Morning journal and courier., 1882-03-14
The Great Scrap-Book Maker.
A Colored Janitor's Unique Lfbrar.- One Hundred Books Of Clippings.
 IFrLln the PhiI,5eInhis TiulasI


 A bad memory and desire to preserve the good things he read in the newspapers led Joseph ". H. Cathcart twenty-five years ago to begin scrap-book making. Now he has library of 100 volumes made up entirely of clippings and covering great variety of sub jects, showing at once the broad range Of the collectors tastes and the wide scope of the journalism of the past quarter of a century Cathcart is janitor of the building 3n3 Wal nut street, and has held that position for half of his lifetime In his room is 8 large bookcase filled with neatly bound volumes. each with the character of its contents stamped in gold upon the back, with the name of the compiler, followed by the mys- terious letters, ''G. $. B. -M.,'' which as translated by Mr. Cathcart, mean Great Scrap Book Maker" In proof of his bad memory the collector was unable to tell without consulting his books when he first began his work An examination of his first collection of clippings furnished the date, December It, 1856, anG tine first clip ping was found to be an advertisement offer ing reward for the capture of 8 runaway slave. The last book compiled is 8 pam phlet which, when bound, will bear the title: Mayor King and His Black Policemen" It is made up of all the newspaper articles re- lating to the appointment Of colored men on the police force.
 The titles of some of the volumes will give an idea of the subjects covered Three large volumes are devoted to China and Japan. ' and are made up of more than a thousand clippings. ''IncIdents in the Life of Jefer- son Davis" fill two volumes. which are fol- lowed by four bulky books, entitled 'Anx- iOus Inqulrers." Then come four good sized volumes of Sermons and Religious Scraps, next to which The Assassination of Lincoln and Trial and Execution of the COHspiratOrs, 70 Is given place in book of manyhuudred pages E0iI and Coo Ia farz scented next in 8 single volume, Gs are also ''AIen and Women of 1sGS and ls6g.'' Three large volumes, among the neatest iE the col lection, are devoted to Colonel Forney's Letters and European CorrespoBdence.' Next to Colonel Forney's letters Is 8 volume in- scribed Life and Death of Charles Sumner" " and another "Comic Sketches One of the most interesting books in the collection, and perhaps the most valuable, Is Poetry of the Rebellion" which contains about l ,O0O war songs. Another interesting volume. and the largest in the library Is The Colored People and the Passenger Railroads and Railroad Matters of the United States" This book contains 6S2 pages. No less than eight bulky volumes are devoted to "Westcott's Historyof Philadelphia ' Three volumes are filled with Masonic Scraps" and five with clippings con corning "Enfranchisement's Last Chapter, the 18th Amendment" and four volumes sui fee to accommodate The Black Man After the Passage of the Civil Rights Bill" Five volumes contain the dOings of The Freed mems Bureau, and the same number of books are made up of clippings relating to Slavery" John Browns IDsurrection'' finds place in a single volume. next to which are two immense Scrap Books of the Rebel lion" A fat book, measuring four inches across, contains The Trial of Mrs TWichell for the Murder of Mrs. Hill, " and another volume is a record of murders and executions and miscellaneous criminal matters Three volumes now under way the scrap book maker takes great pride in, being no less than The Crimes of Ministers
 Mir. Cathcart sets great store by his library and reckons its value in sordid dollars very high To him it represents twenty five years of work, and he says that a man to make an- other such collection must start young and wait until all his hair has turned gray before it will be complete.