like It had caused to flow into his trea-
forward with the Grand Journal as candidate
| for popular favor. As its name indicates, it is
neaf, oSr ds h se Ps4 q q d6 liz 67ee psng
| dearer, and is published weekly. That it has
| beeh fairly successful, we learn from report
| of the annual meeting of its proprletors, pub
| lshed some weeks back, where it is announced
| that the dividend for the year is within irac-
tion OF eight and half per cent. Notable for
| the la1geness OF its type and the Whiteness OF
| its paper, as well as for the comparative sodity
| fits contents the success of the Grand Journal
| is not wholly undeseryed.
Yet 10 show how difficult IL is to fill so many
| columns with matter to which the authorities
| will not take exception, its conductors are
| obliged to devote nearly an entire page to
| repetition of the cbit-chat which has appeared
| in its contemporaries during the week. Not
satisfied with surprising the Petit Journal once
| a week, M. Villemessant determined to compete
| with it every day, and founded the EUenenleat
| This new conner costs penny, and furnishes a
| more ample feast of horrors than its lower
| priced rival NJ. Paul Feval, veteran com.
poser OF thrilling stories, has been employed to
| The "Embaned Husband,n the novel with
which he undertook TO crafty it's readers, Is, as
| far as we can judge we'll fitted for throwing
| them into fits OF excitement.
In order to meet this competitor, NJ Mlllaud
| founded another paper at the same price, aud
| OF the same size, and called the S0(ea. Thus
| three daily journals are now employed i'll the
mission of providing the most pernicious kind
| Of reading for the French. public. They ap-
| peal, not TO the poor and Ignorant, but to
| those who are supposed to be educated, and
| who are in position to enjoy the luXuries of
| life. taste for what is vile is more easily
excited than an admiration for what is noble.
| Details of suicide, murders, and adulteries are
| always welcome 10 the halfeducated, and be.
| come, after time, agreeable TO those who,
| although more cultivated, have little else to
read; AS the very worst OF these publications,
| the Petit Journal enjoys the largest circulation.
| Like certain English newspapers which boast
of having "the largest circulation in the world"
| it sets forth, as its best advertisement the num-
| Der of copies published. Its competitors have
| to resort to other measures. They bribe as well
| as boast. For example, the regular subscriber
| to the Euenernen was presented at Christmas
| labJ Win u DOA Oh OrdHStSj anu WnOeNer I0eH
| paid quarters subscription in advance might
| also come in Tor a chance of the precious reward.
| At the present time the two rivals are tempting
| the public with gratis copies of Victor Hugos
| 'Miserables or TraYaillieurs de la Mer," as in
ducements to buy the literary rubbish which
they offer at a low price, but which would be
| dear as a gift.
Before Frenchman dare print and venl
| newspaper containing the slightest allusiOn to
| politics, he must deposit a large sum as caution
money, and obtain the permission sof the Gov
ernment. He may be perfectly inoffensive and
mean no harm TO his fellows, but ON the con-
| traTy, may desire TO benefit them a much as to
enrich himself Should he succeed in obtaining
| the requisite permission, he has another diff
| Guilty to contend against, namely, the tax in the
| shape OF a stamp which is affixed to each
number of licensed paper. The effect of this
| is, of course, to oblige him 10 charge higher
one which is unstamped. Suppose him, on the
other hand TO be q speculator who is solely ami
| imated by desire 70 gain large return for his
| outlay, he will find no hindTance should he
| wish 10 own a newspaper. III he confines himself
| to retailing scandal, he may found as many
| papers az he pleases. He may sell them az a
| price within the means OF the poorest class of
readers, because he mas no security TO give, and
no stamp to purchase. He is thus unchecked
in his des re 10 work as much mischief and get
IN return as much profit as possible.
AS matters now are in Paris, the Journal des
Debdts may say nothing dispensing TO the au-
thorities without endaneering us existence,
whereas the Petit Journal may publish whatever
suits ITS purpose, needless of unpleasant conse-
| queDces. The tool may bray but the fage's
mouth issfOrcibly closed. ''Timotbee Trimm', i:
applauded when he writes something unusually
coarse or silly, while Provost Paradol is prose
eu;ed should he criticize the acts of the Govern