Omaha daily bee., 1899-06-25

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 good many dollars
to the company keeping it.
Specialized Clippings.
Among clippers, as elsewhere, specializa-
tion works. Some bureaus give their whole
mind to things literary. To them the au-
thor, especially the full-fedged author, is as
the shadow of great rock in weary land
The minute a book is out-sometimcs even
earlier-the writer Of it receives their cir
cular letter, enclosing a sample clipping
a notice Of himself or his book-and asking
his subscription. The rate is S. per 100
clippings, or, If the writer be little known,
IS year. When competition is keen fig
ures are often lowered half. In case
the author should already have engaged
with another bureau it is not uncommon to
ask that the later conner be allowed to send
clippings also, receiving pay only for such
as are not duplicates of those already re-
/ ceived.
Besides notices and reviews the literary
bureau WILL If ordered, send all manner of
! literary intelligence. 1t is thus a very
present help to those who live away from
| the great centers. 1t is a question, how
ever, If the bureau is not equally boon
! to those in the great centers. Life there
| Is so tense and crowded one has but little
| time to seek out items for himself.
Certain facts in clipping history bear out
the idea. Emperor William, for example
is much too busy to read the papers, yet
needs strenuously to know what his world
| is saying of particular things. So he has a
scrap book, in charge of a court officer
whose business 1t is to see that every
| morning 1t Is brought strictly up to date
and duly submitted to the imperial eye
! w. t. Stead another very busy man, is
credited with possessing a whole library OF
books made up of clippings, 1t fills three
dingy rooms in a London house and II
said to have suggested to him the plan OF
the Review OF Reviews.
Other bureaus concern themselves mainly
with business affairs. They give to theil
subscribers not only all that appears IL
print concerning the subscribers lines O
business, but advance intelligence of sucl
things as the letting of contracts, the adop
tion OF building plans, new materials, in
Ventions, discoveries, legal decisions affect
ing commercial interests, also legislation
While the Dingley bill was pending ever!
! nrm interested in the wool trade receives
from Chicago bureau every scrap OF in
telligence bearing on the wool schedules
1t Is the same with other staples-cotton
copper, wheat live stock, crop prospect
generally, The whole material world ndeet
is the business bureaus parish, and one tha
is very carefully looked after.
The very latest development Is IN
bureau OF medical intelligence, which col
lects and distributes whatever is new Il
medicine. This not merely of the astound
ing discoveries that exploit themselves, bu
OF operations, experiments, theories even
which men eminent in the profession pu
into print. They are. OF course, alway
available to the men who know where t
hnd them and have time to look.
One needs Imagination TO see anythin
picturesque in the mechanics OF clppinl
One establishment with over 100 employe
shows 10 the casual eye only ranks and row
OF men and women, reading. blue pencilinl
clipping, pastng and stamping Th
bureaus usual output is $4,000 clippings
week. Under rush order II could clip an
mail 100000, There Is AN elaborate syste1
OF card classification. The cards are hun
on hooks in stair-steppy rack some fol
feet across, and running the whole length
a very long room. Nearly every hook
filled, but the fact is far from being solely
comment on human vanity. 1t needs but
little reflection to see that the clippings II
the whole gamut of human passions, nece
stiles and desires.
With that in mind certain sense OF trag