New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-24
AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER.
AN INSTRUCTIVE STORY OF THE RELATIONS
g. BETWEEN ARCHDEACON FARRAR
AND MESSRS. CASSELL.


AND MESSRs. CASSELL.
London. Oct. II.
Messrs. Casseu g. Company ale charming III
they had begun their publishing career In Arcadia
they could not have exhibited more ioyiiic
simplicity Of nature. This simplicity Is no'' l
admit the trait which has heretofore been tnousho
to characterize this highly successful iirm. lneS
have had, and think deserved. a reputation Tor
certain shrewdness in their dealings WIN au'ao''
There has been belief that this shrewdncss reached
ira h,obost business expression in their dealings
with Archdeacon Farrar. They have now come
forward to COMPUTE this otogether erroneous notioh
and 10 present themselves to the world as, on the
whole. rather more childlike and bland than the
most heather Chince that ever was heard OF In
yer,e or prose. They ought to be sung IN verse,
and perhaps will be, but for the present PLAIN
prose must suffice.
Their present performance arose out OF d rellarN
made by Arohdeacon Farrar at the Church Con-
cress in Hull This Congress dealt with questions
of morals as well Us religion and 1t seemed 10 the
Archdeacon q good opportunity to express ms con-
riotions about publishers or about some publishers
He said "he might expose the dishonorable Gus
toms which tainted the trade Of publishers. and
speak Of sweating publishers who, without
blush. would toss to the author perhaps hun
equitable. they had obtained" This might have
nassed unnotioed, for 1t is not everybody VINO
aevotes his days and nights to long reports OF
procaedngs in Church Congress. But certain
Mr. 7 Russell Endean took the matter up, ana
urote n letter about it to THE Times, perhaps
the most sure means of publicity in all the world
EVEN in the age of soap advertisers ana SKY sigh,
and other abominable appeals TO the echoi"i
attention think Mr. Endean may he pun
Usher but do not know. He is, al any ia'c'
mr. was. very much excited by Archdeacon farlal
language about publishers; and his own iaheu'Sc
IS very strong But the point OF his ie''er was
in his remark about the Archdeacons own pun
fishers. What" cries Mr.. Endcan, nave 'h.H
90 saw to the CHARGE" And he adds Win pref"
show of logic, which almost raises doubt as 10
- cav that off his charge in relation to them
falls to the ground, then the picture he mas pre-,
s.nted no the nation is o sham. cynical loci
rron his age and dishOnor to himself In o'her
,ro-ds II Messrs Cassel paid Archdeacon farrar
honestlv all other publishers have paid all o'hel
authors honestly
T. NAV have been this rather hasty generailza-
Gon which tempted Messrs. CasseH lh'o piinO
A chiyalrous spirit possessed them lhcA Bal" ~
themselves: "Lo, here is an occasion 10 uiep>i
once for all the unjust prejudice aS"i.'', '"o
nublishcr In vindicating ourselves We Nino","'.
t1,e whole trade" And so into prInt 'heS rus"eN'
With results not quite answering their eApeo'a-
tion. For in the first place, their le'ter wac pi'
coded In the same column by ie',ci MN
Arcbdeacon Farrar explaining that he hau S"'V
GTbere are many publishers who are the soui
- lo,orn. wards which the reporter in his haste
,uo,,;,v on,itted II is only another ILLUSTRATION
~ the. melancholy truth that qualifying phrases
,,o ~ little avail 1t is the broad statement
,yb;cb the public fastens on. The Archdeacoh
adds In his too emphatic way that those pun
fishers whom he has personally dealt WIZ" wv,
with scarcely an exception, intimate p0'o''
friends with whom lie stands on the most COT
dial relations Why can he never say ullhs
simply? An itaic style is not a good style b".
the sting of this pleOnastic sentence Is 10 DE lo"
IN the words with scarcely OH exception. MessrS'
Cassell, who might have kept Silence nave ono'.n
70 draw attention TO the fact that they are the
....n+,or Tbcv have not thought half column
90 much for the statement of their case, but the
no;nt and substance Of it all may perhaps, DC
aiyen much more briefly.
Briefly. then, it comes to this: Messrs CaSSell
offered Mr. Farrar in 1870 $4,000 to write Lille
Of Christ and $500 more toward the expense OF
q ;ourney TO Palestine in search Of material lie
accented the Offer went 80 Palestine, wrote the
book and received the sum agreed on. But the
book had an extraordinary popularity the sa'c
of it-due in part hint McssrS. Cassell rather
unkindly. to skiful advertsing-waS enormous
and in consideration Of the success OF the WORK
they paid him in addition to the contract price
otb,r sums amounting in all TO $1,000, spread
over period of eight years. I'VE leave Eon
readers. 10 determine" cry Messrs. Cassell fri
uuphantly whether such action is to be regarded
as dishonOrable."
But the note of triumph is sometimes heard be-
fore the battle is over and is, in such circum-
stances premature. The battle was far from De-
ing over A new combatant appeared suddenly
on the field; a much more formidable foe than
Archdcacon Farrar. Mr.. Walter Besant appeared.
| suppose no living author knows so much ABOUT
publishers and publishing as this eminent noVcllst.
Oertainly none other has done so much to pro-
feet and promote the interests of dis brother
authors lie is chairman of the Executive Com
mittee of the Society of Authors, and writes as
such. and The Times" prints his letter in its
largest type: an honor it deserves. The clvility
of IL to Messrs. Cassell is perfect it would have
been far less effective had it been less entirely p0-
lite lie asks Messrs. Cassells attention TO
slight omission in their letter They need not.
he reminds them, have written letter at all.
They might, if they wrote, have taken their stand
on the letter Of their agreement. But they nave
taken q much higher and more honorable line
They admit, by the words of their letter and by
their recorded action in the case, the principle
that in literature as in everything else, the pro-
ducer should be paid in proportion TO the value
of his work" They have published-Mr. Besant
politely assumes with the consent Of the author;
an assumption not confirmed by the anthor-the
figures belonging to side of the transaction
between them and Archdeacon Farrar. and ask:
"Have we not behaved equitably?" But equity,
contnues Mr. Besant in his most amiable tone,
regards both sides OF a transaction 1t is not
enough when and b do business together for b
10 tell the world what A has made out of it; he
must also tell the world what he has made out
of it, Unless the figures on both sides are given.
L. oonSidnr the nueSfinn nf