Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-01-24


wife, "there is a present for you. Take
itp'
Augusta took the document, and, hav-
ing looked to see what it was, shivered as
she did so. 1t brought the whole thing
back so painfully to her mind.
''What shall I do with it," she asked;
''tear it up?"
eyes" he answered. mo, stop a Bit"
and, taking it from her, he wrote "Can-
celed" in big letters across it, signed and
dated it.
There" he said, now send it to be
framed and glazed; and it shall be hung
here in the Office, to show how they used
to do business at Nelson's"
No. l snorted, and looked at Eustace
aghast. What would the young man be
after next?
care the gentlemen assembled in the
hall?" asked Eustace Of him when the
remaining documents were put away
again.
No. said that they were, and, accord
ingly, to the hall they went, wherein were
gathered all the editors, sub-editors, man
ayers, Sub-managers of the various depart
ments, clerks, and other employees, not
forgetting the tame authors, who. pale
and mealy regiment, had been marched
up thither from the Hutches, and the
tame artists with flying hair-and were
now being marshaled in lines by No. 1,
who had gone on before. When Eustace
and his wife and John Short got to the top
Of the hall, where some chairs had been
set, the whole multitude bowed, whereon
he begged them TO be seated-a permission
which the tame authors, who sat all day
In their little wooden hutches, and some
times a good part of the night also, did
not seem to care to avail themselves of.
But the tame artists, who had, for the
most part, to work standing, sat down
readily.
Gentlemen" said Eustace, "first let me
introduce you to my wife, Mrs. Meeson,
who, in another capacity, has already been
not greatly to her own profit-connected
with this establishment, having written
the best work of fiction that has ever gone
through our printing presses" (here some
of the wilder spirits cheered, and Augusta
blushed and bowed), land who will, /
hope and trust, write many even better
books which we shall have the honor of
giving to the world" (Applause.) "Also,
gentlemen, let me introduce you to Mr..
john Short, my solicitor, who, together
with his twin brother, Mr.. James Short,
brought the great lawsuit in which I was
engaged to successful issue.
"And now have to tell you why have
summoned you all to meet me here. First
of all, to say that am now the sole owner
of this business. having bought out Messrs.
Addison and Roscoe ('tAnd a good job,
toe" said voice.: land that I hope that
we shall work well together; and, second
", to inform you that / am going to total
ly revolutiOniZe the course of business as
hitherto practiced in this establishments
(sensation); "having, with the assistance
OF Mr.. Short, drawn up scheme for that
purpose. / am informed in the statement
of profits on which the purchase price of
the shares of MeSsrs. Addison and Roscoe
was calculated, that the average net profits
of this house during the last ten years
have amounted to fifty-seven and frac-
ton per cent. on the capital invested.
Now, | have determined that in future the
net profits of any given undertaking shall
be divided as follows: Ten per cent to the
author of the book in hand, and ten per
cent. to the house Then, should there be
any further profit, it will be apportioned
thus: One-third-of which a moiety will
60 towards a pension fund-to the en-
ployes of the house, the division to be ar
ranged on a fixed scale"-(enormouS SEN
sation, especially among the tame au-
thors); land the remainder to the author
of the work. Thus, supposing that book
paid cent. per cent, | shall take ten per.
cent, and the employees would take TWEEN
ty-siX and a fraction per cent, and the
author would take sixty-four per cent"
And here an interruption occurred. 1t
came from No. 2, who could no longer re.
strain his disgust.
'I'u resign" he said-"Pn resignl Nee
sons content with ten per cent, when an
author-a mere author-gets sixty! It's
shameful-shameful"
eff you choose to resign, you can," said
Eustace, sharply, but | advise you to
take time to think it over Gentlemen,
went on Eustace, 81 dare say that this
seems a great change to you, but may as
well say at once that am no wild philan-
thropist. / expect to make it pay, and
pay well. To begin with, / shall never
undertake any work that | do not think
will pay-that is, without an adequate
guarantee, or in the capacity of a simple
agent; and my own ten per cent. will be
the first charge on the profits; then the
authors ten. OF course, if I speculate in
book, and buy it out and out, subject to
the risks, the case will be different. But
with a net ten per cent certain, am, like
people in any other line of business, quite
prepared to be satisfied: and, upon those
terms, expect to become the publisher OF
all the best writers in England, and 1 also
expect that any good writer will in future
be able to make a handsome income out OF
his work Further, it strikes me that you
will most of you find yourselves better of
at the end of the year than you do at pres
ent." (Cheers.) lone or two more mat
tiers must touch on. First and foremost
the Hutches, which I consider a scandal
to great institution like this, will be
abolished"-(Shouts of joy from the tame
authors "and handsome row of brick
chambers erected in their place, and, fur
Their, their occupants will in future receive
a very considerable permanent addition to
their salaries" (Renewed and deii1iv~
cheering.) Lastly, l will do away with
this system-this horrid system-of calling
men by number, as though they We're con.
yicts instead of free Englshmen. Hence
forth everybody in this establishment will
be known by his own name" cloud
cheers.)
"And now one thing more: hope to see
you all at dinner at Pompadour Hall this
day next week, when we will christen oul
new scheme and the new firm, which,
however, in the future as in the past, will
be known as Meeson & Co., for, as we are
all to share in the profits of our undertak-
ing, consider that we shall still be a
company, and I hope a prosperous and an
honest company in the truest sense of the
word" And then, amidst a burst of pro-
longed and rapturous cheering, Eustace
and his wife bowed, and were escorted out
70 the carriage that was waiting to drive
| them TO Pompadour Hall