New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-02-26

ed reading The single volume six-shing cdi-
ton has taken the place of the old time three
decllers. and subscribers now have three
complete volumes at one lending for their an
nual payment of two guineas. This change in
the form Of current fiction has tended to popu-
larize lending libraries and to increase the
number of subscriptions. At the same time. the
cost of books has been greatly reduced and the
waste involved in the purchase Of stock. which
will finally reach the lowest levels of ''the cata
combs" has been materially reduced In this
way Nudes has been enriched by the cheapen-
ing Of books during the present generation. The
subscriptions have not been reduced. and the
margin of profit has been brOadened considers
ably.
THE BOOK STALL SYSTEM
The book-stal system of the Smiths was in
PRODUCED after Mr.. Nudes lending library
was put in operation in London. The late Mr..
w. H. Smith proposed it when he was clerk
Of twenty-one and had joined his father in the
business Of selling newspapers and periodicals.
and he carried his point without ensting the
senior partners sympathy. one railway com
pany after another coded to the Smiths the eN-
elusive privilege Of erecting and managing book
stalls at the stations, until they now have
monopoly of the business only one railway line
in the United Kingdom standing out against
them With six hundred Of these book stalls
scattered throughout Great Britain and Ireland,
and with thousand additional sub-stalls, there
was the machinery at hand for the operation Of
a lending library similar to Nudes The eX-
pertinent was tried in 1860 and the book stalls
were converted into local libraries with regular
connections by train with an immense circuat-
ing library in the Strand.
The Smiths subscription library is operated
on the same general plan as Nudes, but the
mechanism is different. The book stall clerk is
the working agent At every railway station
of any importance he is on the ground 10 ar
range exchanges and deliveries Of books. and
the country subscribers are saved the expense OF
the carriage of packages. The orders are re-
ceiNed through him. and the books are sent out
to him for local delivery: and the records are
checked off at the central Office in London on
talIy-sheets corresponding to the station stalls
The clerk manages not only the local deliveries
of books, but also the entire business
Of the stall, including the sales Of fresh and
surplus stock, and also Of newspapers and
periodicals: and he also has supervision OF
series of sub-stalls at minor stations. The sub
scription rates are practically the as
Nudes the only difference being the saving Of
the cost of carriage The Smiths London. bust
ness is much smaller than Nudes. since the ar
rangements for deliveries are less systematic,
but the out-of-town lending transactions are
large and steadily increasing.
The Smiths purchase books more cautiously
than Nudes and consequently do not carry 50
large stock of moribund literature. They have
about go 900 volumes in active circulation, and
do not buy larger number of current works
than they have a reasonable chance Of selling
al second hand. Their largest order for popu-
lar work Of fiction for lending purposes viii not
exceed 90 and when the demand for it has
become stagnant, they have remarkable facih-
ties for selling it at second hand. since surplus
stock can be worked off not only at the central
office, but also at the railway stalls The Smiths
have an immense trade in books outside the
lending library. All the popular works OF hc-
ton biography and travel sold on large
scale in the Strand Offices and at the stalls In
addition to the secondhand business. they also
have a "remainders department." This is filled
with surplus stock from the shelves Of we'll
known publishing houses and is sold at a heavy
discount The Smiths not only subscribe largely
for their circulating library and make heavy
orders for the stall trade whenever new work
is published. but they also clear out the back
shelves whenever a publisher finds that he is
overloaded with surplus stock.
The Smiths are mOnOpOlists 50 far as the book
and newspaper trade at railway stations is
concerned and now and again Outcries are
raised that they are abusing their privileges.
The charge is generally made by disappoint-
cd author or struggling publisher who suffers
from discrimination against new book OF I'M
moral tendencies The Smiths undoubtedly are
able 10 infict great damage upon an author by
excluding a new book from their subscription
library and book stalls but their discretionary