Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1893-03-07
name In the largest city of the European

name In the largest city of the European
continent.
We had thought the English papers sIov
enough, and every body knows they are
heavy enough, with their pondsrous lead
ing articles, their solemn regard for unim-
portant details, and their page after page
of closely set advertising matter. The
English papers, however, do at least give
you the news of the day. 10 fact they
give you q fair resume, eIoepitng from our
side of the Atlantic, of the news of the
world. But the PsrisiAn press does not
give anything like fair summary Of the
news of France; not even of Paris. II AZ
against Its policy TO do so. With these
French papers news Is q mere incident.
The great thing is to make q sensation,
and the next TO afford examples Of fine
writing, while another very obvious pur-
pose is to enable scribblers to write them
selves into notoriety, which they can do
more easily in France than either In
England or America, because, as q rule,
all articles here are signed.
Perhaps, though, we ought to revise
this classification and say that French pa
pers are run chiefly to make money, and
70 do this by whatever means may prom
ise the surest and quickest returns. Speak
ing of advertisements In Eoglish papers,
1t is anything but pleasant to take MP
the London Telegraph and fnd its eight
pages, as we hsye done many timss-di-
yided of into Ave for adsertising matter
and three only for what fellow wants to
read. 1t is also exasperzting to find long
winded editorials where you would like to
see bright allusion to passing events. But
IN England you are never puzzled to know
where the advertisements break of and
the editorial opinions begin, whereas in
FRANCS this Is form of perplexity which,
like the poor, is with you always
But the blame for their apparent short
comings must not be charged exclusively
upon tie newspapers themselves. What
We find in the press OF France is only
another instance of like priest like peo-
pie. The Parisisn public knows wis, Il
wants, aud 30 evidently do Persian edi-
tore. Some one has said that to the peo-
pie of Paris an accident to q dog on the
boulevsrds Is more interesting than q
European catastrophe. So 1t is in one
sense, and they insist that their press
shall tell them of such small happenings
as these, not caring apparently for much
beside. That the people of a city SO large
and SO cosmopolitan should be 80 very
narrow in their views and sympsthies is
one of the things that has sstonished US.
To the Partisan mind not only is Paris
France, but France, Ii would teem, is
nearly all there Is of the world, and 1t
Is of France, therefore, which is only
another name for Paris, that they want
to hear in the columns of their daily
press.
And what they read must have the
genuine Psrisian favor about 1t. That is,
It must be very highly colored, must
deal largely with intrigue, must mirror
In light fashion the gossip and move
ments of society, and must be interest
ing and piqusnt, even If facts have TO be
perverted to make it so. For what Pa
risisns desire to have served up to them is
not facts primarily, but articles which,
with just enough basis TO give an air of
probability to what is said. shall grstify
a purient taste and appeal strongly to the
Imagination. And one cannot help OBJ
serving, apropos of this, that II the naked
truth were more common In Partisan ps-
psrs, and the nude figure lees so in its
art galleries and print shops, this big
city would have more to boast CT than
she has at present; certainly SO on the
score of morals.
Which reminds us, however, that ssla
cious court proceedings are not nearly SO
much a feature in French newspapers as
they are in EugliEh. This because the
law interposes in France to prevent such
degrading publications The testimony
In divorce cults IL never puolshed; edi
tors and readers alike have to content
themselves with the findings In such
cases. In England, on the contrary, you
get such slush by the wagon full, the
newspapers thcre-eyen the best of them
going to such lengths, when the law
on the publication of evidence allows
them, that they are called to order some
times by even the sAlsoious press Of this
city on the Seine
Doubtless, though, Ii is q case of sour
grapes with these Paris editors. II GER
tainly must be, for the brightest reporters
in Paris are constantly on the alert for
just such copy" barring names and
dates, and 1t Is not too much to say that
matter appertsining to domestic discord
and Illicit affection, or at any rate having
decided trend toward such things, forms
the staple of Psrisian newspaper reading,
whether you judge Of 1t by the serials
offered for perusal, or by the columns
devoted to real or fanciful happenings In
daily life.
The newspapers of Paris are in guam
tity altogether out of proportion to their
quality. Their name is legion, and when
one thinks how venomous msDy of them
are, how spiteful in their attacks on
chsract and how destitute of high NOR
al tone, Ii Is impossible not 10 think of
those mslign agencies, by whom, as a GER
tain good book tells ne, that name was