, 1884-03-02


What is an "AnecdotaT agencyi A small
printed sign directed visitors to the third
floor. Going up, / knocked and asked for
Mr.. Marteau.
"That is my name" answered a quick, wiry,
rather bald little man who opened the door.
aCan 1 do anything for your
"Your sign excited my cnriosity-but,
pardon me, 1 see l interrupt you"
@Not at all, " he answered pleasantly, clos
ing a volume OF the Encyclopedias Britain
nica' that lay before him. ~ see you wish
to NOW what my anecdote and biographical
bureau means. Mr.. Smith," turning to one
OF several men busily writing at different
tables, surrounded by encyclopedias and
biographies, "Mr. Smith, hunt up a few
more medical terms and points in regard
to cancerous affections and get down
the records containing Mr.. Hills course in the
senate. You will find them on the second
shelf, third and fourth volumes to the left
You find us pretty busy" again addressing
himself to me-. HOur business Is constantly
increasing, particularly at this time, when
probable presidential candidates loom up
every day or two"
what nave presidential candidates to do
with your businessi' | asked, not exactly
comprehending.
Everything in the world, sir. 1t is one Of
tho most important factors in our business
Why here, for six weeks, we had from The
Sun a standing order for an anecdote per
day on Bill Holman. Holman retires and
the order is changed to his successor and so
on. When a man is nominated, business Is.
OF course good, but nothing to compare
with the months Immediately proceed
ing the nomination. Before the June
conventions each of the leading papers will
nave put forward at least a dozen candidates
and we will get large anecdote contracts for
every one of them"
"Your business, then, is simply to sit down
and grind out jokes OF any kind and any
bodyF
"By no means. We always observe the
incest discrimination. / will try to give you
an idea of the laws that govern the selection
Of anecdotes. Take, for instance, The Suns
late candidate, Holman. We had a contract
to supply SO many anecdotes illustrating his
frugality and economic habits. BY look
ing through old files Of indianapolis pa
pers we learned where Holman was at a
given time, and then constructed an anecdote
of him at that place. OF course, you know
1t wouldn't do to have an anecdote OF him Mt
a certain place at a certain time, when he
was not there at that time. Obi yes, we
never get up an article without first knowing
that, II it was not, it at least might have
been true"
ado your anecdotes pay welli'
@Only tolerable; not as well as biographies
and obituaries A good biographical sketch
sometimes brings as much as $50. This one
Pm engaged on now of the late Senator Ben
jamin Hill, for a Georgia paper, will bring
S45. 1t comes high because of the trouble of
preparing the details OF his sickness and the
cancer that caused his death. An aver
ago biography you might put down at
$40. On the death OF any prominent
man our orders in this department are al
ways very brisk. Business took quite a boom
when Jerry Black died. The greatest boom
in our line, though, was the election OF Car
Isle. We have been fairly flooded with or
ders in both our departments, and anecdotes
and sketches OF the new speaker have been
made by the dozen almost every day since
his election"
"Does not this supplying Of several papers
with the same sketch cause troubleF'
"No. No one would dream they were
written In tho same office. True, the same
substance material is used in all, but the
style OF no two sketches is alike. Look, for
instance, at this batch Of Carlisle Anecdotes
l am constructing. The first one, l compose,
then Mr.. Smith uses the same frame but
clothes it in his style; another assistant
takes Mr.. Smiths copy and thus again forms
another style, and SO on, with each new
dressing a now style is conveyed, and the
kame nnecdote goes out to half a dozen papers
as original with each. But besides presidential
elections and similar events OF current in
terest, there is always a considerable stock Of
standing matter on hand-I mean anecdotes
of such men as Andrew Jackson, Washing
ton, etc, for which there is a quiet but
steady demand. We frequently receive
orders for new duels by Andrew jackson,
and sto,1as of Gtnpayvan .Iactyuo,, -o,,;,- l..
tho heat of battle, used at one time to be
very popular. Who patronizes usi Why,
the nSwspapers,o of course. A paper wishes
a certain man written up; they nave but TO
give us his name and we anecdote him In any
style or manner desired"
@What of your foreign correspondence
Are they abroadf"
yes" answered Mr.. Marteau, with a
twinkle in his eye, Eve have a large corps of
correspondents abroad. some as far as
Eighteenth street and Central park. One OF
my men here now is writing a Paris letter
for a Cincinnati paper. But 1 must ask you
to excuse me, as this biography of Senator
Hill is pressing. Mr., Smith, have you found
all tho points on ~encephaloid and epithelial
cancersF
Waiting to hear no more, 1 descended into
Vandewater street, wondering how many
OF the bright anecdotes and sketches one
finds in the papers as original come from
this New York Anecdotal and Biographical
bureau.