Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-01-11

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rHE & RIA M Us Ails.
Of the FAMOUS Figaro. tbs Sole Rep
resent alive of NeNspape Enterprise s.;
On the 'os,linant q
Some Account OF the Men Who ssrake II, and
Glimpse sat ths Inside Work
Re of the Estab lishmenf. s.
| 2 ARIs, Special Correspn iience, Dec 6 s:--.s
little less than thir.y years go 8: newspaper
was established in this CITY on = capisal Of
$500, which cleared last year q net profit for
it's stockholders Of more than $500, 900. 4
refer to Ia Figaro, which on the continent
holds the same position that the London TIMES.
does ID the United Kingdom, and that the
Boston Herald and New York Herald do in
America HippoIyta de Yillemssaant came up
e Paris from the village Of Blois III $50 and
entered upon journalism two years later
as q Il reporter, signing his articlea in
the Presse with the pseudonym Of sLonis
de Saint Loup,'' the n anne Of his grandmother.
There was then, rs now, an advertising agencv,
DolIigen s. Co, and 1t was the head sof this
firm, who, in 1854. with De Villemessant, es-
tab'ished q journal which has since become
power throughout the world No newspaper
is bolder, no editorial staff comprises more
talent, no paper is more often quoted, none Is
more frequently praised or more often blamed
than this same great daily Of the Rue Drouot
It had it's earlier struggles, its years
Of poverty before it became rich and
influential, bnt there ware enterpriaing mon in
the office and il achieved, final success. or
this success the following anecdote is q proof:
During that secon reign CT terror called tbe
commune, NJ lie V;llemessant took refuga in
Switzerland One morning be discovered that
he had very little money, and wishing to, cut
down his EXPENSES, discharged his valet de-
chambre, after having paid him his wages
with four shares Of stock in the Figaro These
shares had each a face value Of 500 francs,
but they we're probably not worth more
than half that sum. Well, those four
shares are siU in the family OF the ex-yalet de
| cbambre, and they are now worth $4,000
francs. They pay IL per cent per annum, and
have been doing 80 for eood while on that
amount. The paper BEGAN to pay we'll after
the war with Germany. In 1872 the profits
were $50, 600 francs. in 8S2: it cleared
$500. 1873 francs. H. de Villemessant was a
| born journalist, ons Of the three grand and
powerful workers which the French press has
produced. Tho first was Berlin. the oldest OF.
| that name, who founded at the dawn of the Rev
olution til "a journal des Desbats Forty
years later came Emile de Girardn.
Of an active ma ure and a; bold innovator, he
founded q new: school OF news gathering, which
rapidly became popular Then came De Vii
lemessant, who, after numerous attempts, dis
covered . new sort of Journal lively. brill
liant, attractive so"t with its own individual
stamp and persona]ity-the journal Of the
boulevard, which under his skillful personal
management became the powerful organ that
| lis to-day. He had a passion for Journalism
and love for his raper The Figaro was the
great work Of bis lifetime, and his last words
were about the management Of the Figaro. III
April, 1879. aftar long and painful illne-s,
he breathed his last at Monte Carlo. For years
he had never failed the first thing in the morn
ing when he awoke to unfold his PAPER, glance
rapidly over it to see about the 'smake-up and
then he read every article in it from beginning
to end. = - 8sE %.$$; -
NAMING HIS SUCCESSORS Il
Dying, he determined that Francis Maynard,
A. Perivier and Fernand de Radays should
collectively be the power which should carry
on his ideas in the Figaro Office. In fixing on
these gentlemen De- Villemessant wished above
all thin gs TO leave behind him on the Figaro
something which would take the place vacated
by his death. He was at one and the same
time reporter, editor III chief, and business
manager, and he now found it necessary to
detail off this work to those who would survive
I, Nh r. aos0 nt,,ff fta$o 1Ts
last words wsre rs they stood in tears around
! his bedside: ! 1:5s =,
| My friends. it is you who are now going to hold
the handle of the stove: Always make up the pa
Der as though you knew were going to read 1t the
next morning. r." !"
NJ do Villenessant builded we'll when he
placed this triumvirate in charge Of the jour-
Inal, aud the stockholders have never had coca
lsion to regret their appointment The editorial
department belongs, as q matter Of right, to
M. Maynard. He commenced his journalistic
career, so to speak, in the paper Of which be is
now the editor. He was the first to establish
the column headed s'Paris from Day to Day"
Paris au Jour dc Joutl which is male up of
many small articles in the. shape of condensed
matter from the other newspapers Of the day
before. thus giving the reader a chance 70
know what is being said by other Journals. and
the situation of the various political parties.
ever more than q "stickful,'' these
articles the quintessencs Of common
{sense, and as examples of condensation are
from under tbs pencil of the famous Dr.. Wood,
|so long part aud parcel Of the New York Sun.
Some years b.fore the death OF his chief Mr..
Maynard filed the post OF secretaire de la re-
ldaetIon, position very similar to that Of man !
laying editor. Whenever NJ dc Vlllemessart
was away the whole Responsibility Of getting
Iout the psper devoived on Maynard. and he thus
showed his CAPACITY for the work which he was
subsequently called Oh to perform. Beside this
Important and complicated ask OF managing the
paper, N. Maynard, rarely allows aday topass
without writing his opinion on passing events
lin a short. clear leader, whict, Judging from d
French point of view, certainly an editorial
lgem. In g paper like the Figaro read by so
Irlany different kinds Of people, it is no easy
!matter to print political article without giving
iserious offense. Claiming to be Independents,
the Figaro is quite conservative in its political
Views; although as ma ter Of fact beIiove it
ito be in favor Of q monarehy rather than
Ia republic. L. hard worker, T.. d skilled !
Journalist, man Of known honesty
lof convicion a frank honorable and f.miabie
Il should guess hiu, 10 be about forty three
Years Of age. He is not only highly educated
land learned bihiiophiia, but he has a most
remarkable memory Nothing that he has
read or seen is ever forgotten, IL is this tana- 4
teions memory which makes M. Maynard one
LOT the best informed men in Paris. and it is
Ithis also which rnskes him such severe judga
flor alt the copy which comes under his eye.
He is, however, a just and impartial man, and
has been known to retain on the paper an ex-
lceilent writer for whom he had mach personal
lantipathy, sitsply because he believed The man
Iof value to the Figaro. & #= ssE u = ~ I.
t. rs PER1yIER AND Ills scoor. *
| H. Perivier, the secreta;re de La reduction,
lis the right man in the right place. Unlike
most Frenchmen, he has Travelled a great deal;
land, what is more to the point, he has prodt=d
Thereby. / don't know how he commenced
Journalism. but he .taained his spurs by an
tarticle IN the Figaro which Informed an ans-
lious public as to the Whereabouts Of Marshal