Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-06-13
A QUEER PAPER.
1t Has the Greatest Earthly Dignity and a
Circulation of Three.

1t Has the Greatest Earthly Dignity and a
Circulation of Three.
Instead of "the largest circulation" the
newspaper of the greatest dignity has
"the smallest circulation in the world"
says Current Literature. 1t is the Aus
trian kaiser's chronicle, the most curious
publication in Europe. It's proprietor is
Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria, who
publishes it for his sole benefit, and not
that of the public. State duties occupy
most of his time, and he has little leisure
to read the Vienna deilies. He wants to
know not only what goes on every day in
the civilized world, but also what is said
in Europe and America about the Austrian
government.
To satisfy this desire it would be neces
sary for him to skim through hundreds
of papers daily, but even then many a
pungent notice of himself or his govern
ment would certainly escape him. And
even if he were to employ a staff of
clerks to examine the papers and clip
out the proper article, he would be little
better off, for he would have no time to
read the mass of material which they
would hand to him every morning.
News, however, the kaiser muSt have, and
through this paper, the Imperial Review,
he gets it in richer and fuller measure
than any other man in the world. The
construction of the paper is as unique
as its object. The imperial news bureau,
which is almost department of State,
publishes it at a cost of 100000 gulden
yearly. The chief of the bureau who is
big government official, is assisted by
several sub-editors, each of whom is in
turn assisted by corps of trained clerks.
The work begins before dawn, when the
chiefs mail wagon proceeds to the depot
for the foreign papers. Once In the
bureau they are sorted to the different
countries or states and taken to the vari-
Gus sub editors. There is copy of
every leading paper in Europe, no matter
in what language it may be printed;
and there are also copies of several
minor Austrian papers in the different
dialects of the empire. The huge pile of
papers being arranged, the clerks go to
work. On any reference to the Austrian
government or the imperial family being
found, blue pencil is drawn through the
article. In this manner the readers get
through their work, after which the
marked pa pers are sent to the sub editors,
who read the articles carefully ahd con-
n
be reduced to a tsw lines, though if very
i'm portant little pruning may take place.
In all cases the original language and
style are closely preserved. 1t is, of
course, necessary to translate all foreign
articles into German, as the review is in
| thst language. This work of TRANSLATION
| takes long time, but can not be shirked,
| as the foreign critisms form an essential
part of the Review. In due time, how
ever, every paper has been read and
every article condensed, and now comes
| the last process in the construction of
this paper. It is late at night, for the
work is very heavy and the paper must
| be out for the emperor in the morning.
| Men famous for their penmanship do the
| finishing work. The selected articles are
given to them and they make three copies
one for the emperor, one for the for
| eign minister, and one for the secretary
of state. A fourth copy is never made,
and glimpse at one of the three is never
vouchsafed to any one unconnected with
the bureau. The copy of the emperor is
written on beautifully tinted paper, and
at the head of the first page stands the
finely decorated title, journal Revue fur
| Sic Maiestat den Kaiser" The copies
of the minister and secretary are also
written on exceptionally handsome paper,
but of an inferior quality to that used
for the emperor's. The writing itself is
like copper plate, and no matter what
the hurry may be, excellence in this res
poet is imperative. There are usually
from sixteen to twenty pages in the
paper, but in dull times, when criticism is
| scanty, it falls as low as four or five. II
| is the emperor's regular custom to read
the Review as soon as he rises in the
morning, and if there is any specially
important article in it, he summons his
minister and has talk with him about it
At any rate he reads the journal from be-
| ginning to end and thus knows how be
and his government are regarded by the
| civilized nations of the earth. The ar
ticles may be old-as a matter of fact
each journal is a day late-but they are
new to him.