The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-11-27
Paris Letter in the Sun.

Late one afternoon last spring an
American newspaper man ran across
the editor in chief of one of the most
prominent Paris evening newspapers
He was sitting en- the terrasse OF the
Cafe de la PaiX, and upon the dlminu-
tive table in front of him was a glass
of absinthe. Hardly an hour before
had occurred a calamity which had
stirred Paris to it's centre. More than
hundred people. the flower of Frehch
fashion, had been burned to death in
the ruins of the Bazaar de Ia Charite
The news had been brought to the
boulevards by word OF mouth: hun
dreds of victims. was the report ana
among them all the great people of the
old regime. 1t was the biggest piece
of news in twenty years; all Parls
was aghast.
The editor-in- chief beckoned to the
American and pointed to seat beside
him. He was greatly excited, although
he assumed calmness.
What a desolating thing it is,' he
cried. "Ah, my friend, France has re-
ceived a cruel blow! Well, we must
bear ur; we must have fortitude' we
French, whatever else we are, are
brave"
He went on. waxing reminiscent, then
poetical.
Presently the Americans nose for
news impellcd him to remark that none
of the papers seemed yet to have got
cut an extra.
The Frenchman's glance was really
reproachful. Always thinking of the
dollars!"
"What a practical people, you Amer
icans!"
The American explained. rather
strongly, that trustworthy news re-
garGing the calamity would relieve
public anxiety; as yet there was moth
ing but dreadful rumors, and each was
becoming more distressing.
AN EXTRA" echoed the editor again.
Then, with ali injured air he pulled out
his watch.
"Why, my dear fellow. do YOU know
that dine in half an hour!"
The American laughed, impolitely.
Tomorrow, my friend, tomorrow"
said the Frenchman gently. you will
he able to read it all tomorrow. IT is
too late this evening"
PRINTING THE NEWS.
1t was then not o'clock. At the
Presse, a puny little sheet published
late to give the result of the races,
10 a religious paper, the Croix, got out
an extra. Its printing office adjoined
the scene Of the disaster. and some Cf
it's compOsitors had helped at the res
cue; but it printed nothing but the ru-
mors of the street. Toward midright
two or three of the evening papers,
the reporters of which had finished
their dinners and made the usual
rounds of the theaters on free tickets,
tumbled over each other a the police
station nearest the scene of the disas-
ter. They got no news but some cX-
fras came out announcing in big black
type the facts that everybody knew.
In the morning each Of the papers
had two or three columns, not more
than two thousand words, still mostly
rumOrs. On the second day they
printed the police reports, which were
curious things to read. on the third
day the news began to be something
like trustworthy, and was of the char
acter that an American paper would
have had in press within an hour:
There was a diagram of the scene Of
the fire, and two or three hasty sketch
es of the ruins We're given in one Of
the most entcrprising papers. But it
was only when the weekly illustrated
papers came out. on the fourth day,
that the real story Of the calamity was
told. From that time until the eXpra -
tiOn Of three weeks the news came
out in Griblets, and at the end Of the
month the French press, with many
reretitOns, had told such a story Of
the burning of the Bazar de Ia Char
ite as an ordinary American paper in
town Of $4,000 people would have
told upon the following morning.
THE KEYNOTE.
This little incident the American
newspaper man thought, struck the
keynote of French journalism. Rough
ly speaking, a German newspaper
prints the day before yesterdays news
and a French newspaper last week $
Even then it is done cautiously, because
there seems to be nothing that Ger
man or French journalist is more
afraid of than live news. He treats il
as he would treat the business end Oh
a broken electric wire. When he runs
against anything Of any real import,
ance he is overwhelmed. But if the
press of France and Germany is chiefly
noted for the cheerful way in which il
drags you back into the forgotten past
it is at least better than that of ItalN
and Spain. The publication of papers
have doubtless remarked, might be de
ferred indefinitely so far as real news
is concerned. Most of the 12O, 600 Amer,
leans who have been in Europe this
year must have reached the conclusion
that If one wishes to know what il
going on in France, in England anC
in Germany, as well as in the rest o
the world. the best place in which t
learn it is America.
The foreign journalists are not alonC
TO blame for this state of affairs; tht
public demand-or rather the lack of 4
is also responsible. A Frenchman
for instance, doesn't care whethe
there is any news in his paper or not
and he isn't even particular what timt
he gets IT. That is because his edu
cation has not been devised to Civ,
him general interests, such as the aver
age American has. His mornings, t
start with, are usually occupied Will
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