The Metropolitan Newspaper (New York City)

continent. Its agents are scattered over the whole world. Its London offices are never closed, and the news arriving there is forwarded under nearly three thousand miles of ocean at all hours as rapidly as it is received. Confining itself to no arbitrary limit, its daily cable tolls are seldom less than three hundred dollars, and sometimes they are four times that amount. North and Central America are covered by its own agents; and by arrangements with the great news agencies abroad, including Reuter's, it receives the news collections of time latter from every part of Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. In well-populated regions of the United States sub-associations are formed, which give the local papers fuller details of local affairs than more distant papers would require; and in sparsely settled districts, where news items are not frequent enough to warrant the appointment of regular agents, the telegraph operators are authorized to employ men of ability in the interest of the association whenever any calamity, disturbance, or excitement occurs.

As the dispatches reach the general agency they are handed to the manager of the manifolding-room, under whose direction copies are multiplied for distribution, the manifolding process enabling one writer to make from twelve to twenty-six copies at a time, by means of a very tough oiled tissue-paper alternated with carbonized paper, and an agate or carnelian point substituted for a pem or pencil.

When a page of manifold is written, the office assistants separate and envelop the copies, which are sent to the city newspapers by messengers. Other copies are handed to agents representing sections of the papers in the North, South, East, and West, who edit them, each agent eliminating whatever will not interest his particular constituency, and adding any thing of value that he can obtain from other sources.

The distribution is effected by telegraphic delivery at many different points along a continuous line of wire at the same instant of time. The system involves combination reports, which are forwarded to all who share them at or within certain fixed hours, arranged by contract with the telegraph company. Though the reports to Boston are sent direct at all hours, the same report is repeated to all other places in New England on a combined circuit; that is to say, New York is put into telegraphic connection by a single wire si-