The age-herald., 1897-11-14

 humbug; all Americans worship the dollar, and say "Ala right" and ssGo ahead;" wear boards under their ehins. chew tobacco while sitting in rocking chairs and spit on the carpet and dress in black broadcioth frock coats; the girls are frlg1itfully free In their ways and wanb to marry French noblemen, and Clara Ward Is the national type; the married women are prndesj all Americans are rich, and the millionaines spend their spare time either an killing pigs or driving railway trains against lime; the great men of the land are Buffalo Bill, Edison, and Richard Hard ing DaYis-becauSe Paul Bourget told them so. Opinions are divided as to the American government according to the politics of the paper, the republicans affirming that 1t ds a. model government and the monarohists that it is badly or ganized and short-lived; but they all believe that Spain could whip us if she would half try.
 The editorial department of a French paper Is very peculiarly organized. While the editorial and reportoriaI staff of an American paper of the first class will contain from 60 to 100 men that of a representative Paris paper will rarely exceed ten. First comes the editor-in- chief. who is often the principal owner, and looks after the policy of the paper, and may sometimes write an editorla1--
 
 of a man like Rochefort or Cassagnae without whom the papers they edit would have no excuse for being. After the editor-in-chief come the collabora- teurs, who are not necessarily attached to the journal, and write political and literary articles over their own sigma lures, for which they are personally re- sponSlble, although the articles, of course, are in Line with the papers poll cy. These men come nearer to the regu- -G than any other, but they are free-lances, and may write for 8 dozen papers. Next in importance are the critics of the drama, music, art, and literature; they also are not attached to the paper, al- though each paper employs but one. All these men, the aristocracy of French journalism, are very Night workers; it is seldom that they write more than two articles 8 week. each containing about as much as a column in the Sun, and they consider that very fair production. The work, moreover, is very different from that of an American newspaper; it is done leisurely, never at might, and without any pressure regarding timell- ness As the utter absence of any curl oSfty to know, at the earliest possible moment, what is happening In the world, is characteristic of the French news paper reader, so is it unnecessary for the French editorial writer to hurry with his comment. It is given to no newspaper though 1t should bring the latest news from the moon, to divert either from his pleasures. It VIII reao as we'll tomorrow as today. Thus a French editorial often appears after the event which calls it forth has been for gotten.
 Perhaps the most important man or the Paris paper is the secretaire de re- daction. He fills the shoes of the Amera- can managing editor, night edltor, ci5y editor suburban editor, and copy reau- CTS He lis really the only editor the Paris paper has He reads every paper published in Pars; he has charge or the reporters and gives out asslgnments' he reads all the copy, local, uedesrapIlio' and special, and all the proofs' iaStiy, he makes up the paper and goes nome only when the first copy comes or the press. He is hard worked, but these many duties are possible because a French paper. deducting the continued storSes. prints in its four pages only the equivalent of about one page or Ine ouiis
 1t is when the reporters are collsld, cred that one finds the erea test aack or "a French paper, however. They are or Hhree cpassesLthe specials" the ordi- 11arieS" and the '1faitS dMVerS1ens. ine srspecials' include the sporting men, ane theatricad imam, and the fnterVleWefs; the stordinafies" the leghslat1ve ana count reporters, and those charged Wuth Iooak- ing after the various government oiIice5 all routine mem; the 'faits diveusieTs, the local men on police 9nd other crflni- nal cases and happenings or the street. All these reporters are cut out or tne same block. They have a dress wnlcn lis nearly a uniform-silk hats with wide, fat brtns, very long frock coats, ana flowing neck ties. They wear the hadr long. sport sticks, and carry flowers m their buttonhole having boards fashioned to a. pofut, a1nd wear yellow kid cloves Tt,t-t, fr~A as to be mistaken for @ boulevardier.
 The method of work of these gentle qnein is odd If they receive an assign ment-say a sensa tional murder or sul- eide case-they all go to a cheap care on the Boulevard and draw lots to see which shall be the man to go ito fhe po- lice station of the quarter in which the event occurred. The urllcky one hnaily goeas-strolling as far along the boule- ward as possible. At the police station he receives a written slip, perhaps thtr- ,ty or forty lines, telling all that the po- lice care to have known about the mat ter. Seldom is the name of a victim or a murderer given out, and the reporter has to be satisfied with the initials. He re euurns leisuTely to the cafe, and all the other reporters copy the slip when they have time That is all. AM the papers print the parag graph the next morning, and the public is satisfied. That is how the criminal news of Paris is gathered. Some times however. one or more of the papers get beaten on the item, because their reporters had another engagement at the time of the grand meeting of the reporters. Then the paper beaten cheer fully reprints the itsm on the following day, making the event occur one day late It makes no difference.
 An instance of tinfs slipshod way o4 doing business occurred In August One Tuesday morning a, man killed his wife and committed suicide. All the pa- pers of "Wednesday had the article ex- cept the Eclair and the Journal On Thursday these two papers, seeing that they were beaten. printed the item, but made the event occur on Wednesday morning. On Friday morning nlll the other papers printed 1t again, under the unisapprehension that they had besn beat esn the day before, but making the kill- ing and suicide l1appen on Thursday Of course tlis was all the fault of Vhe secretaries de reduction. But they are hard worked.
 It is curious to note how a paper like