The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1886-06-02
ECHOES OF NEW YORK.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE AUTHoRs'
CLUB AND IT'S MEMBERS.
Its Fees and Dues Its shining Names
The Cost Of Living In New York as Conn
pared With LOndOn-Three CeleDratod
Newsnaner Correapoudenss.
special CoIrrespondence.l

special Correspondence.l
NEW YoRK, May 24-The Authors club,
the sole organization OF the kind in Anne
rica, is, contrary I'd general expectation,
qaise fourishing 1t began in Novem-
Ter, 1882, with fifty members. and now
has aeariy $50, s.hi h is fixed IS its
l.llit The chief diff ulty Of such an asso-
cia.i,l is f. nake id self-sustaining and at
the sam, Il ~ to ke4p It's financial burdens
light enou :. ~ hh ky tribe, naturally
possessed of sn /. =, II - to bear them Witn-
cut discomfort a. i outset, the initiation
fee was Sl5. the annual u IS were $40 These
were found insufficient and they have re-
spectively been increa TO SO and Sl5
which seem to answer til purpose. The cl1D
has floor in house in Z genty-fourth street,
west of Fifth avenue, ware it holds fort
nightly meetings-they a@e mainly for social
communion-every othc Thursday night.
A plain collation. Is served, with punch,
tobacco and pipes, and over these, with
plenty of conversation, "reminiscences and
anecdote, the members pass the evenings
very pleasantly.
The title of the club which may appear
somewhat pretentious, was chosen so as 20
distinguish between journalists simply, and
men who are literary. One of the articles of
the constitution reals: "No person shall be
eligible to membership who is not the author
of published book proper to literature, or
who has not a recognized position In other
kinds of distinctiyely literary work" Al
though the members are more or less CON
necte1 with newspapers, not one OF them IS
exclusively writer for the press. Nearly
every man of literary reputation in the city
belongs to the club and many authors in
other parts of the county Among the
best known names are those of Henry James,
William D. Howells, Thomas Bailey Aid
rich, Samuel L Clemens, George William
Curtis, Edward Eggleston, Parke Goodwin,
r. Watson Glider, Julian Hawthorne, Bron-
son Howard, Georee e Parsons Lathrop, Ed
mund Clarence Stbdman, Richard Henry
Stoddard, Charles Dudley Warners and Ed
ward L. Youmans. The only three honorary
members are Matthew Arno d, James Rus
sell Lowell and job n g. Whittier The club
has neither president nor vice-president. Its
government is vestbd IN an executive council
of nine members, W no elect on their OVID
number secretary and treasurer, and also
appoint the committee on membership. Can
didates are considered in regard to their
character as well as 10 their pro-
fessiona eligibility Naturally there has
been much discussion and considerable dis
agreement about v;l lrious ltterlteurs whose
names have been plst up, and not g few have
been rejected on personal grounds alone.
Still the club has On the whols. been har-
monious, far more DO than woul have been
anticipated, when the sensitiyeiiess, preju-
dice and self-love OF writer's ar taken into
count
Many of the member are young men who
have lately blossom led into reputation, like
7. A. Jamier Gvcry Black, Frederick ).
Stempson, George Edgar Montgomery,
Brander Matthew, W. Hamihoi Gibson,
Harry Harland Sidney Lus<p, Arlo
Bates and others. There are We gl' ms, too,
almost forgotten, like William S. Mayo, in
his 18th year His "Kaloolah,' and ''The
Berber' romances of adventure, were
widely read and admired thirty or forty
years ago Thomsls Dunn Englisl is also a
member Little has bean hear Of him
lately; but he was quite prominent in the
first half of the certhry. He is he author
of once popular hallad, "Ben Bolt, and of
divers novels, plays etc. Poe ATTACKED him
in his volume of The Literati,n where he
spoke of him as Thomas Dunn B.own. He
is now near 81, but bustling and trimming
with himself.
Moncure d. Conway, now permanently
settled here, after more than twenty years
residence in England. finds prices in the
United States, notably in this city, exceed
ingly high. While he admits that man can
earn more here thdn there, he still tIinks the
difference wholly IN favor of Lon lon He
holds that one can live there "for less than
two-thirds of what it costs here. Conse-
quently, it is a better place of residencs for
a writer whose manuscripts are in demand
Americans who are temporarily in London
find it very dear; but permanent residents
get on with far mbre economy. New York
is undeniably the most expensive of capitals
on either side of the sea-
Albert M. Palmar, of the Madison fquare
is one of the very few managers who max,
no contract with players. He says thas it is
useless, for they hardly ever keep their p3rt
OF the contract, while they invariably hol1
the manager mosb vigorously to his part
He simply tells the IA what he will do, and
they accept without reluctance his word as a
man OF integrity and means. This plan
saves him deal bf vexation and tloub uble,
and indeed, works well ali around
1t is now very doubtful, I unders and
whether Edwin Booth will attempt to fu. fill
his contract next season with Lawrence Bar
rett He has been 50 weak and Ill this sea-
son that he does not think he can pos IDLY
gain sufficient strength and health bet yeen
this and thecoming autGmn to perform so
long an engagement as 800 nights, as is Ca1Ilel
for His friends have urged him against
the endeavor, which will certainly end in
breaking him completely down before its
termination His recent appearances with
Salvinl have shown conclusively that he needs
very long rest. It is not unlikely tina he
may retire permanently from the stage
AT recent reception up town three gsn-
tlemen were present who, many years ago,
were the Columblis, o., correspondents OF
The Cincinnati Gazette. and they had s,c-
ceeded one anothet in that capacity. They
were William d. Howells William Henry
smith, agent OF the Associated Press, and
Whltelaw Reid, who are near the same age,
about 5O, and who have ever since that time
been close friends Howells is at present
earning more money with his pen than any
American writer From all sources be bas
an income OF from s1S,000 to s20, 0,OOO which
IS rally four times what the cleyer,est Of our
iltterateurs can usually command How long
tsis wili continue no on can say He has
enjoyed TINS exceptional fortune only a few
months 'lUETUs HENRI BROWNE