Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-10-22

There Is nothing more remarkable In
the business life of America than the Won
derful expansion OF the directory -maling
trade during the past two decades. When
the census made Its investigation into the
printing business a few years ago, IL found
that one OF the largest features Of the
job printing offices was the printing OF
directories In New York. Chicago and
Philadelphia alone there were LO4OOOo cop
les OF the city directories issued Their
aggregate weight was more than 1000 tons
and il required 100000 impressions to
print them. II this entire job had been
turned Off by single cylinder press Il
would have required 10000 impressions
a day for fourteen years.
The directory publishers OF the United
States have banded themselves together
in an organization known as the Directory
Publishers Association of America, which
association is now In session in Louisville,
Ky. The purpose Of this association is TO
protect its members from competition and
the public from the imposition of bogus
directory canvassers and dishonest direc-
tory makers. 1t has a standing offer OF
500 FOR the arrest and CONVICTION OF any
imposter in connection WITH the directory
trade. Nearly 1900 American cities and
towns have complete directories. In some
OF these the printing OF an annual directory
/ Is not profitable, but the directory pub
! fishers have an eye to the future, and are
ready to preempt any field which looks
promising 1t has been the experience of
| the publishers that the first man has an
advantage over any competitor. and that
it seldom is profitable to issue second
| directory OF a given city.
II is impossible for the directory pub.
| Usher to secure a copyright which will
protect him from the issuance OF riva
directory, so long as he publishes only the
names OF the inhabitants and their ad
dresses. 1t would be impossible for any
court to tell whether the rival directory
had secured its names from the origina
directory or from other sources. In this
way the rival publisher could simply wal
until the other directory was out, copy Il
and sell his book at a much lower figure
! In order to protect himself against sucl
competition, the directory maker incorpor
ates number OF bogus names Any com
petitor who has merely copied his worl
I will have no means of knowing which
we're bogus names and which were rea
ones. The presence of these bogus name
in the rival directory has been taken b,
the courts as sufficient proof that tn
/ copyright law has been violated.
There are many thousand telephone
directories in the United States, and tn
aggregate number of copies issued Il
larger than that of all other kinds o
directories together. II is estimated tina
1t requires more than 15O,OOOOOO twenty
four by thirty eight-inch sheets to prin
the telephone directories annually dis
tributed in this country, and that NOR
than 800 freight cars would be required L
transport them. While advertising neve
has been as much resorted to in telephon
directories as in city directories, there ar
thousands Of advertisers who realize tn
advantage of staying close to the tele
phone. In many cases the telephone direc
tories are not printed by the telephon
companies, but by individuals who Sc
them at price sufficient to cover the COS
Of their production. The profit is made 1
the advertising space sold.
Although the telephone directory
printed in larger numbers than the cit
directory the latter is, of course, Away
the larger volume. An average has bee
made Of the size OF the directories issue
in. the 1871 cities of 5000 population an
upward, and 1t has been found that N
, average directory contains 1904 page
There are 1872 city and town directorie
now published to say nothing of the man
state and county directories an
{ gazetteers. The principal publishers
3 these books keep a fun list Of all printe
, directories in the United States, Thes
? are accessible to the general public fC
consultation, and are extensively used
? those who have need of large lists
; names. In many Of the principal librari,
, of the country hundreds of directories al
found and many firms maintain a lars
] force for copying names from them.
Practically every business, trade and pr
fessiOn in the United States has its ow
directory. The most important of all thei
are the big financial ones OF the two Erei
commercial agencies Of the country--Du
and Bradstreet. These directories contai
a list of all American business men col
corning whom the commercial world ma
wish to know something. Whenever a ne