The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-08-27
ONE DOLLAR A WORD.
Famous Men Who Can Easily Got This
Sum For Writing.
Especial Observation-Disclosures.

NEW YORK, Aug. 22-There are a num-
Der OF men who have no reputation as
writer's who would be able to command Mt
almost my time higher rates for magazine
or newspaper articles than almost any of
those litterateurs who have gained fame
by reason of their writings. Mr.. James r.
Keene, who is well known as one of the
most successful and picturesque of those
men who deal in Wall street in New York
city, has been many times asked to write
over his own signature upon any topic
which he chose and TO name his own price,
which would cheerfully be paid AS Mr..
keene sometimes has found his fortune APP
preciate as much as $4,000 in a single day,
1t is easy to see that if he charged for such
service in proportion to his earning capac-
ity he would receive an almost fabulous
sum for an article from 1900 to 5000 words
in length.
The only occasion since those early days
of his poverty, when he made his living as
newspaper writer, that Mr. Keene over
came his disinclination to write was in the
summer of 1871, just after he had held at
bay an army OF Wall street spectators,
having sustained the market single handed
for an entire day, hacked by gold which
his California friends sent to him, and
thereby unquestionably prevented such
panic as this country has not seen except
ing possibly in 1857 and 1876.
The strain upon his nervous system of
thus maintaining the market against the
combined assault of frightened investors
and spectators was SO great that a few
days after Mr. Keene was stricken with an
illness which threatened to develop into
paralysis of the brain. He was removed to
Long Branch as soon rs it was possible to
lift him from his bed. and there, after some
difficulty and through the offices of the late
Sam Ward, Mr. keenc consented to dictate
an interview for publication. Mr.. Ward
labored with him for more than two hours
before the great operator consented.
At that time Mr. Ward was entertaining
his nephew, F. Marion Crawford, and had
been SO highly pleased with story which
Mr.. Crawford told him of an experience in
India that he advised the young man to
write it out and that he would see that it
found publisher and thus it was that the
story which made Marion Crawford ia
nous. Mr.. Isaacs," came to be written and
printed and Crawford's career determined.
MIR. keene was greatly interested in Mr..
Wards narration to him of this tale which
had not then been printed, and he told Mr..
Ward some of the early California expe-
riences of his which seemed quite as mar
velous rs did the story of Mr.. Isaacs, and
it was then that Mr. Ward said to him:
Mr. keene, if you were not n great specu-
lator, you might become a great novelist"
Mr.. Kccne finally received the repre-
sentative Of one of the New York newspa-
pers. He lay upon his bed. which was in a
quiet room of one of the Long Branch ho-
tells. The roofs was very simply furnished,
and 1t seemed impossible to believe that
the man who lay there content apparently
with the almost humble surroundings of
this 10 by IL room was able, if he chose, to
buy the Motel and Il good deal of the nd
jacent property without materially affect
ing his pocketbook.
He began slowly to dictate. 1t seemed
as though he weighed every word. He fire.
quently changed Il word in order to put in
its place another which would more clearly
express his meaning. When a sentence or
n paragraph had been written down. Mr..
Keene would ask to have it read over, and
when this was done he repeated it several
times, his patience and care being quite
as great as characterized Ruskin or Rus
sell Lowell when they were engaged i'm
prose composition.
Thus for five hours this great financier
lay there composing and debating this
article. The mental strain was exhaustive
both upon Mr.. Ward, who was present, and
upon the newspaper reporter Once during
the Interview IL telegram was brought to
-hi- INNCLC iloui tuG HOtcl Olllce lie opened
it, read it and tossed it upon the table with
no more concern than though it had an
nounced n most trivial matter to him.
This article appeared the following day
i'll print. 1t was the sensational publica-
ton of the month 1t was republishetl
either i'll whole or in part in IL great num-
Der of newspapers. 1t commanded atteu-
ton not only from inanciers, to whom
every word uttered By Mr.. Keene then and
since upon financial matters was received
with absorbing interest, but it also made a
deep impression upon literary men on ac-
count OF the singular purity of its English
and the lucidity and felicity of its STYLE.
The editor Of the paper in which the arti-
Gle appeared would gladly have sent Mr..
kcene a check for 81, 800 forit, but the great
:inancicr did notand would not write for
pay. He earned Il fortune while he was
debating that article. for the telegram
which he received announced that Il sudden
appreciation that day ina line of stocks
held by Mr.. keene was so great that if he
chose to sell his profits would be sl5OOOO.
EX-Spcaker Reed has only recently been
tempted to write, and for his writings he
has received Il price quite as large rs the
handsome sum once paid Mr.. Gladstone by
an American publisher for n magazine ar
ticle Governor Mckinley was offered 81 .OOC
for Il 600 word article; Governor Russell
OF Massachusetts q sum almost rs large
but for a little longer article Secretary
Carlisle. if he could find time to write
could materially increase his income by sc
doing, and there is not one Of the more
prominent politicians and inanciers who
could not more than match the earnings oil
some OF the greatest of the litteratellrs, pro
vided only they were willing to accept Of
fcrs which have been made to them. 1t il
noticed, however that the timidity or re
pugnance which used to prevail among men