The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-08-20
Chicago Evening Post.

Chicago Evening Post.
One of the Chicago writer's who occa-
slonally temper failure with success sud-
denly happened one day upon a thought
which was good for a magazine story-a
Juvenile magazine story. at that. and they
are said to be the hardest OF all fish 10
land. The more he thought about this
thought the more he hated 10 send IL TO
any magazine and TO wait two or three
to send it to another for like lettering.
SO he evolved a scheme. He had a new
sype yTsT, ana = after he had devised a
he made another copy. One fair day in
May he sent one copy to the Youths Com
panion and the other to st. Nicholas. Then
forgot his thought. as he had forgotten
others.
In the beginning of June came a letter
check for $40. payment for his story. and
also a letter complimenting the writer for a
clever conception and a happy manner OF
story telling. Then he was proud. He re-
ceipted for the forty. spent II and intended
presently to write st; Nicholas recalling his
D paIsed' he n se9y, m 0d cSurs One as as sRe as sA gs
climbed to his desk he realized the need
was imperative. And there was a letter
him 81 This Eie Was the middle hs ee Of Jnne a aSS ss
should have attended to that matter days
and days ago. This he thought about. self.
ace TSsf MY i as ne p ps araa the letter! srbev n.v.
accepted ii, too" And the check fell out
He picked 1t up and looked at the perfor
ated figures. 1t was for SO,
He was helpless. OF course all that EN-,
barrassment might have been saved had III
written promptly on the receipt OF the frs
acceptance, but that is asking a good deas
of a writer. So he returned the check
thanked the editor for the second compile
mentary letter and added that. since he
that same story to another publisher. And
then he broke down and took the editor into
his confidence. describing the duplicate copy
Z and dda nc a nrfa "a
Who could have dreamed that two pub
fishers would accept one OF my stories2
Think Of it-both. of them"
The editors reply showed that there Is a
good fellow" at the Eastern end Of the
line as well.
Another writer is given TO making verses.
Long ago he composed a pretty little Jingle
about girls and men and summer breezes
and fancies that live in all seasons. II was
good. He recited Ii again. and they always
praised it. One day he wrote out the lines
fairly and sent the copy 10 a magazine.
Then he went away TO the war. He came
and a discharge not long ago and found his
mother had been keeping for him a sting
Ing, letter from the magazine editor. to-
itself. There was the poem. with only a
word changed here and there; and over IL
was a name he never had heard.
He was In more trouble than when the
Filipino bullet hit him and sent him to the
hospital; but he wrote the truth 10 the
from fu5ror his sef friends w anppo ntf le sIs claim T numP %s
made no contest for the honor OF authorship
or the price of the poem. He simply wanted
to put himself right with the editor.
After about two months he received a
letter from a stranger. II was dated at
FL Paso, Texas. and II ran:
You remember sitting I'm the managers
office at Blanks theater and reciting a little
poem about summer girls. don't. you? You
may remember me. I was there. I knew
you never would do anything with that
poem, so i wrote II down. Several other
fellows said some good things there. and
I have sold them TO Truth and Puck and
some of the other funny papers. But ]
like TO do the square thing. so I write tc
tell you. You can get a copy OF the mag
azine with the poem in II. You Will find
II in the July number. II I could remember
the other fellows I would tell them. too.
This writer-soldier sent the letter 20 the
editor. simply asking that he be accepted as
an honest man, and closed the incident.