The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-05-14
James WhitcOmb Riley Believes II
Only Comes With Hard Work.
THE HOOSlER POETS POEMS
Carl Sohurz Writing His Memoirs
Another Author Whose Novels
Have Sold Two Million Copies
The Step of a Brave Poet.
From the Philadelphia Times.

VI DOuIuSs II COITtt 10 n DtISOU Only
by hard. incessant and laborious work"
said the poet to me in Indianapolis last
week. 1T means plodding. grinding.
call IL what you may. Now, see here"
continued Mr.. Riley. as he produced a
bound volume Here IS the volume of
Hearth and Home for 1875. IT con-
tains the first poem l ever wrote, and
for which Donald Z. Mitchell ok Mar
VEL you know. who was then editor,
sent me the first check / ever had for
poem. 1t was for eight dollars.
worked for 10 years after that before /
produced anything that the public
would look at. and then il happened
to be When the Frost is on the Pump
kim But here is the point l want TO
illustrate. Here is a story, announced
in glowing terms by the editor as from
a new genius The story, as you see.
is called A Woman in Armor;' the
author. Mary Hartwell. Now. OF course.
we know her as Mary Hartwel Cath
erwood. But between 1875. when she
published this story. and the time. 20
years later. when she issued her 'Ro-
nance OF Dollard,' she was almost for
gotten. But she was working all the
time, and morking hard. Look at Mary
wilkins. for example. We say she has
bounded into fame. She hasn't. j
picked up a secondhand copy book Of
her verses the other day published IL
years ago Two years ago success
came to her. but she had been working
steadily for years and years before
she achieved what she was. No. sir.
literary success comes only from hard
work. and keeping at IL, too. And the
fellow who thinks others have gotten
to the top by leaps or bounds. and ex-
poets to get there himself in the same
way, makes a double mistake. Nobody
ever got there that way, and he won't"
All OF which is both encouraging and
discouraging to young writer's.
The reports OF the illness of James
Whitcomb Riley. by the way. were tre-
mendously exaggerated While he has
been i'll, the case was not of the seri-
Gus nature of brain fever, which was
telegraphed East The "Hoosier Poet"
has been steadily at work upon a new
volume of poems, which he intends
bringing out I'm the late autumn. As
he has practically no uncollected poems
on hand, the new volume really means
new poems. To this task Riley applied
himself so rigidly that he overworked,
and trouble in the head ensued as a
matter of course. But now the illness
has passed over. and save for a slight
weakness the poet is himself again and
picking up the threads of his work. He
lives quietly at the home of a friend In
Indianapolis. has renowned the lecture
platform, and save for his forthcoming
volume he has not done any work This
new collection of verse, when publish
ed. will be a pleasant surprise to the
"Hoosier Poets" friends. IL presents
him i'm verse different i'm character
from anything which he has heretofore
produced.
Even New Workers see and hear very
little OF Carl Schurz, although he lives
in their midst. He has simply retired
from public life. and refuses all over
lures looking TO his re-entrance into
the political maelstrom. He is now a
man who lacks three or four years of
20. but looks like a man much young
er. He often walks from his uptown
house to the editorial rooms of Harp
er's Weekly. IL is in connection with
this periodical that he now spends a
part OF his time, writing each week n
leader" for its editorial page. All of
his days are given over to literary
work. At present Mr.. Schurz is en-
gagged upon his memoirs, which will
probably expand into two volumes be-
fore they are completed. He is in
no haste to publish the work, and IL
viii probably be late in the year before
the manuscript is i'm the hands of the
publishers. The book will embrace
Mr.. Schurz's career of a. years OF active
service i'm political, military, journals
tic. literary. civic and social life. Nat
urally man with such a career has a
story to tell. and gifted. as Mr.. Schurz
is, with a facile pen. IL will be a story
well worth reading.
IL is a curious fact that a writer can
issue book after book. sell them by the
hundreds of thousands. and yet never
have her work read by what is gener-
oil -
fact, never does that literary world"
know when Mary j. Holmes writes a
new book. She has a clientele all her
own, consisting principally, of course,
OF girls in the smaller communities.
Yet this audience keeps Mrs. Holmes
pen not only constantly busy but yields
her an income which any author might
envy. This fact viii be better appreci-
ated and understood when Il is known
that during the present year Mrs.
Holmes books reached a sale Of 1000, 900
copies. Now she is writing a new novel
that she calls The Ralston House."
which a western periodical is TO issue
as a serial before IL becomes a book.
In fact. Mrs. Holmes work Is contract
ed for long ahead OF its completion. and
not a novel comes from her pen but IL
means large revenue to her.
Every Once in a while we hear of
pull up tire anchor which he had had
40 windward. and sail out on the sea
OF literature with simply his pen as a
compass. Rarely do we hear this done
by a poet, however. Yet here is one
and he is Clinton Scotland. This clev-
er singer has for some time filled the
chair Of English literature at Hamll-
ton college. This position gave him
not royal income. but Il was some
tn!ng which he could absolutely de-
pend upon 50 long as ne fulfilled his
duties. Now, however. Mr.. ScOllard
has given up his certainty in order. as
he says. that he may devote all his
time TO writing" This T. bravery pure
and simple. IL would be brave enough
for a prose writer. but for writer
whose forte is poetry IL is heroism.
And b Is particularly heroic i'm Mr..
Scollard. because Il is not clear now
he can very well write more than he
has As IL Is. there is scarcely a " -ek-