The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-03-13
PARIS PETIT JOURNAL.
How the Marvellous Journal is Man
aged. Printed and Distributed.

From the NeU lOfh World.
PARIS. Feb. 26.-"What is our secret ~
,.onoated NJ Cassigneul, as he received me
in his fine Office in the Petit Journal man
sion. "Wcn, what is yours! Enterprise,
Iiheraltvp We can say the same. Good
management? Well, as am the manager
+ INST not talk about that Yes, M. Mari
noni's idea of the anonymity of the writers
b9ing strictly preserved has greatly assisted.
The efforts of one and all are for the Petit
Ior,nal and for it alone. There are no
personalities here. and but one Individuality
hat of our juornal. Have our serials much
effect on the sale of the pa er! An immense
effect Most of our readers buy the paper
for the sake of the feuilletohs alone. So we
nav high prices to our novelists. ] think
be- Montepin has received The largest figure
maid for a serial story, namely, $4,000. For
The right of reproducing this feuilleton the
firm Of Rouff & Co. paid him an additional
$4,000, and spent about $4,000 i'll
advertising it. Twenty four thousand
dollars is a good price for a novel which
does not pretend to have any merit beyond
that of interesting a very large number of
readers. Yes, Xavier de Montepln is the
creator of this class of serial. he older
feuilletOnists are his imitators. Shall show
Won over the house and introduce you to
some of the staff? This is NJ Marinonis
room"
A lofty room white and gold mirrors,
painted ceiling and door-pieces o. Id Bouch-
er: stiff backed oak chairs covered with
green velvet.
The committe-room. We meet here
every Saturday and discuss matters. NJ.
Narinoni directs every thing. / will first
introduce you to Blaise Thlberte, other
wise NJ. George Roger, editor of our literary
w no IN, cto
that supplemenmentl Well, we were doing
so well seven days in the week we thought
it would be good to add an eighth day.
And it has paid well. Our circulation9 1t
averages 100000. We don't claim or
advertise 1,000, 600, because that average is
not definitely established We shall do SO
soon. Just at present things are compare
lively slack. During the recent Presidential
crisis we went up to l, 400, 900 day. Per-
haps now, you have noticed that after a
period in which the public has been very
eager for news it cools off. 1t is cooling off
just now. Salaries? Editor EScoffier gets
$1,000, Pierre Gttfard $4,000, and SO on.
All, here is NJ. Roger soffice"
A charming room luxuriantly furnished.
Heavy carpets, elegant furniture, some
choice pictures and engravings on the
walls.
81 think, monsieur" says NJ. Roger, ~
had the pleasure o. meeting you chez
Countess Kessler at dinner the other night
Yes? Comfortable here? Yes, we have moth
ing to complain of. The supplement is doing
very well indeed. My work consists chiefly
in reading manuscripts We get hundreds
every week. I have some two thousand
five hundred on hand just now, in the
cemetery, as l call it, and which l will
show you. OF all sorts and colors. Some
are the most impossible thingsl Lady con-
tributors2 Yes, very fair percentage. 1t
is young girls who send us the most jec-
tionable stories, many unfit for publication.
We pay SC line for short stories and for
serials according to the authors name.
Another part of my work is to answer
questions. Hundreds of questions of all
kinds, political, social, financial, ETC. Here,
for instance, Should | marry Nj. What's
His Name? from young lady. Questions
as to investments we never answer. The
other day an old lady in the country sent
me $1,000 and asked me to invest them for
her. Said she could trust nobody but me.
OF course had to refuse. One has pater-
nal role to play, which is sometimes fatigu-
ing All, here is the cemetery, All these
are full of MSS Do we return
MSS. Sometimes. We say we don't but
if stamps are sent we try to. People often
claim MSS. which they have never sent,
and try to swindle us. had very annoy
ing case of the kind recently. Poetry! No,
monsieur, we have not poetry reading
clientage"
Here we left NJ. Royer-an amiable gem
tleman and clever wliter-to work his way
through the $500 MSS. in his luxurious
salon.
NJ. Cassigneul then took mo to NJ. Pierre
Gift lrd's Office Pierre G ffard was long
time on the staff of the Figaro as spec al
correspondent. At the Petit Journal be
acts as news editor. An energetic looking
man, pleasant and courteous.
Il am trying to organize service of re-
portage on large scale. | want the Petit
Journal reportage to Dartake # the nature
Of government office We must have
tries put together. Already we get much
news before the government Offices. For
Paris we have large staff Of reporters, and
usual routine arrangements for police news.
But may say all Paris reports for us. If
anything happens anywhere stranger is
sure to drop in very excited. Sir, am a
reader of the Petit Journal / have
pleasure in informing you that so and so
mas Just happened in our house Does it for
the love Of the thing. Unattached reporters
are also always OH the lookout. We give
premium of 81, 50 or So for bit of orr ginal
local news. OF course, unless we know the
man, we confirm his information before
using it. five, or &c. line is our pay for
news reports. Flimsiesl No we will have
none OF them. Yes. A day or two ago
man gave us bit of news 1t appeard
simultaneously in the Figaro and LIE Petit
Journal That man 1el between two
stools, and his services won't be wanted
mere OF there any more. We pay at once in
principle. In fact, every ten days. re-
porter can, however, always get his money
II he wants it, In the provinces every one
OF The $4,000 news agents of the paper is our
correspondent; but besides, we have arrange
inents with some three hundred journalists
IN as many important towns Yes, it is hard
WORK keeping them together and in order.
ana there is plenty more work in store.
nave big scheme in my head"
And you are tho man to work it out" |
thought, as [ followed Mr.. Cassigneul
away
ne composing-room, various Offices OF
various members of the staff, the Geographic
department, with special wire allowing of
communication with all parts of the world
great saving of time-the postal depart
lneht, the town supply department, with
scores of small handcarts for the use of the
uStrlbutors-all these we visited.
=. Tie distributors have an allowance Of
4 %c' on every thousand they distribute at
me news agencies in Paris. Some men
make as much as IS a day. Their work
VVsglns at a. m. and finishes at 10 a. m.
es, tine places are much coveted. l have
looked the names and APPLICATIONS of some
yandltates for vacancies two, three years
ago.