Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1910-12-02

doings the papers had much, to say. It was n
enough that the newspapers should! print as a CO,
terfeit presentment Of this or that public man
carefully posed bust portrait, touched up to show t
subject as he wanted to appear rather than as
he actually did appear. Newspaper readers with
q thirst for accurate information came to demand
pictures that would show the subjects as they
actually appeared, Moreover, they wanted not a
commonplace bust photo, but a fulllength pic
ture that would represent its object as he would
appear to one who met him on the street and
with a hint as to his distinctive characteristics
as to dress, etc. From this demand was born the
personal snap shot"
., Nowadays the snapshot is to a large extent
d:sp.ac!ns the sterectyred visage in the public
prints. Almost everybody who achieves fame
or notoriety must must needs fall victims to the
sharpshooters of the camera. The snap-shotter Is
no respecter of persons or callings SO long as "hu-
man interest" is present, and everybody, from
preachers to %pugilists @. and from statesmen to
Bunragists, is the quarry Of the camera scout at
one time or another. Some of the people who are
Bnap-shotted manifestly relish it; a great number
accept it as a matter of course and g minority
wriggle and squirm and even fight at sight of
q camera. Conspicuous among the latter are
Harry Lehr, the Newport society pet Of monkey
dinner fame, and J. Pierpont Morgan, the fnan-
-cier. 1t must be admitted that the father Of
trusts does not make a pretty picture when taken
unawares and he evidently realizes this, for he is
usually guarded by several private detectives
when he appears in public and carries a cane
which he is quick to use on any offending camera
that he can reach. ST..
Public officials, headed ~ the president OF the
United States, are usually the most satisfactory
subjects for snapshots because, whatever may
be their natural inclination In the matter, they
quickly learn to submit gracefully to this sort
of attention. A leading statesman or army or
navy official who realizes that at public functions
he is liable to be continually in the camera eye
Is likely to instinctively avoid those awkward
attitudes and facial grimaces that sometimes spoil
things In the case of a celebrity who IS new to
the game and self-conscious in consequence. From
the standpoint Of the snap-shotters perhaps the
most satisfactory subjects in this country are the
diplomats at Washin gton-that is, the alien on
cials who are stationed at our seat of government
as the ambassadors or ministers of foreign pow
ers. For one thing. these titled foreigners are
possessed of gorgeous uniforms that show up
we'll in unconventional pictures, and then again
they are accustomed to being constantly on dress
parade.
The snap-shotter must quick OH the trigger
and he cultivates ability in this direction almost
as earnestly as the gun fighter of the west did
in the old days. The newspaper snapshots are
made by means of special cameras made specially
for the purpose, and costing as much as $3.50
apiece. Only a fraction of a second is required,
of course, to make a snapshot, once the lens is
focused upon a celebrity in a desired position, but
the uncertainty lies in the fact that the celebrity
is seldom actually posing for his picture. More
than likely he may not realize that he is being
caught by the camera or mayhap may be trying