Evening star., 1915-03-21

veopment of the American magazine. For many
years small group of high grade magazines had held
alot the banner of American art and letters. They
had stood for the stocracy of American culture. The
very word magazine had acquired special meaning.
Merely to have ones name in table of contents was
distinction. To subscribe was to claim class. The
magazines drew sharp line between the cultured few
and the uncultured multitude.
When, less than generation ago, the people, under
the STRINGS then of the revolution so in
cisvey in progress demanded expression, there was
medium. The immature newspapers of the time,
still intensely parzan, still belgerently personal had
neither space inclination The magazines, measur
ing every offering by the literary standards of
the moment, remained sereney ntolerant. The pros
porous, unenlghtencd story press OF the eriod con-
ccrned itself only with the overwrought senmenality
that then still brought rich reward.
WENT was demanded, and vent there must be.
The greater Sunday newspaper leaped into cxs-
tcnce and when this, for inherent in newspaper
genius and partizan necessity proved an insufficient
outlet, there appeared the ten-cent magazine. The
period had at last become vocal Writers who had
failed satisfy the tiny group of literary watch dogs
guarding the magazine sanctums of the past were
noisily welcomed by this large and tolerant new pub
lie. Profit for so cheap magazine demanded large
circulation and the editorial standard based
on popularity What the people wanted what the
magazine published Oldest and soundest CONNER
cia proposition. And thus the great change ush
cred in
The spectacular rise of the modern magazine and its
much vaunted "infuence" is familiar to all. The
swift coming of the wonans magazine first at fifty
cents year, and after at dollar and then dol
lar and half, probably the first sign to attract
wide attention.
Calculations of half million or more at that time
made people gasp with astonishment. The new enter
prise in advertising, of course made all this possible
and profitable. 1t also made highly profitable large
class of so-caed maiorcr magazines, which presently
attained crculaons in country districts at
low twenty-five cents year,-exceedingly crude
productions of them, made largely with scissors
and pastepot and without editorial skill or purpose.
They belonged to commercallsrn pure and SIMPLE and
they enter into the story of magazine development
chiefly because they accustomed millions of people to
the desrabity of other periodical reading in addition
to the newspaper; thus preparing the way for the
expansion of the scientifically edited, pur
poscful magazines of today And these, by the way
have in their turn made themselves of first Importance
in the mai-order business which has developed such
gigantic proportions in recent years.
WELL remember when the enormousness of this
tidal of magazine circulation first daWncd
upon me. l had been editing New York Sunday
newspaper for some fifteen months and the crcula
ton was forging up toward the half-nlllon. Cyrus
Curtis was telling after luncheon at the club about
his struggle to put of his periodicals. the swift
expansion of whose circulation then taxing
his rcsourcefuness to it's limit.
"The time came," he said "when saw that the cir
cuation just had to be got. possessed the salable
commodity; but had yet to sell it. The problem
to induce million people to examine it. There
just way do this thing right decided to devote
quarter of million dollars year to advertising that
new magazine. In little while we had Our circula
ton"
These figures meant no more to me as tangible rea
ties than mention of three millions of Russian soldiers
to today, for no man realize a million;
but there was something in Mr.. Curtis's simple
wealthy phrase that suddenly threw upon nv mental
screen picture wildly clear
began to notice the newsstands where maga-
zines began to appear monthly, magazines specializing
in innumerable fields and where the piles of the