Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-17


Mr.. Spofford: There are more than twice
as many copyrights asked for every year
now as there were ten years ago. and the
| United States has never been more inteIlec-
tually alive than 1t is today In 1892 there
were more than $4,000 copyrights issued.
and the publications Of 1893 exceeded those
OF 1892. Nearly everything of importance is
| copyrighted now, and we have copyrighted
lectures and newspaper articles as well as
| books. The number of magazines is in
| creasing, and there are now more than a
| thousand literary reviews, magazines and
periodicals in the United States. The in
| crease in other classes of literature has
| been almost as great, and there are now
| more than 600 scientific periodicals and a
| large number Of professional magazines.
We are making many new books, and the
| National Library increases in size every
| day."
speaking Of new books, Mr.. Spofford,
are there many great works produced by
| new writer's today?'
There are few great books produced In
any age" replied Mr.. Spofford Great
geniuses are born. not made. and the gener-
alton is happy which sees more than one or
two Of them. think this is an age Of COM
pilation rather than OF creation. The great
|
be born. We have had some creative
writers Of the past, but the greatest Of them
are now dead Longfellow. Emerson and
| James Russell Lowell have passed away,
| and the only one who can really be called
| great among those left Is Oliver Wendell
| Holmes"
How about Washington as a literary
center? Is there much literary work done
herer
Yes. there is a great DEAL" was the re-
ply. This is one Of the intellectual centers
or the United States. and there are a num-
Der of authors who live here. Thomas Nell
son Page has lately purchased residence
on Massachusetts, avenue. Frances Hodg-
son Burnett lives a little further down the
way, and this is the home of Henry Adams,
the historian; Col. John Hay, Mr. Nicolay
and score of other well-known literary
workers. We have a great number Of sci.n-
| tile scholars living here, and some of the
| best travel works are written in Washing
ton. The National Museum has connected
with 1t many able writer's of travel Num-
bers OF Senators and Representatives do
| literary work, and the library of Congress
Is used greatly by all classes of scholars
and students. On Saturday we do not
have enough seats for the readers. and the
library is always full of specialists who are
working UP some subject"
Speaking of Washington as a literary CEN
ter 1t is not generally known that it was
/
cents Abroad" He was at the time in the
employ Of Senator Stewart Of Nevada. and
was doing clerical work for him. He had
made the trip to Europe and the Holy Land
as a correspondent Of the Alta California I"
getting for IT 81 200 in gold, and he pounded
the stuff out here in an old room heated by
a sheet-iron stove After he got back he
| got an idea that the letters would sell IL
they were put into book shape, and he
showed Senator Stewart his notes and
Stewart gave him job at the Capitol which
paid him So day. After several weeks of
hard work he completed his book and then
went to a publisher. One OF his friends
here at Washington was Albert D. Richard
| son, who had been connected with several
subscription books, and who had written
| some very good things. Richardson intro
duced him to his publishers, and Mark
| Twain finally made a deal with them by
which he was to have 5 per cent of the
retail price of all the books sold Not long
ago / had some thoughts of publishing a
book myself. and called upon Mr.. Clemens
| at his home in Hartford and asked his ad-
vice. During this call he referred to I'm
| nocents Abroad" and said that 1t had net
| ted him only a few thousand dollars, but
that it had made the fortune of the pub
| fishers. Said he: L was surprised when
| l was told that good sum for the work
would be 5 per cent of the retail price of the
books sold l laughed at IL, but Richardson,
who introduced me, told me that he was
glad when he got per cent, and accepted
| their offer. Including the editions there
| were something like 100000 copies disposed
| of, and the publishing company made in
the neighborhood Of $4,000 out Of it,"
| I asked him what he thought Of books
| Of travel sellers?
He looked at me with a twinkle Of tho eye
| and said There is only one kind Of a
book that will sell by subscription better
than book of travel, and that is pious
| book. He then referred to his own pub
fishing ventures in a few words, and told
me that the best possible method of ar
| ,,erft,T
scrption book was to accept nothing until
| the plates were paid for and then to take a
| low percentage on the first 5000, increasing
1t on each 5000, until it got as high as s
or 10 per cent which would be big re-
Enumeration and would make one a fortune
IL the book had large sale.
Blaine wrote a great part Of his book
| here. He began 1t when he was living lust
above the old Sickles house, on Lafayette
| square, and he wrote a great part Of it in
his mansion on Dupont circle. The second
| volume was written here and at Bar Har-
Dor. and he completed 1t here in Senator
| WINDOWS big brick, just below where
| Bourke Cochran now lives and facing
| Scott Circle. He was a very rapid writer
and he considered 500 words a good morn
ing's work. His book brought in. under
stand. something like s200O00, and 1t has
paid the best of any book Of its class ever
| "reminiscences here, and before he died
| he told me he was to receive 81, 500 on
each volume sold.
| 1t was here that Tom Benton wrote his
Thirty Years in the United States Senate, "
| and l have visited the old brown house on
street where he put the matter into
| shape and in which he died. He was work
ing on his "Abridgment Of the Debates OF
| Congress" at the time he died, and he pray.
ed during his last hours to be allowed to
live until he had 1t complete. Gen Logan
wrote his volume of war Stories In the
house in which his widow now lives, and
1t was here that he penned a novel which
was issued under an assumed name, but
which had only a meager sale. Logan left
a fairly good library, and 1t will be a sur.
prise to many that he was fond of religious
studies. He was a great Methodist, and he
had many rare editions of the Bible and
famous theological works. He wrote rap
idly and revised carefully, but his book, like
that of Gen. Sheridan, did not have any
thing like the sale Of the works of Grant
and Blaine.
I wonder when John J. ingalls, will pub
lish his novel / visited him here a few
DAYS after his library was burned in Atch
ison Kan. He had in this library a mum
Der of manuscripts, which were destroyed
and among them were some OF the note!
for this story. 1t was to have been a DO
Iitical society novel, laid in Washington
in which the true inwardness, hypocris,
and hollowness Of life here would b.