Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-09

Much Of lis correspondence Is sent IN on
approval. and not few of the writer's
are paid small salaries with bonuses for
extra work.
found many queer things in tie man
a9eInent of this newspaper office. In the
first place. the printers are not hired ind-
vidually. \ contrac, Is made with the
foreman. who sets up the paper at so
much per day and employs his own as
sistants. In this he has to conform to
the printers union, for everything in
China is done by guilds and Tabor or
CARNATIONS. The employers have also a
union. and 50 have the newsdea lers. The
proprietors have to pay the latter guild
50 much for each copy Of their clrcua-
tons, and they dare not push their sales
independently OF 1t. The latest guild is
that Of the newspaper owners They
have combined together not to cut prices
and to defend themselves from the print
erS and others
Tie Sin Wan Pao has circulation of
about twenty thousand, but this is equal
to more than one hundred thousand i'll
the United States. because every copy Of
Il Chinese newspaper is sold over and
over again 1t first goes to the rich, WHO
Use it for tie morning. In tie afternoon
the boys call for it and sell il again.
In the morning it is worth IA cash, or
about one-half cent American. In the
afternoon it viii bring quarter Of a
cent and tae next day perhaps half
that Every copy is supposed to reach
five different families. So that. as far rs
tlit, advertisements are concerned, it
touches five times as many people as a
United States Journal.
Eut come with me into the composing
rooms and see how a Chinese Newspaper
is made. The printers work in pens ma dc
Of type cases. which rest Oh the ground
and rise higa above their heads. The
thousands of lead chara rters. The types
are thicker than ours. but not 50 tall.
They are made in the establishment. and
boys are kept busy day III and day out
casting new type for the paper. SOME ot
the dailies are now putting in sterotyp-
ing outfits, and the Sin Wan Pao is east
in cylinders just like an American news
paper. 1t is rum off on rotary press,
which prints 10000 an hour. 1t goes 10
press at ! o'clock i'll the morning and has
Geographic news up to that hour.
The paper used By the Chinese journals
is thinner and better than ours. This is
necessarily 50, as many Of the characters
are black and ley hold ink like q spo;iS,
The advertisers often want white letters
on black background. and tic paper
must be good or the ink will show
through. TIE Sin Wan I'ao is now using
glazed onion-skin paper. Will u is made
of Norwegian wood pulp especially for
this market. 1t looks as though il were
grea seq.
| wish ] could show YOU one OF these
new Chinese newspapers. The Sin Wan
Pao. when spread out. would cover 4 big
double bed. 1t is divided up into pages
o.. sections. each % about the size ard
shape of a gentlemans handkerchief. Tie
printing is done only side of the
sheet. and the whole is collection of
characters such used the tea
boxes, with cartoons the e.ectros and
wood cuts of advertisements scattered
through here and there.
The paper begins al the back and one
reads up and down the columns instead Of
across them. as with us. The first page
is taken up with the title and important
advertisements. This space commands
the highest prices. and the ads upon it
bring three times much as those on
the inside Of the paper. The second page
has the table OF contents, and the imperial
cdicts telegraphed from Picking. while the
third has heavy editorials on leading
questions. Further over there are special
kilograms from all parts Of China. and
still further important news and CORE
spondence The Chinese news has the
first place. and local kilograms often
crowd out the cables. The paper has also
law reports, TRANSACTIONS from the foreign
newspa pers, personal gossip and even
fashion notes. ! am told that its adver-
Using is steadily increasing and that the
Chinese are beginning to appreciate the
value of newspapers for selling goods.
There are many Chinese patent medicines