The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1894-02-16
WRITING AS A TRADE.
It's Not Such a Bonanza AS Some
Are Led to Believe.
Common-sense Comments by DR.. Edward
Eggleston-of All the Learned Profess
sions Literature Certainly Is tho
Most Poorly Paid.


Most Poosly Paid.
The phenomenal sales of many recent
books. notably such as General Wallaoe's
Ben Hur' and Mr.. Bellamy's Looking
Backward. have led the general public
to believe that the business OF author
Snip must be profitable one, This inn
preston has been intensified by reports
of tho great prices paid certain writer's
for their productions. Examplosin point
are the handsome incomes attributed to
Mark Twain, w. d. Howells, Mrs, Bur-
mott and others of far less noto. Conse-
Quently the recent statement escribed
to DR.. Edward Eggleston. hil.> elf sue
cessful writcr, in disproof = thi~ ori0i"N
has boon received with surprise. DR..
Egglcston, according to q literary jour
nal holds that there is not a single
American author who really makes an
income ont Of his books. Grlbb street
has become tradition, but the rewards
of the bool-makcr continue painfully
small. DR.. Eggleston writes to o Globe
Democrat correspondent in population
of tho bald statement thus attributed to
him, but in reiteration of the poor1nSn-
cial returns Of authorship: ''Cf course
| did not say any thing SO prophstor-
Gus as the words attributed to mo
in the newspaper in point This is
only ono Of many Illustrations Of tho
crying defect of American journalism
at this time. Moro brains, more pro
cision, moro mental training are want
ed in the reporters work. Or enter
prising reporters there are enough, mon
who viii find out the secrets Of the
North Pole steal an interview with tht
Popo or the Car, or ponotrat0 in search
of ncws to lady's bedohaml or. But
a decent report Of a public assembly, or
of an address for which tho orator did
not himself supply the manuscript copy,
have not seen in long time. | wish
to file a general cavoat that ] am ac-
countablo for no speeches put into my
mouth in this way. What lid say be-
fore a Congressional committee was that
did not know any author who he'd &C
quired competence by literary work
properly so-called. | proceeded to OK
clude school-boo4s. Mr.. Longfollow
was professor and mado good invest
ments. Mr.. Emerson was poor during
tho greater part of his lifo, ! believe,
though he endured the tlrudgory of
lycoum lecturing, and it is said he only
gained competence in old ago by good
investments. Hawthorne was driven
to drudge for u book-maker like Good
rich and to seek public Offices. Mr..
Lowell mas had other sources Of income;
Mr.. Howells has had, let us hops,
liberal editorial salary; Colonel HiGgin-
son published a successful school-bool1.
My very point is that authors are
driven from the production Of Liter
ature, properly so-called, to drudgery
or sensationalism by the desire to
earn that suficiency which literature
1N~T = - -''--- 'rhc rov'r~~~ -
ulsy W Ll,.y lJ0 In us crlol,.4 .4J.l~ntS
class tho profitable Juveniles Of Miss Al
colt, Mr. Trowbridge and Oliver Optic
with literature properly so-called. Ii is
q matter Of opinion. Mr. Aldrichs adj
mirablo Story of Bad Boy which
should call literature withouta question
mark, did not reach The tenth part of
the circulation attained by Boston
juveniles of llimsie. texture.
Let me remark, am combating the
notion very prevalent among Congress-
men that an author of reputation has
opened a bonanza. OF all tho learned
professions, literature is tho most poor
ly paid. Tho leading authors must be
compared with leading lawyers, doctor3
and ministers. II you compare suc-
cessful author with country lawyer or
the pastor of q village church, you might
mako fair showing. But what author
ever hopes to attain the eincoma enjoyed,
say, by the late DR.. Willard Parker or
by Mr.. Eyarts? The body of working
itterateurs who make pot-boilors for
the boolzaollers all their lives and are
never known to the newspapers in such
a discussion as this, certainly have no
hope Of more than the livelihood of
very humble professional man.
''For many years | have been accus-.
toned to warn young men of from be-
ginning a literary career, because SO
few of the literary workers ever attain
competency