The Washington times., 1901-08-04
MILLIONS FOR LITERATURE
Americans Spend Enormous Sums
Annually for Reading Matter.

Americans Spend Enormous Sums
Annually for Reading Matter.
The Total Reaches SI74 4.9GS. .625.
| Newspapers Lead the List-Maga-
xines Are the Least Used Form of
| Reading Matter-SOme Statistics.
While the United States is spending
| S174. .965, ,625 year for lierature of all kinds
| it is drinking sl,24919i ,55S worth of aIco-
holic drinks. And yet this showing is not
so bad when compared with England and
| the rest of the United Kingdom.
| Recently the British Weekly has been
| at some pains to discover the relative
| cost of literature and. liquor in Great
| Britain. 1t has figured that s15009,000 a
| year is paid for books of all kinds and
| S19.0O0,e 900 for newspapers and periodicals.
| a total of 81. 1000 year. But against
| this the country spends $500, 900 a year
| for drink.
| According to this prestidigtator in
| numbers, facts, and figures, the United
States pays more for newspapers than
| for almost every other form of reading
| matter put together. He places this news
paper cost at the head of the list, as fol-
| lows:
Newspapers a4,1t9, ,e5I
School books and juvenila. ..........- S0.665 e71
Magazines and periodicals. .--.--.... l2.z5oUo
o. 90 CO
Total .sI14, 965, ,625
| The basis of these figures has been TAX
| en- with reference 70 the number of news
| papers the number of school children.
| and the average number Of readers of
| adult age in the United States.
| For the 81, 566, 436 persons over school age
| in this country, it is figured that an aver
| age of s1.50 each year for some kind OF
newspaper is low estimate. 1t will hard
| ly pay for the average weekly paper,
| whereas a considerable portion of this
adult population reads daily papers.
There are 16,73S,363 children of school
| age in the United States. The estimate
| of s1.S5 for each child. covering school
| books and the attendant juvenile litera-
| ture, is also low estimate. OF this total
number of pupils the fact that 1862. 4SS
| of them are in the priiirar y-...... ess.infnar
| grades of the public schools lowers the
average for the whole number. Much of
| this expenditure Is more or less compul
sorry. but 1t counts to the same economic
ends.
AS purchasers of the magazines and IL
lustrated weeklies, there are supposed to
be IL, 80 persons who will spend at least
an average of $3.50 year. Many OF these
are subscribers to dozens of periodicals.;
others are the buyers at news stands
upon the impulse choice.
Only about 2,2O00O0 people buy novels
as they run from the press They do
much of this simply that they may keep
up to date in literature. 1t is part of
their capital in literature 1t is a part
of their capital In society. Most of these
buy literally. Plenty OF readers are to
be found whose book bills for novels run
to 800 to $50 a year, steadily. At an
average of 81 spent by each, the total is
imposing in its seven figures.
But as compared with almost any other
features in the list, the money that goes
for miscellaneous and technical books is
striking. Into this field. of course, go the
books of the book manufactured" books
that are built only to sell to a class
which has more money even than 1t has
of Judgment and taste.
With these in that item, however. are
the books of weight and substance, many
of which cost so much in the making.
when technical skill is paid for and the
limited sales estimated. Then the in
Vulnerable editions de luxe swell the total
to significant sum.
mo country on the globe can compete
with the United States in the making of
books and literature to SELL" said this au-
thorfty. The phrase does not mean
Iightness and shoddihess, either.
I'm illustratiuns the American book
periodical and newspaper lead the world.
In the attractieness of covers and front
pages, We have no competitors. To lay
out an American print ia a show window
is to gain for It all the attention that art
naturally attracts.
Walk down street In any American
city or town. If you see crowded cor
ner somewhere ahead of you. it Is quite
as likely to be caused by a bookshop
window as by an exhibition of bargains.
To an old countryman. coming from some
European monarchy, 1t is a revelation to
study the crowd in front of bookshop
display. There are figures and faces In
it that are out of keeping with the arti-
cles at which they stare in deep interest.
man in faultless fashion may be at ell
bows with mechanic in overalls, but as
between the two. it would be hard to de-
eide which is more interested.
This is the secret of the American
publication. They are made to attract.
The reader is invited to read. Reading is
made easy; and not only that. but to read
a borrowed book is not sufficient. From
reading it the reader desires to own 1t
because of it's attractiveness of print,
plate, and cover.
las to our ma agazines and periodicals,
they are as popular in Great Britain as
they are at home. Our comic papers are
seized upon in England with more avidity
than ever was Punch or ''Sloper' in
America. l admit that a funny English
joke of funny English cartoon may be
the funniest thing of its kind, but there is
such wide distance between them. There
are so few of them in year"
As to the comparison of drink money
and that which goes for literature. at
least 1t may be shown for intoxicants
In other words. more beer and less whis-
key Is consumed every year.
In 1882 the United States consumed 49,
556,97 gallons of ardent spirits and only
524. .S43, ,379 gallons of malt liquor
Even with the enormous increase in
population In the last two decades the
figures for alcoholic beverages last year
were only 5000, 900 gallons. while the con-
sumption OF beer had more than doubled
to l 1,1I5. II, 900 gallons According to popu-
lation the consumption of wine shows de-
crease.
THE GEYSERS DRYING UP.