Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1910-11-16
THEFRUGAL DUTCH
Economical In Their Use of the
Daily Papers.
ONE JOURNAL READ BY MANY

W '~"ihes VIII subscribe
For Single Paper. Which Goes thu
Rounds-some Thrifty Souls viii
Only Rent Their Newspapers.
One thing visitors TO Holland notice.
and that is that no one on the streets
or In the cars Is seen reading a news
paper. Papers are not sold or hawked
as they are I'm England and America.
II Is only when extremely important
events take place and the papers print
special bulletins" that these are some
times bought In the street. Usually
the people content themselves by read
Ing these same bulletins when they are
displayed IN the windows Of cigar
shops. booksellers shops or NJ the Of
ices OF the newspapers. for the Dutch
people economize I'm their reading mat
ter. Many curious ways have been
devised 20 reconcile economy with n
plentiful supply OF news and informa-
ton.
Two. three or more families Will CON-
bine TO subscribe FOR one paper. which
Is then read by each in turn. The
one who gets Il first pays a little more
than the later readers. and each may
keep II for a stipulated time-an hour
or perhaps two or three hours or half
day. In this way It is generally only
the head OF the house" who gathers
in any information. He mOnopolizes the
, paper as soon as Il comes and keeps
IL as long as be can. The other mem
bers OF the family then 20 without
news or are only enriched by the
crumbs Of knowledge that now and
then drop from the lips OF paterfamn-
ias.
Most OF the daily papers In Holland
are issued in the evening. but some
OF the more important ones publish
morning editions rs well. To subscribe
for more than one paper is considered
terrible extravaganza. and even
whole" subscription for one family
alone is looked upon as n luxury. At
the clubs and the coffee houses" tho
Dutch equivalent OF the American sa-
loon. there are always newspapers in
profusion. and very many men do all
their reading there and so save the
subscription fees. Tor they don't count
the cost of what they lmbibe.
Many cigar shops and sometimes
other stores have what they call de
pots" or newspapers. and there you
can also rent a paper and take IL
home with you for n certain length OF
time for very little money indeed
But the longing FOR information OF
the average putchman ~ the middle
classes extends far beyond the daily
papers lie wishes 20 know all about
! his ncighbors far and near. and at the
same time he wants 10 keep up his
knowledge OF the languages learned ut
school For these purposes reading
societies are formed either among
| friends or people living In the same
neighborhood. or perhaps all the ON
| GERS OF certain regiment will COM
! bine: then a committee will be select
/ ed from among the members on which
/ will devolve the task Of selecting suit
/ able weekly papers or monthly maga-
! zines in English. French. German and
/ Dutch and TO circulate these among
the members OF the society. These
| books and papers are sent round in
large portfolios either once or twice a
week. as may have been agreed upon.
So those joining such a society can
read all the best English. American,
German and Dutch periodicals at 4
slight cost
OF course You don't always get the
magazines as soon as they come out,
! This is carefully regulated according
20 the size Of your contribution, and
many people read their Christmas sto-
ries in June still, IL keeps up an In
terest I'm the world at large and helps
10 keep fresh in the mind all that has
been learned In youth.
III the head Of the house gets most
Of the daily papers IL is with the pc
riodicals that the other members Of
the household have their innings. They
can read them while father is at his
bureau or at his office. Sometimes an
! enterprising bookseller starts one or
| more circulating portfolios in his
neighborhood. aud this is managed on
the same lines as the private reading
societies.
At the end OF the year the old peri
odicals and books that have been the
round Of all the subscribers are sold
by auction among the members OF the
association.
People visiting Holland are often
surprised to find how well nearly ev-
cry one In the country speaks foreign
languages and bow much he knows
of the literature Of other lands. IL
we take the above facts into consider
alton II will no longer seem so aston
ishing.-W. ]. l.. Kiehl in Chicago
News.