The Portland daily press., 1890-03-01
the SPECIAL SUNDAY EDITION.
Pains Taken and Money Spent to
Make 1t Popular.


NEW York, Feb. 9T.-The output of
the metropolitan press on a Sunday Is
one of the modern marvels Of literary
and mechanical industry. Twenty years
ago an eight or twelve page paper was
looked upon as q remarkable stroke of
enterprise; now the publishers do not
think they are abreast Of the times un-
less they give you at least half pound Of
reading matter, embracing from twenty
four to forty-eight pages. Still greater
is the wonder that the managing editors
so succeed in diversifying the matter
which they send out to the public that
one feels dissatisfied with single journal
and equally unhappy at his inability to
swallow the entire mass of interesting
literature at one gulp. Thus every paper
has an individuality of its own, physi-
ogomy, SO to speak, as distinct as that in
persons Its pictures, themes, range of
thought, method of treatment and gen.
eral style all vary from those presented
by the other papers, yet all are attrac-
tive to an extraordinary degree.
Take The Herald, Sun, World, Times,
Press, Star and Tribune, to say nothing
of The Sunday Dispatch and Mercury,
and you have as many unbound volumes
OF choice matter as a man can read in an
entire week. Yet there are thousands
who buy the whole lot. The politicians
constitute one class of purchasers; the
ladies are likewise a numerous body OF
customers; advertisers are eager to scan
the want columns; others are following
the "To be continued" stories, whilehun.
dreds of literary people, with scissors and
paste pot, transfer to their scrap books
the many articles they desire to preserve.
More than one person within the writer's
acquaintance employs a secretary whose
duties it is to Gull, classify and index the
material selected for future use, and in
the library of famous correspondent.
whose name is familiar to the reading
world, score of shelves are occupied
with the scrap books that some day will
furnish him these best thoughts of the
best writers of our land.
1t is safe to say that within a decade
the army of readers has increased ten
fold; editors have, therefore, been COM
PEELED to keep pace with the progressive
demands of their more cultivated taste,
and thus we have better papers than ever
before. BY way of illustration, let me
briefly describe three of them as they ap-
peared on recent Sunday-The World.
Sun and Herald-all the titles referred
to covering articles ranging from col
umn to page in length, and not includ-
ing the current news of the day,
In, hn 4
devoted to the return of Nellie BLY, from
her remarkable trip around the world in
seventy-two days. One of these pages
contained an entire pictorial game based
on the event. 1t is safe to say that al
though the expedition did not cost The
World proprietor more than So 200, the
daily sales of the paper during her alb
sence have been increased five times that
amount. Other articles comprised Sal
vini's farewell to America and autograph
letter of adieu; the offer of ten thousand
dollar policy for the most popular police
officer in the country, the question to be
decided by the vote of The Worlds read
ers; special letter by CASTELAR,, the Bra
Spanish statesman, ON affairs in Brazil;
how an artist paints a portrait; ramie,
the new rival of cotton; the progress of
science and art; the story of a detective:
what it costs to keep brougham; what
is going on in society; new fads in note
paper, with the signatures of somo
of the fashionables; Annie Louise
Cary In diet kitchen; a brilliant
achievement in stage machinery; dra-
matic criticisms, with notes; how to play
baseball indoors; The Worlds funny
side; Bill Nye on his travels; a page story
by Rider Haggard; a sketch of Paul
Jones by Admiral David Porter, and a
page devoted to the entertainment of |
youth. In addition to this were scores
of lesser articles, and editorials and ad- |
vertisements galore. The index to the |
latter alone occupied the eighth of col
umn. Altogether, the single issue con-
sisted of thirty-two pages.
On the same Sunday, The Sun con-
tanned twenty-four pages, with guam
tity of reading matter that would have
equipped an ordinary newspaper for a
week. First came three columns of
brilliant gossip from its foreign CORE
pondent. Then an interview with Dom
Pedro, the ex-emperor of Brazil; talk
with Emperor William; graphic story
of the death of Cashier Lounsbury, Of
the New York postoffice; the death of q
lonely recluse; q part of the eulogy of
United States Senator Daniels, of Vir-
ginia, on Jefferson Davis; the art of
playing billiards; page of crisp edi-
torials; the romance of one of Jay
Goulds surveys; stories from the woods;
how to develop muscular strength ia
nous vase; gossip about boxers; sweet
woman's chatter; Goethe and his sweet
heart; London theatrical successes; the
science OF advertising; reviews of new
books; adventures in the Indian terri
tory; the new war ship Maine; when the
war ended; odd accidents, etc., etc.
The Herald leads with superior illus.
trations and well chosen literary and
news matter. Here are some of the
more important subjects: The Salvation
Army; glimpses of the capital of Vera
Cruz; science baffled by sixteen letters;
an evening at the Nineteenth Century
club; some advice for small incomes; in
formation for and from the masses; what
to eat and how to cook; practical hints
for riding horseback; footlight facts and
fairy fancies; the sunshine and shadow
of the theatrical season; the world of So
ciety; does the costume make the man or
the man the costume; how postal cards
made discord; the future Of the SOUTH
west; negro colonization; new German
air set to music; fame and how it should
be sought; old bells and handsome
steeples; millionaire's first quartet;
yacht shippers of celebrity; family of
champion skaters; the living voice Of the
constitution; mission work among the
colored people; a race problem, etc.
The foregoing is but sample of the
good things which the public are enioy-
ing as the result of the spirit Of com5eH-l
ton that has entered into The production
Of the best newspapers.
F. G. DEF.