Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-06-18
Reading.

1NCnuAuSs
think the extent OF the habit of
| reading is much over-estimated even in
reading countries. There is large read
ing class in Germany, in China, in Eng.
land, in America, in Iceland and in the
cities OF France; outside of these coun-
tries and few colonies, reading is not
INDUCED in. Vi all these countries the
United States is the land in which the
habit OF reading is most prevalent; and
yet the most striking facts about our
population is that so few Of them read
when most of them know howl mean
how to read to themselves, for so rare
is the accomplishment for reading out
aloud that we have to pay money to
hear such performers on our language;
they are rarer than fair piano. players.
Nearly everybody takes q daily snatch
ut the newspapers, at the summary of
news or the telegraph columns, and the
baseball record, and occasionally per-
sons follow for days the columns de-
| voted to some singular accident or
curious murder-even women have &C.
quired the art of deity skimming the
cream Of the morning journal; but com.
paritively few of the entire population,
even the educated, read books. Unless
a book by some good luck becomes q
fashion, and is recommended in con-
versation, few see it; the number of
people who originally seek out the
readable book from their habit of crav-
ing it is very small. When story be-
comes u fashion, everybody reads it;
but who is everybody Why. new
novel is to have "run" il 10 coo copies
of it are publisAed-10,000 copies for
4O, OOO. 900 of people. And there are
books that everybody has read," and
oil the newspapers talk of, which have
not got beyond the third or fourth thou
sand. The late Samuel Bowlcs ouce
told me his experience. He had writ
ten his capital book on the far West at
the time ofths Pacific Railway excite
ment, when millions of people were
eager for the information his book con-
tanned. Never did book seem to be in
greater demand; it was sold in England
as we'll as in America, and all the news
papers in both countries quoted from
it and commented on it. Mr.. Bowles
said that he never mot O person who
had not read it-or who did not say he
read it, I forget which. And yet. he
asked, how many copies do you suppose
satisfied this enormous demand of
every body? Fifteen thousand filled
the market.
We boast about the circulation OF our
newspapers. The best of them are daily
marvels of news, Of information, Of
miscellaneous reading, Of entertain.
Mt ~ N II 20 VkAv k, nho
est things, in modernIdays.
Considering the capital in brains, ia-
dustry and money they put into every
number, they iare, at their price, the
wonder of our civilization. And yet the
most wonderful thing about them to
me is the smallness of their circulation
compared to the population. Take such
u center AS New York, with a compact
population of nearly two millions, and
radiating lines of quick distribution
that enable the newspapers within few
hours to reach millions more, and set
against this the actual circulation of the
three or four commanding journals. 1t
is mere bagatelle. Still there are
many newspapers, and q large proper
ton of the population sees one every
day-that is, of the city population;
but the number of people who master
the contents of daily paper is not
large. Readers pick out of them the
items of business or amusement or poll
tics that interest them. And it is hardly
fair to credit our people with the habit
OF reading because they glance at the
daily newspapers, or because in the
country they are in the habit of spread
ing the excellent weeklies over til cir
faces to keep the flies from disturbing
their Sunday nap. 1 believe that the
majority of business men read book
very rarely; the majority of young men
in business and in society l fancy read
very little--they do not give their
evenings to reading, and are not apt to
take up book unless it becomes the
talk OF society. People who spend q
great deal of money on dress, on din
ners, or amusements, would think it
extravagant to bay book, and If one
is commended to them they will wait
till they can borrow it or got it from
the library. They do not hesitate two
minutes about an ordinary So dinner.
but they will wait months to borrow q
. fifty-cent book.--Charles Dudley
| Warner.
JOSH BILLINGS ON MARRIAa1.-By
. v,,oons ToA <vak ~ox l.