The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-11-07

news features in the modern Greek Tho
papers are printed in the modern Greek, and If
you will slice page out of your Plato or
Aenophon you will have tho exact represen-
tation of how slice Of one of these newspapers
looks. IL seems funny to read OF patent hair
restorer in Greek and tho Greek advertise
ments, with their clap-trap pictures, look very
strange. The leading articles in the papers are
political ones, rs every Greek thinks himself q
statesman. At the time that the afternoon
papers appear you find the cafes of Athens full
o! men. They buy the papers eagerly and over
their resinous wine or mastik discuss the events
OF the day. They think the politics Of Europe
rise and fall in accordance rs Greece affects
them and the hack driver has no moro hest
fancy in expressing his opinions than has n
Member Of the Greek Parliament. There arc
only about 100000 Greeks in the Kingdom
and the kingdom itself is no bigger than the
State of West Virginia. Still those people think
themselves great factor in the worlds history
aud In its present and future prospects. And
it may be that they are right.
There is great deal of fun In tho Greeks,
and though my classics are rather rusty had
many q laugh over the queer sketches and stale
jokes gotten of in tho Greek Punch, known M
To Ady. or the paper that takes the place that
Puck aud Judge do in the United States Tho
paper Is only about one. tenth the size OF the
Judge though Its pages arc Just as large, and
some of its illustrations just as good. IL is
printed in black and white, and contains quite
good deal of comic poetry.
The japanese also have their Punch, and you
will find jokes printed in Arabic in the papers
OF Egypt. Newspapers are now published in
Jerusalem, and rs for India, Il has about 800
papers. printed in the various languages There
arc as many different languages III India ne
there arc in all Europe. aud ] am told that
these native newspapers issue at least quarter
oil million newspapers. ia no place In the
world Is money worth as much as II IL in India,
aud II Is fair TO presume that every newspaper
has something like 30 or more readers. Free
thought is by no means dead among tho Hin.
docs, aud you will nowhere hnd the educated
natives more alive than here In 1882 there
were over 1000 books published In the native
dialects In India. and only about one-thifd OF
these related 10 religion. There were 900
books Of poetry published. large numbers of
mathematical aud historical works, aud 23S
works OF fiction. IL seems strange 10 think OF
these brown-skinned offspring OF the writers of
the Nedas turning again to poetry aud phiiGs.
Opby, and Indeed the possibilities Of the future
In the way Of literature in the East are uu-
bounded Ii may be that the East In 90 be the
great newspaper field Of the centuries to come,
and the Indian newspaper with Its million sub.
Ecribers is by no means an impossibility. With
In century from now every Que of the odd
hundred millions of pig-tailed Celestials will
take bis Own daily. and IL is impossible 90 con-
ceiye the effect that the bringing of these mil.
lions Of educated minds Of Asia into our fields
of invention and thought may have upon the
future of the word.
FRANK @. CARPENTER.