Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1899-07-27

Remarkable Spread OF unique Busi-
ness which Began with Fifty Cents
-Emperors. Business Men and Many
Others Among the Customers OF
Clipping bureaus.
Eighteen years ago man had an
idea, which he developed with nifty
cents, the last money In his pocket
Less than a month ago nalf q dozen
firms engaged In the business resulting
from that idea coalesced, and capital
lied their joint undertaking at $1,000
600. The story has been told more
than once Of how young Russian
American at the end Of his resources,
saw famous French artist pay hand
somely for papers several days old,
containing notices of his pictures, and
was inspired by the sight with the
thought Of making business Of fur
nishing such notices to whoever had
need Of them. To-day $4,000 persons
and $50,0O0,000 are employed in the
business of making and distributing
newspaper clippings. There are be-
tween fifty and one hundred bureaus
In the United States, nearly as many In
England and on the Continent Of Eu-
rope, others at Melbourne, Sydney, Cal
cutta, Yokahoma, Hong Kong, johann
nesburg, Natal, Buenos Ayres and Rio
de Janeiro. The biggest Of these are
In effect international. If they have
not branches they have instead a sort
of traffic arrangement, after the man
ner of the big banks, by which their
foreign correspondents fill cabled
orders quite as II they were received
over their own counters.
Even this does not mark the full
spread of the idea. Railway, telegraph
and express companies have gone into
the business on their own account. At
first they were among the best custom
ers of the regular bureaus, but pres
emily they began ordering local agents
to clip and file every line of railway
matter appearing In local sheets and to
send the clippings to the main office
where they are indexed and put away.
Several times an item so kept has
proved to be worth a good many dol
lars to the company keeping it.
Among clippers, as elsewhere, spe-
cialiZation works. Some bureaus give
their whole attention to literary mat
tiers. The minute book is out-sOme-
times even earlier-the writer Of 1t re-
ceives their circular letter, inclosing
sample clipping, a notice of himself
or his book, and asking his subscrip-
ton. The rate Is So hundred clip
pings, or, if the writer be little known,
So year. Where competition is keen
figures are often lowered one-half. In
case the author has already engaged
another bureau 1t is not uncommon to
ask that the late conner be allowed to
send clippings also, receiving pay only
for such as are not duplicates of those
already received. Besides notices and
reviews, the literary bureau will, If
ordered, send all manner of literary
intelligence.
Emperor William is much too busy
to read the papers, yet needs to know
what his world is saying of particular
things. So he has scrapbook, in
charge of court officer. w. L. Stead
is said to possess a whole library
made up of clippings. 1t fills three din
gy rooms in q London house. Some
bureaus concern themselves mainly
with business affairs. They give to
their subscribers all that appears in
print concerning the subscribers lines
of business, such as the letting of con-
tracts, the adoption of building plans,
new materials, inventions, discoveries,
legal decisions affecting commercial in
terests and legislation. The latest de-
velopment is the bureau of medical in
telligence.
One needs Imagination to see any
thing picturesque in the mechanics OF
clipping. One establishment with
more than a hundred employees shows
to the casual eye only ranks and rows
of men and women, reading, blue pen
cilling, clipping, FASTING and stamping.
This bureaus usual output is $4,000
clippings a week. Under n rush order
it could clip and mail 100000. There
is an elaborate system Of card CLASH
fication. The cards are hung on hooks
in a rack some four feet across, and
running the whole length Of very
iohS lOohi. %>cdliy SNSiy pOoh 10 hhNN'
Queen Victoria subscribes to more
than one bureau, but never sees the
clippings until they have been put in
books under the editing of some of her
family, which means, of course, the
leaving out of anything unpleasant.
The Prince of Wales also takes clip
pings from two sources. In addition
he cuts out with his own hands all
the pictures of himself which appear
in the public prints. Slurs upon his
family are said to touch him nearly,
yet to things said against himself he is
Indifferent. One can readily credit
that upon hearing that by his own
order a scrapbook was made for him
containing American opinions about
the baccarat scandal. The royal patron
dearest to clipping bureaus is the Car
Of Russia. He has shown himself ex-
ceedingly well disposed toward them.
A New York bureau man has made for
him sumptuously bound scrapbooks, all
Russia leather, and gold clasps and
| gilt edges, first about the death and
obsequies Of his father, Alexander ILL.,,
than about his own marriage and cor
onation ceremonies, and later In regard
| to the American journey of Prince Hill
koff, his Minister Of Railways. The
same house has now In hand clippings
about the Peace Conference, which are
fn L.. he Af I'm,