The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1891-01-30
WRITING AS A TRADE.
It's Not Such a bonanza Az sone
Are Led to Believe.
common.sense Comments ~ Dr. Edward
E~eyleston-Cf All tho Lesrned Profes.
s;ons Litcraturo Cert ainly Ia tho
Most Poorly Paid.

The phenomenal sales Of many recent
books. notably such Us General Wallace's
'.Dcn lIur" and Mr.. Bcllamy's "Looking
Backward" have led tho general public
to believe that the business of author.
snip must DO q profitable one. This inn
preston has been intensified by reports
Of tho great prices paid certain writer's
for their productions. Examples in point
are the handsome incomes attributed to
Mark Twain, w. d. Howells, Mrs. Bur
nett and others of far less noto. Conse.
quently the recent statement ascribed
to DIR. Edward Eggleston, hits elf q sue
ccssful writer, in disproof of this opinion
has been received with surprise. DIR.
Egglcston, according to a literary jour.
nal, holds that there is not o single
American author who really makes an
income out of his books. (irubb street
has become q tradition, but the rewards
of tho book-mnkcr continue painfully
small. DIR. Egglcston writes to q Globe.
Democrat correspondent in population
of t.le bald statement thus attributed to
him, but in rc~iterntion Of the poor flnan-
cial returns of authorship: ..Of course
l did not say any thing SO prcpostor-
u as tho words attributed to mo
in the newspaper in point. This is
only one of many illustrations Of tho
crying defect Of American journalism
at this time. Moro brains, moro pre-
cision, more mental training are want
ed in tho reporters work. OF enter
prising reporters there arc enough, mon
who will find out tho secrets of the
North Pole, steal IN interview with the
Pope or the Car, Or penetrate in search
of. C W to a lady's hcdcl,amhcr. but
a decent report Of G public assembly, or
of an address for which the orator did
o himself supply the manuscript copy,
1 have not seen in c long time. l wish
to file 4 general cavaat that I am ac-
countablc for no speeches Put into my
mouth in this way. What did say be-
fore q Congressional committee was that
l did not know any author wlo had ac-
quircd q competence by literary work
properly so-callod. l proceeded to OK
cludc school-booes. Mir. Longfcllow
was q professor and made good invest
lncnts. Mr.. Emerson q poor during
the greater part of l:is life. J believe,
though he endured tho dr:ll,aiy of
lycaum lccturing, and it is slid he only
gained a competence in old age by good
Investments. Hawthorne was driven
to drudge for q book-makcr like Good
rich and to seek public Offices. Mr..
Lowell has had other sources of income;
Mr.. Nowclls has had. let us hope. q
liberal editorial salary; Colonel lIiggin-
son published q successful s~ahool-buok.
My very point is that authors are
driven from the production of l.tcr-
aturc, properly so-callcd,' to drudscry
or scn%sationalism by the desire to
earn that sutiicicncy which literature
does not give. Tho newspaper in point
may or may not IN It's critical moments
class the profitable Juveniles of Miss AL
colt, Mr.. ~Trowbridgc and Oliver Optic
with literature properly so-called. 1t is
a matter of opinion. Mr.. Aldrich's adj
mirablc STORY of q bad Boy which I
should call literature without q question
mark. did not reach til" tenth part Of
tho circulation attained by Boston
Juveniles OF a flimsie. texture.
"I4ct INC remark. I an combating tho
notion very prevalent among Congress-
mon that al author Of reputation has
opcn.l q bonanza. OF all the learned
professions. literature is tho most poor
ly paid. The leading authors must be
compared with leading lawyers, doctors
and minister's. If You compare a sue.
cessful author with 4 country lawyer or
the pastor of a village church. sou might
make q fair showing. But what author
ever hopes to attain the incora" enjoyed,
say. by the late Er. Willard Parker or
by Mr.. Evarts? The body OF working
littcrateurs who mako pot-boilcrs for
the booksellers all their lives and arc
never known to the newspapers in such
a discussion as this, certainly have no
hope Of more than the livelihood of q
very humble professional man.
"For many years have been accus-
toned to warn young men off from be-
ginning a literary career, because SO
few OF the literary workers ever attain
q competency"