The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1884-09-24

is like looking alternately through the
large and small ends of opera-glasses. A
British work just issued contains the
names of "a, 200 newspapers, magaz zines
and quarterlies, published in every EN-,
pirc, kingdom. nation, province and
island of the globe, with much curious
information regarding them, and many
other matters. The first volume is filled
with the II, 207 newspapers and perlodl.
Gals of the United States and 624 OF
British North America. The second
is devoted to all the rest of the world,
and very curious lights are thus thrown
on the characteristics of various nations;
How the grand total is distributed
over the earth, and the number
of copies per annum in proper
ton to each inhabitant, is shown below:
Number Proportion
Population. Publications. per heaa l.
EEu E. %Tsrica:: so e. ;sss,i$s i 200 ssss
Asia......... 1907, l2s,657 90 0o1
$. America. 2s,9SS,5Os 699 SsS
Australasia. s,6,O,sSO Gel Gel ' SS
Hence we perceive that Europe still
keeps precedence numerically, though, in
view of the proportion to population,
North America and Australasia have far
outstripped the Old World, notwith-
standing the vast extent of territory over
which they are scattered. Europe and
North America combined arc shown to
have an area of only one-fourth OF the
habitable globe, and one fourth OF its
population, yet they produce considerably
more than nine.tcnths (93.23 per cent?
of all publications in existence.
How the proportion per head IS ar
rived at does not appear, inasmuch as a
certain number of English publishers re-
fuse to make known their circulation.
These, however, are hut q very limited
number, 50 are not supposed largely to
affect the total. A free calculation
shows that, including dailies, wecklies
and monthlies, the presses OF America
annually issue nearly $500, DOC, 600 COP.
les per ceaseless shower OF
literary snowtlakes forever tloatingaround
each remote centre Of Anglo-Saxon life.
Australasia annually distributes upward
of 112, 900, 900 copies of her home-printed
papers, while the annual production OF
Europe runs up to 1900, 600, 900 copies
mingled showers of every conceivable
quality, good, bad, Indifferent, every
shade of opinion, and on every topic un-
der heaven.
A further calculation shows Great
Britain to be the country best supplied
with newspapers, while Belgium ranks
next and the United States third. The
ratio of comics yearly distributable to
each person in these three nations is as
follows: Great Britain, G4.01; Belgium,
{. go; the States. 51.06.
But while the total number of British
publications does not exceed 4,0S2, the
German Empire produces $3.50 periodi-
calls of all sorts, and thus ranks next to
the United States in the variety of litera-
ture she provides. 1t is considered
somewhat remarkable that, in a land so
eminent for scholarship there should he
so small q proportion of monthly and
Quarterly magazines-no; more than five
per cent. of the grand total.
London, as might be expected with
its population of 1000, 600, takes prece-
dence of all other great cities in its list
of publications, which very nearly ap-
breaches 1000. These have an annual
circulation of about 1,017, 600, 900 copies.
The mere list of their names occupies
seventy-three pages of fine pages in this
great directory, and looking over them
one feels positively bewildered to think
of all the enormous amount of lncessant
quill-driving and editing involved by the
never-ending requirements of so vast a
multitude of publications.
But while London shows a longer cata-
logue than any other city, Paris. with a
population ef less than 1000, 600, issues
1853 periodicals, and these have an
annual circulation of about !, 100, 600, 600.
copies; so that, in point of fact. the citi-
zens of Paris are far more literally sup
| piled with daily or weekly literary pro-
vender han their British neighbors. In
fact. it is estimated that the journalistic
products of Paris amount annually to al
most one-tenth of the issue of the entire
press of the globe.
New York and Brooklyn have a COM
bined population nearly equal to that of
Paris. They produce 5S7 publications,
with an annual circulation of about 51G,-
600, 900; Berlin produces $50; Vienna,
4S3; Madrid, 1858; Brussels, 1888; Rome,
213, showing a gradual diminution till
we reach St. Petersburg, with a popula-
ton of 667, 963. and a newspaper issue
numbering 1873, and Moscow, with a
population of COL, $50, and only fifty
seven periodicals.
Taking the nationality of the 1000
,,o,oso of Tho ,r,orll u.n find fhof nlNsp
upon 32, 900 are published IN Europe and
North America. leaving little over 1000
for all the rest of the world! South
America only issues a sufficient number
to allow each Of its inhabitants three
newspapers a year-exhibiting the curl
Gus contrast in this, as in all else, be-
tween the great Northern and Southern
continents.
The combined annual product of Asia
and Africa amounts to 227, O00, 600,
which, in proportion to the population.
would allow one copy in ten years fer
each person. OF course the newspaper
circulation of Africa is confined to the ex-
IRENE north and south, with a very fee
BILE commencement on the west coast.
In like manner Asia has neither supply
nor demand except in parts of Turkey,
Persia, China and Japan. Not q news
paper of any sort is to be found in Ara
bia. Afghanistan, Beloochistan or Turk
estan.
The Chinese empire produces only
twenty-five periodicals, of which twelve
are in Chinese, nine in English and one
in French. Even of this small number
the circulation is extraordinarily small,
and as a rule. a newspaper may be said
to be a thing unknown to the 400. 0O0,-
900 inhabitants of the Celestial empire.
With three exceptions, all China's
very limited newspaper-list are published
at four of the treaty ports, open to for
cigners. Shanghai has given birth to
tifteen-Ningpo, Foochow and Annoy are
answerable for the others. Of the three
exceptions, two are published at Han
kow. 700 miles from the mouth of the
great river, Yang-tsi-K iang-a waterway
which, by opening communication with
the sea-ports. has perhaps tended to in
troduce this ephemeral literature. Even
Canton, with its population Of 800, 900,
has not one publication of any sort. The
third exception, and sole newspaper of
vast Northern China, is the F'ekin Gazette,
a purely official publication, containing
only imperial edicts and official informa-
ton.
In strange contrast with this terribly
conservative old nation, which will not
assimilatc any new ideas from the outer
world, and which cares nothing for any
history more recent than that of Confu-
cius, stands the ultra progressive empire
of Japan. In nothing is this readiness
more apparent than in the rapid develop
ment of a widespread system of news
papers, of which upwards of $50 are now
produced by the native press, and circu-
late freely among the masses. The news
paper shops in all the principal native
cities are invariably crowded with eager