The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-28
IN THE LITERARY FIELD
THE FATE OF THE MULTITUDE OF
ROCKS THAT REMAIN UNsOLD.
Prediction that Magazines VIII Aban-
don Pictures-Authors Who Por-
tray Themselves.

What becomes OF all the books? What |
becomes of all the pins? One question IN
doubtedly is as easy TO answer as the
other says George Owen Koch, In the phil
adelphia Ledger. but both are PROFOUND
ed frequently there seems TO be some dill
shculty in framing satisfactory replies.
? According to general belief. based on the
statements of publishers, nearly as many
books or, rather, volumes are printed an
nually as there are pins manufactured.
That the commodities do not sell equally
well probably is because books generally
are duller than pins.
The ultimate fate of books can be told
briefly They go to the paper mills. But
the journey thither deserves a few words.
One who has not been in the paper stock
supply business have no adequate idea
OF the quantity of volumes, structurally
sound from cover to cover, that are cast
aside every day Statistics cannot be COM
piled. but New York city undoubtedly wit
nesses the final step but one in the de-
struction of tons of novels. histories, biog-
raphies. philosophical and scientific treat
ises, etc, every twenty-four hours. The
same may be said of other centers Of pop
ulatiOn.
Several steps lead toward the acid-bear-
ing watts of the mills where the books are
"digested'' more completely than their
makers ever desired, although authors and
publishers hope the output of genius and
skill will be assimilated thoroughly. These
steps in the life road of books are about
as follows: Inspiration, thought (more or
less), writing printing and binding ana
marketing. Here the road forks Some
volumes turn TO the right and follow that
branch of the path which leads them to
readers with whom they remain for aWhlIe.
Others halt and then turn TO the LETT. Inelr
way is short.
That the marketing step often is fatal
the guild of letters KNOWS > TO its sorrow
And no matter how small numerically first
editions may be. if unsold they accumulate
at an alarming rate in the possession OF
publishers. Proving worthless as books,
demand for the room they occupy forces
them uncut, unread, unhonored to the
tomb. When ready for burial, after having
been pronounced good and dead" because
they were too bad to deserve the love and
admiration necessary to keep them alive
they are turned over to a funeral director
IN the person of a paper stock dealer. he
pays for them prices ranging from half a
cent pound down TO 10 cents hundred-
weight according to the value to him OF
the material of which they are composed
The heavier and more ornate the binding
the less the book is worth to the stock
dealer. Leather, wire, glue and gold leaf
do not make over into paper readily. Inc
more wood pulp in their composition the
the paper of which is made wholly of rags
are desirable stock. The material has
strength and continuity of fiber which al
lows OF reworking with little loss, while
every bit of wood pulp decreases the de-
STABILITY just so much as its fiber Is weak
and short. and, to a large extent, washes
In the undertaker's shop of the stock
dealer the books that have died in the
nursery for lack of attention meet brothers
which have seen the world and have been
worn out in the service of mankind. But
to the funeral director they are all the
liar.
Purchased after calculation of the tare
represented in their binding. the first
work in making ready for their entomb-
znent Is to strip" and sort them. Strip
ping consists of removing the book from
the binding no S easy task. as o any one
sized volume, bend the covers until the
front and back touch, holding them in the
right hand, and with one motion complete
ay tear the binding from the leaves. Fail
ure With the ordinary-sized volume viii
strength necessary TO strip large diction-
aries. cyclopedias, commercial reports,
The backs, as the bindings are called
are thrown into one pile. the naked corpses
of literature into others. The backs are
almost toto loss to the stock dealer, as he
handling. They disposed of to mills
that make coarse heavy paper for roofing
The stripped books are thrown into diff
ferent piles roughly representing the
grades of paper in them, although exacti-
tude in sorting is not aimed at nowadays,
because there is very little print paper
unadultered with wood pulp. But a
batch of books printed all rag paper is
baled separately
Put into bales weighing from 500 to 1.50O
pounds each. the books are sent on the
last stage of their journey to the ceme-
teries Of the mills, where, during inter-
ment in great tubs they undergo a cleans
Ing and altering process truly purgatorial,
TO emerge free from stains Of inky sins,
but books no longer. They are pulp.
Contrary TO popular notion, this pulp does
in which 1t once existed. 1t has lost strength
in the making process, and, If IL goes into
print material, serves the foundation of
cheaper grade or as an adulterant in pa
per otherwise composed of rags or new
wood Sometimes IL is used to tighten the
color of the wrapping papers. But it always
requires the addition of fresh material and
its second state is never as good as the
first.
Such is thc tale of what becomes of all
the books AS man begins movement to-
ward the grave at the moment OF his con-
ception, book starts on its way to the
boiling watts of the mill at the moment of its
Inspiration. Some volumes, like some men,
reach great age, yet final disintegration is
OF the petr1hcation OF human bodies after
life is extinct; there are instances of the
petrification of old volumes after a period
of usefulness. But these, too, shall pass
away" For books and men are embalmed
permanently only in memory.
Literary New York Of the Fifties.