The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-07-08

WIN u 0AnAoSe any oInSA PAoAcSSASA'
Mr.. Howells said:
81 know very well the business value
OF my own reputation. / know exactly
what l have accomplished in that direc-
ton. The success that have made. and
the reputation that I have obtained,
would in any other profession eutitle
me to at least four or five times what l
now receive" He then added: 81 mako
at the outside between $40, 600 and SIS, :
900 year. This result, viewed from the
standpoint of a beginner in the literary
work, has a colossal look. Viewed from
the standpoint of an equal success in
other professions, the result is meagre.
But it is just to add that writers do not
work as many hours as the men of other
professions. This is not generally ad-
mitted, as the writer's have had all there
is to say upon the subject. OF course
the writer never underestimate the
weary labor of his profession, but in
reality literary people work less hours
than do the embers of almost any
other profession. This is equally true
of artists. The artistic temperament
takes kindly to leisure"
''You do not believe in moods, then.
that one hears so much about in the lit
erary and artistic world"
Mr.. Howells laughed as he said: 81
am afraid l do not believe in moods, as
they are usually defined. A writer or an
artist is in a good mood for his best
Uork xuhan he tho at raj
disinclination to work, so as to assume,
at least, the virtue Of industry"
This financial result is accomp lished,
according to Mr. Howells, through
steady work and in several fields. He
has been a regular monthly contributor
to periodicals for years. He was first
the director of ''The Atlantic Monthly"
then 'Harper's Magazine secured his
services, and now 1.-THE Cosmopolitan"
flies his name as editor. Besides his
novels, he has always had these editorial
duties to occupy his time. His writing
writes from three to four hours, finish
ing at the luncheon hour, l o'clock. His
afternoon is generally devoted to edito-
rial work and to reading, his evenings
to social diversion and casual readings.
He never writes in the evening, for if he
did he would not be able to sleep.
Mr.. Howells has written some critica
essays upon journalism. l asked him if
he considered that the work of journal
ism could be properly classed as literary.
Did he consider the newspaper world as
good preliminary field for the best work
of the highest literature Mr.. Howells
confined his remarks to denial that
there was any essential difference be-
tween the newspaper world and the
literary one, except the difference that
sometimes exists between two warning
neighbors. They may differ as to each
He said: 81 think that the difference
will be found in methods. The news
paper men and the literary men pure
and simple both go to life for their
facts. The newspaper men regard the
facts of much more Importance than
erary man makes the method of presen-
tation of first Importance. This differ
ence is one which is an outgrowth of
different conditions. The newspaper
man does his work under the drive and
demand of tomorrow morning. The
literary man is doing his work, if he is
doing it honestly, with an eye on the
the morrow of posJerity,
Mr. Howells then went on to make a
very fair criticism Of the newspapers of
this country. They are in a period of
development. he thinks. At present
There is too much energy expended in
ga thering merely so-caIled news. There
are COO many things brought toget her
in which the reader can and should
have no interest. The thousand and
one petty incidents of the various cas-
ualties of life that are grouped together
in newspaper columns are proftless ex-
penditures of money and energy. These
often remote incidents are presented in
an attractive way, and one soon forms
the awful habit of reading everything
in the newspaper, with, to quote Mr..
be found by man leaning over the
parapet of bridge and splitting into
rapid flowing river.
His advice to young writers, people
who are anxious to become literary
workers, was, first, to be sure they had
some thing to say and then to seek to say
it in the simplest possible way. There
should never be any straining after eff
fects, any hunting for unusual forms.
There should be great temperance in the
employment of adjectivss and an effort
to keep as clearly as possible to what is
to be related. The writer should always
sink his individuality. He should always
be subordinated to what he was trying
to do The difficulties in the way OF cor
rsctly ana simply giving the picture of
an ordinary incident in life are enorm-
Gus, said Mr.. Howells- Correctly and
entering and going out of room is only
appreciated by one who seeks to portray
even such simple incident as that.
The simplicity ana naturalness Of the
present standards of good writing were
in keeping with the trend Of modern
development. The artificial writing OF
the past, literature on stills, has been re-
tired to the background with the pro-
fessionsl orator. The public speaker of
to-day does not depend upon fowerv
phrases, upon overloaded sentences and
skiIlful climsxes The thought with
him is of more importance than such
rhetorical ornaments. With the orator,
as with the writer, the simpler his
meth eds the Creater his effects