Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1899-05-19
SMALL PAPERS OF PARIS.
Number Not Regulated by the Demand
But by the Occasion

Number Not Regulated by the Demand
But by the Occasion
The press of Paris, describing I'M
der that generic term all the newspa-
pers published IN the French capital,
is a somewhat spasmodic group, the
number of newspapers being regu-
lated not by any ordinary rule of de-
mand, but by the necessity Of some
public occasion. In times of excite
ment there are more papers published
in Paris-not more copies Of estab-
lished papers, but more newspapers
than in times of quiet. A great
sensation adds not so much to the
number of copies sold of any particu-
lar journal as to the number Of news
papers published, and whenever, as
sometimes happens, there is a lull in
public interest, it manifesto itself not
in the suspension of newspapers, for
French newspapers never Suspend"
but in the disappearance of number,
for some Partisan journalsappear and
disappear without any apparent good
reason for so doing.
The population Of the city Of Paris
by the last census was, approximately,
{, 500, 900, and the number Of news
paper readers in Paris was a little
larger, perhaps, than in other large
cities, speaking relatively, for the rea-
son that practically everyone in Paris
speaks or understands French, for
there are very few foreigners in the
capital city unfamiliar with the
French language. According to the
recently published Presse Annuaire
for 1899, the Paris newspapers this
year number 2,5S7-more than ever
before.
There are in Paris at present 140
daily political newspapers, but how
many there will be next week or how
many the week after is practically i'm
possible to state. Some effort has
been made to classify according to
divisional lines the daily papers Of
Paris which devote their chief atten-
ton to politics, and it has been found
that 81 come under the category Of
republican, 80 are conservative and
Is are socialist. The 81 republican
papers are subdivided into moderate
and radical republican papers, oppor-
tunist republican papers which sup
port whatever particular govern
ment is in office. The so conservative
papers are divided into those that sup
port the various groups of pretenders,
Orleanists and Bonapartists, the cler-
zeal papers, the financial papers and
the papers which cater to various in
terests connected with the army and
navy. The socialist papers Of Paris,
being Is in number Only, are less
easily susceptible of subdivision, but
some are more radical than others and
some are more moderate than the
average; but TIE maintenance of 10
socialist newspapers in one city is
strongly indicative of the extent 10
which French papers take up and con-
slider politics.
This state of affairs is rendered pos
sible by variety of conditions which
do not prevail in the United States.
The price of French newspapers is
high; the reading matter is small in
amount and the space taken by it is
very limited French newspaper
readers do not require much news and
are perfectly satisfied to depend upon
the post office as an ordinary channel
Of communication whenever the tele-
graph fails. More importance is at
tached to literary style than to exact
deals in local scattering, and it
is therefore possible to publish with
entire pecuniary success Paris news
paper from the columns of which all
items of expensive news are omitted
Moreover, many of the French polit-
zeal papers, so-called, are subsidized
sheets, deriving their support not
from their readers or advertisers, but
from sundry Funds" So long as
these. funds continue the papers ap-
pear;. when the funds languish the
papers disappear, and TO this condi-
ton IS due the fact that the number
of daily newspapers published in the
city Of Paris varies radically from
time to time and in an apparently in
explicable manner, under stress of
some local event which visiting stran-
gers would not regard as of consider
able importance. In France, outside
of Paris, the number Of papers pub
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