Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-10-17
A WOMAN
AND
AN EDITOR.

'SS AANSp = ~ y ES~nS1
We'll" said the editor, with an air Of
sanity resignation. "tell her that In
very busy, but IL she can say what sht
wants in FIVE minutes I'll see her."
YEARLY he removed his feet from thu
table, put on his coat, threw the re
mainder Of his cigarette into the fire
place, opened the window, secreted thu
copy of Notre Champagne that he had
been reading and set to work ON a pile
Of proofs. BY that time Tomlin had re
turned, announcing Miss Sands.
She was IS. and she was plain. More.
over, she was as nervous as q cat in q
new home.
She said Good morning in a choked
whisper.
pray be seated" said the editor. He
pushed over a basket piled with manu-.
scripts to Tomlin. "Send all those back
Then he turned to Miss Sands again and
asked what he could do for her.
Il want to ask what you would think
of a story of japanese life"
I'm afraid that sort Of thing is 9
good deal overdone nowadays. They've
got a Jap series running in Busters
Magazine, and of course we've had Sir
Edwin and a whole lot more. No; the
public's sick Of it. l don't think we
should care to see it. Sorry you've had
the trouble
"Oh, not at all! Pm glad"
Il don't quite understand"
You see. l want the story to be re-
fused. It's my sister Caroline. Thanks
so much for promising to send it back"
But wait a minute. l gave no such
promise. 1t is part Of an editors dsty to
consider carefully everything that is sub
mitted-everything. Besides, why should
you be so anxious that your sister should
be disappointedT
You see, you don't know her. Her be-
setting sin is conceit. She's younger than
l am, and-well, she's rather good look
ing. She's been spoiled by having too
much fuss made about her. If you could
hear her Dragging sometimes I'm sure
you'd agree with me. Really, it's often
difficult enough for me to live with her as
it is, and if she had a story accepted by
The Latest Light she would become quite
intolerable."
"But really" said the editor with supe.
riority, these family disputes have moth
ing to do with me. I'm simply here to-
oh, yes, Of course! only mention it
to explain why l want you to refuse her
silly rubbish"
How do you know it's silly rubbish?"
"I've read it, and 1t wouldn't do for you
at ALL"
"Really, Miss Sands" said the editor
with growing severity, you must leave
me to be the judge of that. l cannot per-
NIT anybody to dictate to me what l am
to accept or what l am to refuse. Have
you any special training which entities
you to c~riticise your sisters work at all?
It's remarkable-that belief which almost
every woman seems to have that she is
qualified to judge literary work! Are you
quite sure that you know the difference
between silly rubbish and a work Of gen.
iusY"
anyhow, it shows that she has no i'm
agination-her having made it a Japanese
story"
Il don't follow that argument"
mo, l hadn't told you. My sister Caro-.
line lived in Japan with a Japanese fami.
~ for some years. She's only using up
what she saw and heard there, and that's
not imagination"
AT any rate it makes it the more prob
able that the story will be interesting"
Il can't see that. She got to know
things about the japanese women-well,
really!"
AS bad as that"
Miss Sands wriggled ~uneasily. "Td
rather not talk about it. All want is
just your promise that you won't accept
the story. You know the public don't
care about Japanese things"
"Once for ALL" said the editor, Twill
you give up trying to teach me my bust
ness! What is the use of telling me that
the public don't care for Japanese topics
when Busters Magazine is going in for
them hot? Do you think they don't know
the public taste through and through at
Busters place? What about the success
Of the 'Geisha?' What about-but really
l lose all patience. The attempt to make
an editor refuse a story to satisfy some
personal grudge of your W is, of course,
utterly useless. 1t is also dishonest, and
as the author happens to be your own sis
ter it is even worse than dishonest. It's
no good pleading. I've nothing more to
say to you"
Good morning, then" said Miss
Sands, looking doleful. ~ didn't know
you take II ike that"
When she got into the street, the dole
fulness passed off. She turned into the
next A. B. G. shop for a bun and a glass
of milk and looked as pleased as if she
had accomplished something.
"Tomlin," said the editor, when q
manuscript comes from a Miss Caroline
Sands-it will be a story on a Japanese
subject-don't send it up with the rest for
Mr.. Garner to read, but let me have it at
once. will read that 3ne myself"
And in due course the story was
brought, and the editor noted with pleas
ure that it was just about the right
length.
The story was neither too good to leave
out nor too bad to put in. It was medic
ere, and as a rule that editor did not love
mediocrity. However, he accepted It at
once and wrote to Miss Caroline Sands to
say that he had done 20. II he had been
told that he had practically made up his
mind to accept the story even before he
read It, he would have been angry.
And all this was a great Joy to that
Miss sands who had called at the Office,
For she had no sister, and her own name
was Caroline, and she was the author Of
a Japanese story which was founded on
book Of travels and an article
in the encyclopedia-as recently sold to
the public by a great newspaper on
terms that saved the buyer 80 per cent.
And she wanted that story to be read at
once and to be accepted.
Also she had once seen a man drive q
mir -Evohorv e#r Wg l.