Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-02-08
THE PARTISAN NEWSPAPERS.
ma Newsboy Unknown on the Streets Of
the French Capital.

M Newsboy Unknown ON the Streets Of
the French Capital.
One of the most characteristic street
sies of London and of New York is never
lard in Paris. nor is one Of the most
picturesque figures in the streets of Lon
don and Of New York ever seen in the
streets of Paris. for in France the noisy
end pertinacious newsboy is unknown.
The functions of this unstable dissemi-
aator OF intelligence are filled in Paris by
ehe staid old dame who sits at the receipt
3 fcustom in a kiosque. A Partisan kiosque
has nothing oriental but the name II is
Q little sentry box Of glass, Just large
enough to shelter the news vender from
ne changeable weather of the French
capital. On a little stand in front of the
Mosque are tiny heaps Of the countless
newspapers of the city, and on strings on
each side are pendant numbers Of the
chief illustrated journals, artistic and
comic. These Mosques are scattered
along the boulevards, and from them the
Partisan buys his Figaro in the morning
md his Temps at 5 in the afternoon.
This difference of attitude letween the
hurrying American, who has to have lis
newspaper brought to him in haste hot
from the press. and the leisurply French
mnn, who il content TO pick up his paper
when he goes abroad this difference is
far more than external: it is essentially
typical Of the ~irreconcilable difference be-
tween the French journal and tire English
q American newspaper. For n thing,
the French Journal is not a newspaper in
Che American sense Of the woodland Of
etruth it does not pretend or desire 10 be.
THE Figaro now and again makes a
iudicrous claim TO the ubiquitous
emniscience of The London Times or The
New York Herald. but this is not to be
tken seriously. The fact is, that while
he primary quality Of a good English or
American paper is news, the PRIMARY
quality Of a good French paper is mob
news, but criticism-criticism Of politics
IN the first place, Of course. and, in the
second, criticism of commerce, of law, OF
finance, of science, of art, of literature,
and Of the drama.
The aim and ideal Of the best French
editors is TO present not so mlch the
minor dsails Of a f.ct, but the best posi-
bic opinion on the TACT. or mere brute
news, minute particulars Of scandals,
crimes and horrors, such as we here iD
America have dumped upon our break
fast table every morning. with all the &C
eompanying repetition and accumulation
of embarrassing fact-of all this the reader
Of the Partisan journal sees little or moth
ing. The childish or unintelligent thirst
% know what has happened, regardless of
the importance of the event, has not vet
been developed in France by the rivalry
Of scrambling editors; and it may be as
serted without fear Of contradiction that
sven if they could have it without cost
and without trouble, Trench editors would
refuse TO print most Of the trivial trash
which cumbers the columns Of even the
foremost American papers.
1t is not that some Partisan papers do
not print trivial trash and trash worse
than trivial; the difference is rather in
aim, the French editor thinking first Of
criticism and the American editor only
too often thinking Of mere news-first,
last and all the time. Yet the leading
principle which should govern " in
news gathering is better understood il
Paris than in London or New York. This
Is the principle which has been aptly called
the perspective of news" and by virtue
of which a tritling accident in the imme-
date neighborhood is of more importance
than a great calamity 1000 miles away.
As V~illernessant concisely put it, "A dog
run over on the Boulevard DIES Itlliens is
If more consequence TO The Figaro thar
an earthquake in Australia" II we sui
ritutc for the injured dog Il picture ex-
hibitcl or a new. play produced, we have
Just the things about which the Partisan
papers give the most news,-Brander
Matthews in The Century.