The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-30
sLONDON'S DAILIES.
English Journalism
Has Many Queer
Features.
METHODS Of THE THUNDERER.
Old Times is Losing Some
of Its Ancient
Prestige.
METHODS OK THE THUNDERER.

periodical issued in the united kingdom
shall be sent to the British museum,
where they are all preserved in bound
volumes and filed away. The storage
of the newspaper files is a serious prob
lem to the managers of the museum,
and is becoming more serious as the
pile accumulates and the number of pc
riodicals increases. The bound volumes
are preserved in presses that slide on
rollers into the dark vaults of the
basement under the sidewalk, Each
press Will contain from 300 to 500 vol
umes weighing half a ton The Lon
don newspapers and periodicals, some
OIL those printed in the larger cities of
England and the leading foreign jour
nals are kept in more convenient quar-
ters 1t requires 1867 feet of shelving
to contain the bound volumes of Lon
don publications, and 1899 feet to con-
tam all the newspapers that are kept
for ready reference. The accumulation
is increasing at the rate of 333 feet a
year, or one mile in sixteen years.
In 1887 there were 1876 regular publ
cations in Great Britain, of which 101
We're issued in London. In 1897 the
number had increased to 3343 for the
united kingdom, and 1894 for London,
with total of 210S44 issues during the
year, an average of 673 newspapers and
periodicals daily. These publications
are not only preserved in the British
museum, but they are all examined and
the important contents are indexed, a
gigantic task at which between 20 and
30 persons are constantly employed, and
each writes upwards of 100000 titles
every year,
The oldest nawSpa narS- ~, 6Ia in +I,o
British museum are the London Ca
zette, 1865; the Edinburgh Gazette, 1899;
Pue's Occurrences, 1704, and the Siam
ford Mercury 171S. The London Ca
zette is the oldest newspaper in the
world except one. The Picking Gazette
antedates it about 5000 years. The
London Gazette is published twice a
week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, and
there is a tradition that 1t has never
failed to appear promptly on time since
the first number was issued, 1893 years
ago last November. Sometimes it con-
sists of only four pages; often it has
as many as forty pages, and about
Nov. and May each year it appears
IN the form of great volume of 400 or
800 pages which are necessary to con-
tain the notices for the ensuing ses-
sion of parliament, the tax list and
other voluminous announcements
The London Gazette is an official
publication. Bernard Harrison, the
editor, never writes anything himself,
but is responsible for the proper edit
ing of all the matter submitted to him
he does not have to bother about con-
tributors and the counting room peo-
pie do not have to work up the circu-
lation or solicit advertisements 1t is as
independent as the Congressional Re-
cord and about as interesting. 1t con-
tains no editorials but a good deal of
important news, which is anticipated
with the greatest eagerness by persons
interested, and its pages are anxiously
scanned. The paper is supported by the
government and contains nothing but
official matter 1t costs sixpence copy,
and has circulation varying from 49,
600 to 10000 copies. You find it in the
off1ce of every public functionary, in
every club, in the reading rooms of all
the large hotels, In every library, board
of trade and other commercial organ
izations, in every bank and in the office
Of every insurance company, on board
of every man-of-war in the British
navy and in every military barracks of
that empire whose drum beat is heard
around the world. 1t is kept in the
Office of the clerk of every court, and
many a lovely young woman scans the
pages of every issue to see the an
nouncements of goings on at the pal
aces. the engagements of the royal
FAMILY the appointments to office and
the naval and military orders. Hence
comes the familiar term that you hear
everywhere in England. When a noble
youth has been "gazetted" as honorary
attache at the British embassy at
Washington it means that the official
announcement of his appointment has
/ AnnAQFAd n Ia Of nj
able journal. When an army officer is
gazetted' to India, or prosperous
brewer is "gazetted' as a baronet the
paper assumes a personal Importance
The London Gazette is an epitome of
court life each day. Every ceremonial
at Buckingham palace or Windsor cas-
tie is officially described. and the pro-
gram of every future function is pub
lished. The account of the queens
jubilee filled several pages, and the
name of every man and woman who
appeared officially in the procession or
took part In the ceremonies was men
toned with the full titles. Everything
the queen does is solemnly recorded,
whether she goes to drive and who goes
with her, the names of her daily guests
and the hour at which dinner was
served.
Official dispatches to the government
from all parts of the world, diplomatic,
naval and military reports and corre-
spondence which the ministry desire
the public to read are printed in the
Gazette. During the Crimean war,
when the newspapers did not receive
kilograms and had few correspondents
in the field, the Gazette was the great
purveyor of intelligence, and its office
was besieged daily by crowds of people
anxious for news from the east But
M n Laws -
are usually discounted by the private
dailies, which arrange to secure early
copies and crib everything worth read
ing.
The advertising columns are filled
with government notices and an
nouncements, court calendars, partner
ship agreements and dissolutions,
bankruptcies, invitations for proposals
for government work and supplies.
During the great plague, when the
seat of government was removed to
oxford, the Gazette went also, and for
a time bore the name Of the oxford
Gazette. The paper has been printed
by Messrs. Harrison & Son, who have
had the contract as printers in ordinary
to the sovereign since 1888. I do not
know how many generations of Harri-
sons have been born and perished, but
the name has never been changed, and
day, is direct descendant of the ORR
ginal Harrison who first obtained the
work for his firm 161 years ago.
The first printing press in England
was set up by William Caxton in 1474,
in what was known as the almonry, a
little building adjoining Westminster
Abbey, where the aims collected in that
church were distributed to the poor,
and his original sign can now be seen
in the library Of Brasenose college,
Oxford. When the house was torn down
in 1S45 beam of wood was preserved.
and from 1t were made by a skilful
carver two sets Of chessmen as SOU