The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-04
NEWSPAPER ChIPPIYGS.
Great Growth or the idcn THAT Camc to the
Nnn Who stnrtcd the FIrst Bnrcnn.

Great Growth or the Iden THAT Camc to the
MAN who started the First Bnrcnu.
This idea with millions in 1t came first TO y
man who faced In his next week n disagrccablc
potentially OF hunger. The potentiality would
become n certainty unless before he exhausted
tho remains of his last coin. just broken, he had
hit upon something whereby 10 earn other coins.
II was in Paris, just about the time Of the Salons
opening. The man in hard luck sat eating
~frugally. in n restaurant, lie dawdlcd a bit over
his food, watching between mouthfuls the stream
of brcakfastcrs, who ate briskly, with tho mir of
men who knew what they meant to do aftorward.
The man watching wished himself In like
case. Naturally his mind was alert. He noted
every dctail-this ones walk and that ones nod,
the set OF anotheris coat, and the scowl which
wvnt along with the tip OF still another. That
Is how IL happened that the man and the minute
met to evolve the idea. Less alert he would not
have noticed that a certain artist, after he had
eaten, walked up to the dame du compton and
received from her n handful OF papers OF the day
before, each containing a reference to tho artists
picture in the Salon. The artist paid for them
libcTally-at least ten times the original cost.
and inurmurcd thanks besides to madame for
her thought ana trouble in the matter. Then
he went away The idea, though, remained. \
now business had been born into u busy world.
This man has paid for n handful of papers
that mention him. There arc other papers
other men. too. Perhaps they will do likewise.
At any rate IL is worth trying" the man in
search OF a vocation said to himself. Then he
paid for his breakfast, adding n tip "for luck"
and scurrict or TO make the round OF tho
studios. 1t is needless to particularizc further.
The clippings bureaus had their beginning in
just this haphazard fashion.
The scheme took like wildfirc. Soon the man
had IA complete establishment in Paris, another
in London, and n third in New York. As he
could not protect II by letters patent. OF course
the burcas increased and multiplied. Now the
whole world Is their parish-cycn outlying re-
eions like Cape Town, in South Africa. and Mel
bourne. Australia, can boast them in plenty. As
for Europe. India, and these United States, they
are blotchcd and snattercd with them. Nor il
that tho whole extent Of tho ideas growth.
The railways and express companies have taken
II home to themselves. Once they were among
the stcadicst and best paying patrons OF
the regular bureaus. Now :hcy have learned a
trek worth two OF that. l. Is to collect, pre-
serve. and classify clippings for themselves.
Their ngcnts all over the country have orders to
preserve and send TO headquarters everything
touching their own line, or railway matters i'll
general. which appears in the local papers. The
clippings are tabulated and put into books. duly
indcNcd at the city offices. where other clerks
are kept busy co%llating and running down rail.
way items in the big city sheets. Often the
scrap books have proved OF great value in dam
age cases. With the express companies 1t is
much the same.
Outside this great branch is now computed
that the business OF furnishing newspaper clip
pings employs u capital aggrcgating lift ccn mil
Hon dollars, and gives employment To something
Ike thirty thousand people. Pretty substantial
fruit that for an insubstantial idea. Nor is It. as
"a g ME might declare. who'll? a harvest OF
vanity. II gives one a new and vivid comprehcn-
sion of the enormous reach and tremendous
latest orders In a wcll.cstahli.hci bureau. Here
q IMAM wants everything about the N-rays. Below
HIM "a tnancicr is down for Nicaragua and Pan
anna canal matters. In the next column XIX
wants reports Of divorce cases everywhere. and
right underneath an anonymous person is eager
Tor southern outraScs. Matter on spiritualism
Is another order. the. North Pole another. and
electric inventions a ihird. Several people want
South African clippings. There are Cuban or
manner OF religious topics. This. wholly aside
from the personal touch which gave the bureaus
come from those who would please the
artists, the makers OF books. par
As the shadow OFFS great rock in a weary land. !
90 Is The obituary habit to the men OF clip.
About an! man OF moderate prominence they
are reasonably SURE Of gathering from five
hlndrcd 10 q Thousand clippings. There is a
sort Of correlation among certain OF the bu.
rolus, which enables them TO get whatever is |
printed nywhe on the globe, within a very
bri"t space. Prominent men are nearly always
among clipping bureau subscribers. II they
ar" no.. either the grief. or the JOY OF those
they leave behind -%uiticcs to insure IN rkct FOR
the m%urtuary harvest. Perhaps the biggest col'cc-
ton OF such thing, ever begun was tia: relating
20 IN" Late Jay Gould. His heirs ordered =" every.
q ling, but Withdrew the order when. within
tho space OF three weeks. the cn,rrpri,iny Hl.
IEaG man had cGrrIllCt eleven thousand odd. |
George ". thilds. whose WIDOW gave q clipping /
man u similar order. The end o; The clippings
was a SGT q; scrap books. Each bit ut print. /
great or small. was pasted accurately in the
middle ut u great squ"r' of grnyish Bristol
h"irG. and then The boards were bound into big
volumes. covered in black morocco. and lcitcred
in sold upon the back. In Memory % George
" .thiIGS. There was u sh"!ttUl o.fthc volumes. I
The cost of making them went away up in the
thousands.
social -trugglcrs are another fruitful field.
People On the fringe. or the fringe o. the fringe. /
tccl their footing ever 80 much more secure when
they are mentioned IN cold print-cycn II the
mention Is a bar" " also present Further lib
lions Of every sort. rhrn there are lawyer, who
went the probate % "iil- everywhere, lists OF
lL.LE-- Inl NOT lL.n. ~ LD.Ll...N.-