A very curious circumstance about the press in all the great American
cities, the professor thought, is that every newspaper has a larger
circulation than any other three newspapers combined. According to the
arithmetical system in use among all civilised peoples, that would be
manifestly impossible. But the professor imagines that the methods of
calculation by which such results are obtained are the same as those
employed by politicians in estimating their majorities on the eve of
election day, by millionaires in paying their personal taxes, and by
operatic sopranos in figuring out their age. The influence of a
newspaper depends, of course, upon its circulation. Such influence is
exercised directly in the form of news and editorial comment, and
indirectly in the form of wrapping paper.
Still another curious trait about all American newspapers, this learned
German found, is that they tell a story backward. This arises from the
desire to put the most important thing first; and in this country it is
the rule that the thing which happens last is the most important. As an
illustration Herr Grundschnitt read the following brief account clipped
from one of the principal newspapers in New York city:
"Arthur Wellesley Jones died in the municipal hospital last night as the
result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
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