The times., 1898-12-22
SMALL PAPERS OF PARIS.
Their Number Not Regulated by the De-
mand but by the Occasion.

lheir Number Not Regulated BY the De-
mand but by the Occasion.
From the New York SUM
The press of Paris, describing under
that generic term all the newspapers
published in the French capital, is
somewhat spasmodic group. the number
of newspapers being regulated not by
any ordinary rule of demand. but by the
necessity Of some public occasion. In
times OF excitement there are more pa
pers published IN Paris-not more copies
of established papers, but more nswspa-
pers-than in times of quiet. A great
sensation adds not so much to the num-
ber OF copies sold of any particular jour-
nal as to the number of newspapers pub.
lished, and whenever, as sometimes hap
pens, there Is a hull In public interest, ii
manifests itself not.in the suspension of
newspapers, for French newspapers
never suspend but in the disappear
ance of a number. for some Partisan
journals appear and disappear without
any apparent good reason for so doing
The population of the city of Paris by
the last census was. approximately
2.s0o.ooo, and the number of newspaper
readers in Paris was a little larger, per-
haps, than In other large cities. speaking
relatively, for the reason that practically
every one in Paris speaks or understands
French. for there are very few foreign
| ers in the. capital city unfamiliar with
the French language. According to the
| recently published Presse Annuaire for
isss the Paris newspapers this year num-
ber 25SI--more than ever before.
There are in Paris at present 10 daily
political newspapers. but how many there
VIII be next week or how many the week
after Is practically impossible to state
Some effort has been made TO Classify
according TO divisional lines the daily pa
pers of Paris which devote their chief
attention to politics, and Il has been
| found that 81 cone under the category of
| Republican, 30 are Conservative and IL
| are Socialists. The 81 Republican papers
are suodivided into moderate and radi-
cal Republican papers, opportunist Re-
publican papers which support whatever
| particular government is in office, and
Republican papers (which oppose what
| ever government is in office
The thirty Conservative papers are d.
vided into those that support the various
groups of pretenders. Orleanist and Bona
partist. the clerical papers. the financial
papers and the papers which cater to va
rious interests connected with the army
and navy. The Socialist papers of Paris
being thirteen in number only, are less
| easily susceptible of subdivision. but some
die ihoTe rduiCai tnan others and some
are more moderate than the average; but
the maintenance of thirteen Socialist
newspapers in one city is strongly indica-
tive of the extent TO which French papers
take up and consider politics.
| This state of affairs is rendered possi-
Bile by variety of conditions which do
not prevail in the United States. The
! price of French newspapers is high; the
reading matter is small in amount and
the space taken by 1t is very limited
| French newspaper readers do not require
much news and are perfectly satisfied to
| depend upon the postoffice as an ordinary
| channel of communication whenever the
| telegraph fails. More Importance is at.
tached TO literary style than to exact de
| tails in local newsgathering. and IL is
therefore possible to publish with entire
pecuniary success Paris newspaper from
the columns of which all items of expen-
sive news are omitted. Moreover, many
of the French political papers, so-called
are subsidized sheets. deriving their sup.
port. not from their readers or advertis-
ers. but from sundry funds" So long as
these funds continue the papers appear
when the funds languish the papers dis
appear, and to this condition is. due this
| fact that the number of daily newspapers
published in the city of Paris varies radi
caliy from time to time and in an appa-
rentiy inexplicable manner, under stress
of some local event which visiting stran-
gers would not regard as of considerable
| Importance. In France, outside of Paris
the number of papers published is practi.
l cally stationary. 80