Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-01-15
OUR PERISHABLE LITERATURE
BY Frederic J. Haskin

IF some archaeologist were to dig up
the remains of our big cities in the
year 5000 A. D.. he would come to
the conclusion that the American peo-
pie had no literature except diplomatic
and other governmental records
The government not long ago awoke
to the fact that its older records were
rotting and it's whole history would
pass into oblivion if not more durably
recorded. The Bureau of Standards
was forthwith set to work to perfect
la paper as nearly indestructible as
possible. With the exception of the
paper, there Is nothing in our inn
mense product of the press that will
survive q few centuries, and little that
will last more than few years. All
our newspapers, all our novels, all our
classics in poetry and prose would
have crumbled to dust. The archae-
ologist might find Il few parchments
and vellums dating back to the year
1000, but the paper of the twentieth
century is not made to last.
When newspaper files only forty
and fifty years old are opened in public
libraries, the sheets are found yellow
and brittle. They break at touch.
Librarians report that the ordinary
novel, printed on wood-pulp paper will
is, after forty people have drawn 1t
from the library for reading, the book
is in such q state that it is fit for
nothing, not even rebinding. Thus its
life is less than two years.
Books printed on the better grades
of paper will last longer, but only rela-
lively speaking When few centuries
have passed over, they will be indis-
tinguishable from their humber breth-
rem. All this is in striking contrast
to the literature of ancient peoples,
which was traced on innperishable
parchment, and unless lost or Destroy
ed entirely. comes down to us in a
permanent record of what men
thought and felt three thousand years
ago.
The British Museum has an Egyp-
tian parchment dating black 3i00
years-and the Egyptians did much
of their writing on even more imper-
ishable stone. Parchments and vel
lums a thousand years old are COM
did all their writing on such material,
and in consequence we have a record
of their most trivial activities. The
old Hebrew laws were traced on parch-
ment long before the birth of Christ
and it is a tradition in the Jewish
church that the more important laws
must be kept on parchment to-day.
pared sheep or calf skin, and thus is
naturally durable. Even the old-time
papers, however, were made to last
| Museums have documents on Ara
| bian paper 1000 years old, and others
of Europeans origin that date back
| to 700 and 500 A. d. In those times
there were few books, but they were
very precious, and men felt that their
value would endure for all time. They
| spared no effort in tracing them on
| imperishable backgrounds.
To-day. one of the big New York
newspapers throws two hundred thou
sand copies on the streets at a single
| edition. An hour or two later those
tons of closely printed paper are alb
| solute1y valueless, except as waste. In
point of timeliness, they are deader
than the Pharoahs. There is nothing
SO out of date and out of demand as
the first edition of a big paper when
the newsboys begin to call the second
| Such being the case, it is just as
we'll that all our paper is not designed
| to last for O score OF centuries. But
no records of our times would be so
accurate and SO valuable to future
ages as would complete file of our
| typical dailies. Libraries keep care
full files, but most of the papers crum-
/ BILE away before the end of the first
century. An effort was made recently
/ by an association of public libraries
| to induce several of the more impor-
! tant newspapers to print daily a spe-
cial edition on q high grade of paper
for the benefit of future ages. A few
CO the papers fell in with the plan for
IL time. but the practice never got be-