Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-24

Inc cardS are nung on nO0kS IN n STAIR
stepy rack some four feet across. and run
ming the whole length OF a very long room.
Nearly every hook is filled. but the fact is
tar from being solely a comment on human
vanity. 1t needs but a little reflection to
see that the clippings run the whole gamut
OF human passions, necessities and desires.
with that in mind a certain sense of
trag1-comedy. or comic tragedy comes as
one looks. The commonplace manila en-
velopes fly out and about, freighted with
many things. Nlnety-nine may signify
nothing, yet the hundredth be potential of
JOY or grief, of failure or success. Par
tcula1ly among the personal clippings,
which make still so large part Of the
general business. Oddly enough il is not
the class one would look for. actors. artists
and authors-which is most avid of this
sort OF thing. Society people are even more
anxious to see what The world outside
thinks of them. This not only OF the great
lights, but those who affect TO ieplore pub
licity. The book of lat st orders N a big
New York establishment around horse
show and dog show times, and in the era
of important social functions, would reveal
much as TO the inwardness and inspiration
Of certain published things.
Actors Patrons.
The professionals, however, by no means
slight the bureaus good offices. They
could not afford to-neither could the bu-
1eau afford to let them. Witness these
two facts: Duse in the course of eleven
and lightweight personal clippings; Rich
ard Mansfield's order excludes the works
oil his press agent and critiques of his
plays as plays, yet in the season his week.
ly clippings bill often runs to thirty dollars.
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 any
thing unpleasant. The Prince of Wales
also takes clippings from two sources. In
addition he cuts out with his own royal
hands all the pictures of himself which
appear in the public prints. The greater
the caricature the broader his chuckle
over it. Slurs upon his family are said
to touch him nearly, yet to things said
against himself he is artlessy indiffer-
hearing that by his own order a scrap
book was made for him containing Ameri
can opinions in re the baccarat scandal
The Car of Russia.
However, the royal patron dearest to
clippings bureau regard is his majesty
the czar of all the Russias He has shown
himself exceedingly well disposed toward
them. Some of their notable orders have
come at his instance. A New York bureau
man has made for him sumptuously bound
scrap books. all Russia leather and gold
clasps and gilt edges. first about the death
and Obsequies of his father. Alexander III,
then about his own marriage and corona
llUH ceremonies ana later IN regard 10 the
American journey of Prince HillkOff, his
minister of railways. The same house has
now in hand clippings about the peace
conference, which are to form another IN
the series of imperial scrap books. They
are the finest ever made in New York,
exceeding even the magnificent volumes
in which Mrs BradleyMartin is preserv-
ing the eight thousand-odd clippings in
praise of her famous ball.
Uncle Sam himself has stolen the clip
pings idea, ard keeps at the White House
corps of trained clippers and a government
scrap book. President Cleveland is said TO
have looked at the scrap book just once in
his last term-that was in the course of the
Venezuelan crisis. Mrs. Harrison sub
sCrihed to the bureau on her own account,
and her daughter has many books full of
the things printed about Baby Mckee.
Mrs. Cleveland had a scrap book of per-
soral noticas-not, however, of herself, but
of her husband.
In Public Life.
The wives of many other prominent men
have similar books. which, it is both rea-
scnable and charitable to hope, do not in
clude the caricatures of their liege lords
Almost every man in public life is bureau
subscriber. Himself is the order oftenest
written opposite big name though in
many cases it is Himself and Pacific rail-
roads, or Himself and the Nicaragua
canal. or even Himself and the Agricul-
tLral Department"
oncle Sarl is, however, not wholly with
out conscience in the matter of clippings,
or perhaps h has learned wisdom by ex-
ptrience. 1t took fifteen thousand dollars
to buy for his archives complete file OF a
New \ ork paper covering the period of the
civil war; further the Townsend scrap hook
history of that war cost Columbia College
forty thousand Whether from conscience
or thrift, the government has just ordered
and received from a New York establish
ment a scrap history of the war with
Spain. 1t is in twenty big volumes though
most of the war pictures were left out The
volumes are bound in morocco cloth. and
cost the government a thousa nd dollars.
That sum, indeed, hardly covered the cost
OF making. but the bureau man has gath
cred duplicate set of clippings and looks
for his profit in them, whenever rich and
patriotic citizen decided to give a similar
history to West Point or Annapolis Stan
ford University has already monumental
SET OF scrap histories, bearing on every
thing American, and particularly the life
and works of its founder.
Some Queer Orders.
John L. Sullivan gets clippings-subject
not specified. Lord Randolph Churchill or
dered Everything unfavorable," and was
forced by the size of his first months bill
to exactly reverse his order. Nicola Tesla
wants electrical inventions" Edison is
more comprehensive; he orders clippings
upon above twenty subjects of living inter-
est. w. D. Howells subscribes intermit-
tentiy Tor real incidents going with what
ever story he may have in hand MANY
lesser lights of literature order unusual
real stories. Cne man who is said to have
plot factory paJronized by both novelists
ana dramatl~ts when Imagination lags
" ants all sorts Of haiIbreadth haDDanings
stores of elopen?en:' was another order
The maker of ii, stlIrSe 10 relate was rot
a realistic novelist. but a lucklesS lover
who hoped thus by ViCariouS eXamole TO
persuade his sweetheart to defy her parents
and make him happy. The Cramps get
every line printed in any part of the world
about any one of their ships. DR. Seward
Webb has everything about horses and G,
Oliver ise!in all about cup races. Mr. Iselin
has already a very fine scrap book of De-
tenders exploits.
Won Blumer-"Well. old man, how did YOU
like the Welsh rabbit i made you last
night"
Kingey-"Can't tell yet. Just getting ac-
quainted with it."-Life.