Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1889-09-25
A NOVEL 4 DAY.
The Average Of Some of the Con-
firmed DeVourers

I'VE have several customers who
read two and three books a day.' - the
proprietor said to an inquisItive WASH
Ington Star reporter. Zone man in
particular used TO come in regularly
every other or third day and carry of
each time from six 10 eight volumes.
He didn't appear particular about what
he read, but took them Just as they
came. He kept it up week after week.
too. He had a place in the Interior
Department, but was discharged not
long ago.
The proprietor didn't intimate that
there was any connection between the
mans reading habits and the loss of
his position, but 1t struck the repOI ter
that there might be.
The e are plenty of people who aver
age a book day, month in and month
out, ," he proprietor continued. These
people are mostly novel readers, of
course 1t gets to be a passion with
them ike anything else, and they'll
give all their spare time TO it If they
can't get hold of a new story as soon as
they have finished the old one they
don't know what to do wltu them
selves and are mIserable-ike a tlppler
whose rations have been cut off, or a
morphine eater who can't get the
drug
DO you notice much difference in
the class of stories preferred by men
and wOmeur' the reporter asked.
mo, | can't say that 1 DO. The
women don I seem TO be especially fond
of love stories. In fact some women
who come here won't read love stories
or novels written by women They
prefer the detective stories and myster-
les OF Du BOisgobey and Gaboriau and
Zola's highly-havOred stuff. e.. W
Reynolds sensational romances used to
have big sale, but they aren't in As
much demand as they were.
Haven't tie cheap libraries hurt
the sensational story papers a great
deal." the reporter inquired.
w ell, not a, much As l thought
they We're going 10 at hrst, the gen
tlemau said. II expected the story
papers would be driven entirely out OF
the Held D., the cheap Libraries, but
hardly think their sales have fallen .ls
much as - per cent. The papers have
10 keep booming themselves all the
time, though, or they lose ground
badly. They aren't the bouanZ.is they
used To be. The newsdealers wouldn't
he very sUrry II the story papers were
driven out Of the field altogether. the
margin OF profits ON them is very
small. and the worst Of II j., the people
who buy them are OF the charge It-and-
III pay-yOu-neXt-time' class. Now, If
they fail to pay once IL knocks the
profit OF OF a good many papers,
-'Ihe people who read the story pa
pers, then, ara of different class fro Il
those who buy the cheap library now
els?''
Yes, as a rule, they are. The peo-
pie who read these inferior novels and
serial stories get false and foolish ideas
Of life. This Is especially true OF the
confirmed story readers. Tney are the
worst Oi all. can tell one of them
almost Is quickly As / set eyes ON her
for the stoIy-paper readers are gener-
ally women. They have a wOuld-be
grand and romantic air about them,
USE bIg words ana theatrical expressions
AMI try to initiate generally IN their
manner the hiShly-wrOught characters
they read about III the serials. Girls
brought up from the time they are tit-
teen or sixteen on this sort of reading
aren't satisfied with a man unless he Is
like the heroes of their stories. and 50
they are apt To wait good while before
they find one who seems to promise To
come up TO what they call their ideal.
Aud then, if they do get married, IN
nnety-nIne cases out of a hundred they
soon discover that the promises werr
all false; that they haven't married
their hero at al, but only an ordIn ,Ty,
commonplace man, with not enc ugh of
tie story paper ideal To HIM To supply
a paragraph IN one of the sloppy seri-
ais.
These people with the story paper
habit" the speaker continued, ''seem
hardly able to control their lnpaiieuce
from week 10 week for the successive
instalments Of the rOmInces.n