Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-26

Toledo Blade the start which now makes It
one Of the most profitable newspaper proper
| ties of the country. It makes, was told at
Toledo yesterday, about 100000 a year,
| and the Nasby estate is now worth about
| 81, ,000, 900. This Is great increase over its
| condition at the time of Mr.. Locke's( Nasby)
death few years ago. The great humorist
had invested largely in real estate and other
| things, during his latter years, and his
property, though valuable. was covered with
mortgages. 1t would not, it is thought, then
have sold, paper and all, under the hammer,
for such a price as to net 5000, 900.
Nasty thought be was the soul of his news
paper. and that with his death it would be-
gin to decline, and that il would steadily
decrease in value. He told his son Robert
Locke this, and dnring his last hours, when
he knew he was going to die, urged him by
all means 10 sell as soon as possible. Young
Locke listened with due respect to his
father, but he did not sell and kept on pub
fishing it, and it has, I am told, made
enough money for him to pay off all the
mortgages, and to increase the value Of the
property SO that it is now worth a million.
Gossip About james Whitcomb Riley.
The true inwardness of the bad habits
which James Whitcomb Riley was accused
of at the time of his trouble with Bill Nye
some time ago has never been published. I
spen. day or so at indianapolis q short
time ago, and the only wonder to me was
that Mr. Riley was as temperate as he was.
His troubles were not with Bill Nye 30
much as an advance agent of indianapolis,
who had five years contract with him. by
which he was to receive one-half of all the
profits of his lecture and reading tours.
Riley is as simple as child, and be made
orlr frra
Thea managed him for time himself,
and when the Riiey-Nye combination was
formed, he got to be an employe OF Major
Pond and managed them.
II the report hear at indianapolis is
true, he received pay for this, and In addi-
tion got on the quiet one-half of the receipts
that Riley received from his work. Thus
Rilev was furnishing fully half the show,
doing the most of the work, and getting only
q small part OF the profits. It is no wonder
thar be got gloomy under this slavery, and
if be now and then took more to drown his
troubles than was good for him, we need not
be surprised. He is. In fact, one of the best
drawing cards In the lecture field to-day, and
his receipts for going to make single read
ing at Denver were, I am told, 81, 900. His
contract with this agent has about expired,
and he will be IN the lecture field on his own
hook soon.
His Genius Doesn't Grasp Details.
Speaking Of his simplicity, an Indian
apolis editor says he is sure to get the wrong
train in going to any place, and they tell a
story there of how he once took young lady
home from party in indianapolis, and then
in order to find his own way back to his
house, he had to 60 back to the place where
the party was held and start anew. He is,
however. much loved at Indianapolis, and
the people rightly call him the Robert Burns
of the present generation.
He has one OF the greatest souls among the
authors of to-day, and he is genius of q
very high poetic order. He has wonder
full power as q lecturer, and he can render |
his own poetry 30 as to bring tears to the eyes |
of his hearers, or at will. to bring the house |
down in convulsions of laughter. He has |
not the money-making sense to any extent, |
and though he receives good prices from the |
magazines for his poetry, is would be just |
like him to give some of his best work away |
to a friend who admired IL. There is no |
snobbishness about him, and he is, in short, |
what his poems show him TO be, q great big boy, |
with q soul In sympathy with the good, the |
true and the beautiful, and with kindly |
feeling toward all that is sad and sorrowful |
in humanity and human kind. It goes |
~ltuout Saying tndt sucu Hdn snoulu not |
sell his soul for one-half of its profits to an |
agent. James Whitcomb Riley's |
experience in money making is that of many |
humorists. Artemus Ward never saved |
and he was as guileless as Riley. |
NJ. Quad has made good thing off OF the |
Detroit Free Press, but its owners have been |
helped to make fortune out OF him. Mark |
Twain once told me that "The Innocents |
Abroad paid him only per cent of the |
retail price OF the book. hear that the |
Norristown Herald funny man has broken
down, and that fund will be raised 10 give
him vacation in Europe. He has worked
on and on, at 81 900 year, until his health |
Is broken, FRANK G.. CARPENTER.