Turner, Mr. Noyes would see a larger collection of daily newspapers to the total population than probably in any other city anywhere. There were 10 Chinese, two Japanese, one French and five Eng-hsu-language daily papers. As regards the Knglish-language papers, there was one for every 1,300 of the english-speaking population, a record which was not equalled anywhere he knew of.
It was often said that Shanghai was not China. in a sense that was true. but apart from Shanghai's place as a great commercial: centre, Shanghai's influence ca China proper—certainly north of the Yangtze—through its educational institutions and its Press, was very considerable. Mr. Noyes would see in Shanghai by far, the most modern type of Chinese newspaper. Having been to Osaka, Mr. noyes knew something of modern Japanese daily newspapers and their circulations, some of them running to three-quarters of a million. The circulations of none of the leading Chinese newspapers amounted to anything like that figure, but the actual circulation—that was the number of people who read a leading Chinese newspaper—was probably very near it, for it was calculated that each of the chief Chinese newspapers sold was read by about seven persons besides the buyer. What would be the circulation of the leading Chinese newspapers when the popular standard of education here approximated somewhat to that of Japan? The figures would certainly exceed those of any newspapers in any other country.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.