The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1877-01-03
WHAT 1T COSTS TO PUBLISH PFC
TURE PAPERS.

A recent letter from Montreal gives
an interesting history of the rise, prog
ress and prospects of the Graphic Com
pany, by which the Illustrated news
paper, the Daily Graphic, is published
in New York City. The American IL
lustrated journal is, as rule, rather of
a Dolly Vardenish production-an arti-
Gle of some degree Of attractiveness,
but it won't wash. Even the "Journal
Of Civilization" makes very little high
art go a great way. The portrait of a
man hung for numbering his mother-in-
law, with the slightest possible altera-
tion is made TO do duty for foreign
minister. Landscapes and battle scenes,
"by our special artist" serve for any
number of occasions and for any local
ity. The Daily Graphic, however, by a
newly invented process of photo-litho-
graphic engraving, proposed an advance
step in the art of illustrating current
events. Its engravings, judged OF in
the light of photo-lithography, may
have been the perfection of art,
but by any other known process of
illustration they were failure.
Coarse, grotesque, hazy and ill-defned,
they constantly suggested the idea that
the artist had been called away by some
domestic calamity when his work was
about half done. The Graphic made up
in the'minuteness Of its details for any
other deficiencies. Did it have occasion
to publish fac SinliIe OF an important
document, it generally gave, in addition
to the portraits of the author and the
table on which the same was written, an
Illustration of the pen with which the
deed was done and a portrait of the
very goose from which the pen was
plucked. The art of newspaper illustra-
tion can 60 no farther until some future
genius invents a process by which in
tangible ideas can be photographed, or
the convoluted smile OF Schuyler Colfax
copied in all its tropical luxuriance.
The history of this Graphic Company
was recently given by no less person
than Sir Francis Kinks, in a speech
made by him before Committee OF the
Provincial Parliament at Quebec. AS
President he applied on the 18th ult. for
a bill to allow the Company to reduce
the amount of its capital stock, sell out
the Graphic newspaper, and take such
other steps as might be necessary to
save the creditors and enable the Com
pany to continue its manufacturing bust
ness exclusively. The application was
refused, but some interesting revela-
tions were made as to the origin and
management of the Company. A Mr..
Leggo, OF Montreal, having invented a
process OF photo-l photographic engraving
and printing, in 1872 the Graphic Com
pany was set on foot with capital
stock OF $3.50, 900. Through the energy of a
man by tAe name Of Desbarats this
was soon raised-Leggo & Desbarats
taking $250,000 as their pay, as inventor
and promoter respectively. Desbarats
managed the business. He went to
New York and made arrangements with
the Goodsell Brothers to conduct the
manufacturing business and to publish
the Daily Graphic, the profits of which
twas demonstrated to the stockholders
would not be less than 331S per cent,
with very strong probability ot their
making $50 per cent. in year or two.
The Goodsells became the Managing
Directors of the Company, and have SO
firmly intrenched themselves that, as
Sir Francis says, "the other Directors
have never been able to get them out,''
their contract having three years more
to run. The paper has never paid ex'
penses, although the advertising alone