Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1890-07-12
KINGS OF THE COAST.
How Far Western Millionaires Purchased
Fame.

San Francisco Special to the St. Louis Repuplic'
A suit in the superior court mere,
brought by w. c. Boyne against the his
tory Company for salary due, develops
some of the richest testimony ever
brought to the surface by civil suit IN
the community The Examiner TINS
morning prints the names of several
dozen wealthy and celebrated men
anxious to have their names and bog
raphies enrolled in the work which Mr.:
Bovine was engaged IL writing, and
which was styled at first CHRONICLES OF
the Kings" However, becoming dls-
satisfied with this unique title, the name
was changed into CHRONICLES of the
Builders of the Commonwealth"
circular was always sent out to the par
ty with money to exchange for fame,
calling his or her attention to the pro-
spective book and the number who re-
sponded with gusto and dusto ran into
the hundreds.
The main reason why future genera
tons should not be deprived OF the pl-
ographies of these builders of the COM
monwealth was set forth in supple
mental prospectus, in which it was
stated that the publication was not to be
restricted to a certain year. 1t was TO
be continuous, sort OF blographlcal
| perpetual motion, new biographies De-
ing inserted as those entitled to place
| shall come forward and take 1t, and
thus the book was to live forever. This,
the proprietor claimed, was feature
never employed in any similar work,
and gives to this Western world book
of heraldry, registry OF true nobility,
such as no European arlstocracy ever
eniOved."
After all this had been thrown before
! the builders of the commonwealth
| Boyne's work commenced. 1t was his
duty to talk these men OF prominence
into the pages of the never-endlng book
of biography. Of course It was eX-
pensive, but prospective builders were
told that monuments of marble would
crumble into dust, but that the printed
history would live forever. Boyne says
! that one of the principal stories with
which agents gave force to this part OF
their arguments was that little MARIA
tive of the poet, Pinder, who, when re-
Quested bv Pythias Algenia to write an
ode on an Isthmian game at which the
latter had been victor, named as his
price one talent, about S., 900 Of Amerl-
can money Pythias thought this
rather high, and said that for that sum
he could have his statue III bronze
placed in the temple. To this Pinder
responded that his poem would outlive
both statue and people. The poem was
written and paid for and remains to this
dav, but the Temples of Algeria have
long since crumbled into dust.
There were various prices for which
man could live on forever in this
"Chronicles of the Kings" Here is the
price list: The price Of undying fame,
portrait of steel, as per exhibit ID, with
4 pages print, 81 900; portrait on stee-
as per exhibit Z, with & pages print, 81
500; portrait on steel, as per exhibit r,
with s pages print, $1,000; portrait on
steel, as per exhibit +, with 10 pages
print, $500: portrait on steel, as per
900; portrait on steel, as per exhibit f,
with 25 to 80 pages print, $4,000.
Following will be found some printed
instructions which Mr.. Boyne was
armed with:
In some instances, as in the case of
arrogant officials, capitalists or railway
or other monopolsts, it may be well to
state that their life and doings are be-
ing written up for. this work; that the
same is bound to be published in some
form; therefore is it not better to have
it right than wrong? Complete than
incomplete? In the case of objections
TO price, cost ana excl clleSS uluSl De
the answer. We are GROWING only
kings.
Fac-similes of contracts signed by ex-
Senator Tabor, of Colorado, for $4,000
worth of undying fame, and ex-Gov.
George G. Perkins, of California, for ST.
600 worth, are printed in the Examiner
also, and among the other crowned
heads might be mentioned J. D. Free
man, of Los Angeles, twelve pages, 3d.
600 worth; exGov. Downer, sixteen
pages, for only $1,000; M. j. Church, of
Fresno, $4,000; George H. Season., of
New York, $4,000; III. w. Corbett, of
Oregon, $1,000. William Gilpin, of Den
yer, secured $4,000 fame plot in the
work, and so on through a maze of
names representing not less than ST.,
600 each. The work prospered wonder
fully.
The publication of these names, and
the manner in which the thousands flew
into the History Company's hands by
this means, has created sensation
throughout the Pacific coast, owing to
the great prominence of the parties
mentioned.
81, a L.