The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-09
hooks AND THEIR BUYERS.

BOOKS AND THEIR BUYERS.
If the confirmed pessimist and his
constant associate, the unadulterated
demagogue, having laid down the prop
osition that things are going headlong
to the bad and that the rich are getting
richer and the poor poorer, were to
make a tour Of the book stalls or an
inspection of the publishers announce
ments, they might find matter that
they could make appear to substantiate
their proposition. They would find
there editions de luxe, in rich bindings
and heavy paper, with reading matter
set in the luxury Of primer, large, gen
erous, eye-soothing, but extravagant
in space, and they would find the cheap
edition Of the same author in Taper
cover, on the cheapest Of pulp paper,
with theE same reading matter set in
frugal nonpareil or economizing BREWER
and conserving space, reducing volume,
but wearisome to the eye. The pub
Usher recognizes the universally Of the
literary taste, the mental hunger, that
knows no discrimination of wealth and
poverty, and adapts his editions to the
purchasing power of both.
From the relative proportions of the
quantity Of these products of the press
our pessimist could draw the further
evidence Of the preponderance of the
poor, for the editions in cheap print
paper and bindings vastly exceed those
libraries of the wealthy, and, in their
various gradations Of price, adapt
themselves to all the intermediate
grades of financial status. There is
hardly an author who has stood the
test of time and proved himself immor-
tai in his works whose books cannot
purses Of the rich or the shallow ones
Of the poor. But it is not in these
graduated editions of the same author
that the hunter for facts to sustain a
thesis would find his strongest evil
dence. Publishers recognize that we
have with us class Of people able to
ignore the mere question Of cost and
DESTROYS Of having their libraries sus-
tain the evidence Of wealth given by
their other surroundings. For these
there should be books that would &C
cord with the social exclusiveness
which wealth generally arrogates to
preserve it's distinction, and for which
there must be no cheaper editions. The
book lover whose scanty income COM
pels constant attention to questions Of
cost reads the publishers announce
mentaof some work which he would de-
light toe get, but is dismayed ty the
price made that puts it beyond his
reach and restricts it's owners to those
fortunate ones whose purses are more
p1ethoric, and to whom the pocket
does not SO imperiously inform desire
that 81 cannot afford it."
To be sure this would be slender
ground on which to rest a conclusion
that the rich are becoming richer and
the poor poorer; but, as we all know,
neither pessimists nor demagogues are
very particular in selecting their proofs
if they can be made plausibly to ap-
pear such. The cheerful optimist, tax
ing the same facts, might we'll main
tain that the editions de luxe only show
that there are persons whose wealth al
lows them to indulge their tastes. And
when did society never have any rich?
On the other hand, when in all the
worlds history could the poorest get
mind food so plenteously or at so low
a cost, and when was there ever a time
that the poor did not vastly outnumber
the rich? So far, then, from these con-
ditions establishing the assumption Of
the increase Of the rich and the pow
erty of the poor, do they not demon
strate the contrary? For what is
wealth except the ability with which it
endows it's possessors to get what they
desire? Then are not our poor richer
in their capacity to buy books than any
of their kind ever were? If, then, the
rich do get richer, what is the harm as
long as the poor get richer also?