The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-01
Statistics of Great Interest.

The publication of government Statis-
tics few days since shows the United
to be fully as well supplied with public
libraries as any European nation besides
possessing the additional advantage of
the institutions beeing freely open to the
people at large without distinction of
class. which is far from being the case in
the older civilizations.
1t also appears that the character of
the literature prevailing herein
Guiding both that contained in public
libraries and that distributed amongst the
people-is vastly more suitable to the re-
quirements of the general public than is
the case abroad.
There is a somewhat less general dis
seminatiOn of the class Of works valuable
alone to savant5 and proportlonately
larger distribution of works of popular
educational worth, the classification of
this character Of volume shows a great
ami increasing demand by Americans for
books of reference, such as encyclopedias,
which fact speaks loudly of the KNOW
edge-loving prOclivitieS OF our people.
We are not, it appears, at the mead OF the
list as far as nun Der is concerned, IN re
gard to the authorship of such works,
can scholarship and brains are much more
suitable in every way TO the wants of the
average reader than are the ponderOus
tones of Europe. Concentration without
diminution of Information appears TO be
the guiding principle of our compiers,
whilst under expansion without proper
Tomato increase of value seems to be the
plan upon which Europeans work. With
the view of being able 10 supply our
readers with the best encyclopedia posi-
BILE Of attainment we have made special
study of the sub ect and md these state
ments fully borne out by our experience.
In these times of rush ana hurry we
want everything boiled down. The day
of the lOng-drawn-Out is passed It's fate
was sealed when the locomotive and the
palace car displaced the OK wagon and
mail coach. Concentration and condensa-
tion are the watchwords these last days
of the Nineteenth century. The modern
encyclopedia is the outcome Of this spirit
of wanting much in little. Our fore
fathers were satisfied to visit libraries
and toll through numDerless volumes to
gain the knowledge that to-day one can
find in a few minutes in any good encyclo-
pedia. The encyclopedia itself, however,
in the last few years has undergone great
change and tae numerous volumes of
which they L s ID to consist have been re-
duced in mum oer-not by the omission of
anything, but the concentration Of mat
ter-the elimination of superfluous words
The Rand-McNally Encyclopedia and Ga
zetteer. which we are enabled
to place in the hands Of
our readers at nominal cost,
is The latest evolution in this class of lit
erature In its one volume Of 500 pages,
which include 50 colored maps all is con-
tanned that is of of any use in the eX-
pensive and unending Encyclopedia
Britannica and Chambers Encyclopedia
combined; besides which there is an adj
dition of matter specially pertaining to
this country and all subjects are brought
up to date IL is an embodiment Of the
spirit of the age. IL also represents
other features OF the times in the periec-
ton of It's leJter-press and in its lllustra-
tions. The most painstaking explanation
ana description Of any unfamiliar OBJ ect
often fails TO convey a correct idea, but
with the aid of an Illustration the eye
comes to the assistance OF the mind and
the matter is at once made clear. The
copious and accurate illustrations con
tanned in tho Rand-McNally Encyclo-