The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-08-31


from New York--the unpleasant
things printed about them are often
kept from their eyes, while Depew
reads the "roasts' he receives as we'll
as the compliments, and what is more,
frequently laughs at them and almost
never gets angry about them.
1t may be said, in passing. that ac-
cording to a member of the American
diplomatic service. who ought to know
what he is talking about, the Emper-
or Williams plan of keeping posted is
very nearly identical with Depews,
and that the Kaiser and the Pope give
more attention to each DAYS news
than any other European rulers. Eng
lands King comes next. but he reads
few newspapers himself land no hooks)
depending on the talk Of his intimates
and his secretaries for his news.
Russell Sage reads the papers per-
sonally, but his reading is mostly
along certain we'll defined lines. OF
course he reads the financial news
most closely, but he is also a careful
student of current politics. This latter
is natural, since he was once a politi-
cal power and sat in the lower house
of Congress Though so long ago that
few of the present generation know
about it). and might have maintained
his political power had he so chosen.
But although Mr.. Sage reads the
news of each day himself, he employs
others to do much of his reading,
particularly on general topics.
This is done through a sort Of part
nership clipping bureau that was es-
tabished jointly by Jay Gould and
himself during the life of Mr. Gould
This bureau is in fact maintained in
the general offices of the Manhattan
Elevated Railway Company and is
now patronized by George, Helen, How
ard, Edwin and Frank Gould, as well
as Mr.. Sage. 1t includes the preserva-
ton in scrap books of the clippings
cut out and the careful indexing of
the same.
Persons who have been privileged
to look into the wonderful scrap book
| library thus accumulated say 1t Is
: unique set of records in all that
| this much over-worked word implies
| IFS range is enormous. Besides the
topics that would be naturally looked
| for, there are so many of general in
i terest that the library is really a won
! derfully full and complete compendium
| of universal modern progress. For
! instance when Miss Helen Gould was
interested in ousting Roberts, the Nor
! mon, from the House of Representa-
tives, she had a set of scrap books
about the Mormons and Utah started,
and the subject is still followed, un-
less recently ordered discontinued
When Frank Gould was buying blood
ed dogs he started books on dogs, and
SO on almost indefinitely. clever
general writer would find the Sage
Gould scrap books of priceless value,
and 1T is to be hoped that some day
writer of discrimination may be
turned loose among them.
In its way the newspaper clipping
collection of the Pinkerton detective
agency is one OF absorbing interest,
and might be made of great general
value, though naturally it deals mostly
with crime and very much of 1t could
be used only in the catching of thieves.
Had there ever been any uniformity
in the methods used and had the
scraps collected been systematically
preserved and indexed the newspaper
cuttings gathered by the city govern
ment of New York would form an ex-
tremely valuable collection. But each
administration has worked along its
own lines and according to it's own
methods, so that there has been no
conference or continuity in the matter
And besides the members of each ad-
ministration have taken away or de-
stroyed most of the clippings accumu-
lated at the end of the administration.
This may not be wholly true of the po-
lice department cuttings, but it is at
least partially
There are many men in public life
besides Senator Depew and the
Goulds and Sages who gather newspa-
per clippings with more or less sys-
tenn, and some of these collections VIII
some day. let us hope, become valua-
hle material for the historian. The
Hon. James S. Clarkson, now surveyor
of the port. has a remarkable collec-
ton of cuttings, memoranda and cor
respondence extending over some of
the most exciting periods of political
history. 1t is his intention sometime to
reduce his documents and cuttings to
book. and If he does the result will
be a volume of extraordinary interest.
= Thomas Bracket Reed. who is hap
pier now in the peaceful practice of
the law than he was as speaker of the
House has made hobby of newspa-
per cuttings, but his gathering of car
toons dealing with himself and the
measures and men in which he has
been interested is truly important ard
instructive.
1t is one of his delights to show his
cartoons 70 his intimates, and he IS
particularly fond of one which he has
hanging conspicuously in his library.
1t was the firstyever printed in which
his face and figure were portrayed. It
appeared in Harpers Weekly some
time in the 70's when he was a young
man. OF II he says:
when that cartoon appeared / felt
that l had arrived. not at the summit
of political success, Of course, but that
/ had at least reached the top OF
foothiil."
Mrs. Reed, by the way, does not
share her husbands enthusiasm for
his cartoons. and has often asked him
to put out of sight the one that is
hanging in the dining room.
But to bark back to the crowded
city.
Not only are many of the best
known men OF affairs here and as hard
at work as II there were no distrac-
tons Al wicked SaratoKa---by the side
OF which Newport now seems a auiet.
innocent Yillage-oF al the Heashore or
in the mountains, but there are liter
ally thousands Of strangers within the
city's gates They are from the M
termost parts Of the republic. buyers
a. lob krF