Arizona republican., 1899-06-27
HOOSIER POET ON A STRIKE
1r. EImore Warned by James Whit
 comb Riley.

few miles from this city, the Ath-
 ems of Indiana, there lives in the vii
 lage of Alamon 2 poet, James B. Ell more by name. Just before James ] Whitcomb Riley made his tour to the cast, Elmore had a conference with him at Indianapolis about the best method of dealing with infquitous pub fishers. On his return Elmore said that Riley had agreed with him that fl it was impossible to get fair royalty from a publisher it was better for the poet to keep his sacred product to himself Further than ttts. Elmore and Riley had a long talk about the great poets, Fillmore sad Fillmore was born and brought up in Alamo, and he has never journeyed far away Tn re- lating the story of his trip to Indian apOlis he said:
 T didn't get a publisher, because the best I could do was to get an offer Of 10 per cent, and you bet Pm not go- ing to give the children Of my phe- nomenal fancy to the world for the fin of the thing If I can't get Q fair roy alty, as the other great poets get will keep my poems to myself. l now have seventy eight poems, all first class, and a novel ready for the pub fisher My poems are just about the article. Poatry writing comes natural to me. and all I have to do is to sit down and grind 1t out. I have 9 won derful ina agin2ition and l dOn's have to see what I write about. I wrote that good poem on the Monon wreck with out ever seeing the wreck.
 "Of course. I haven't the advantages that Longfel1ow and Bryant had, and if I could travel like they did l would be all right. I have fooled around with the democratic party in the hope of getting some office that would let me get out, but so far I haven't sue cesded. Longfellow went over the blue ocean seven times at the govern ment's expense, so tits no wonder that he is good at poetry writing. If they would send me around that way I could do the same.
 'I had mighty good time in h. diarapOlis and I called on James Whitcomb Riley and read him 8 little poem I had written about him. He was pleased and gave me some valu- able pointers about getting out a book He was rougher than I thought he was, though, for he said: Make 'em sign their names for it before you publish it, or when the book is out the dashety blanks won't take il. l have been there myself and I know the dasheties'''
 'sThat good poem on the Monon wreck to which Fillmore referred was written the day after an accident near Charlottesville. l. was printed in one of the local papers. The poem begins thus:
 The train is coming wonder near; The conductor calls the station clear. Then outward move the busy th-ong, Ready for the stepping on.
 A signal waved says all Is well, And TOW we hear the parting bln. The engineer opes, the steam chest
 thrcos,
 Then sw:fter than dart she goes.
 Mile alter mile the train speeds along. Sugar creak bridge is passed and then comes the wreck:
 She strikes against a broken rail, When all the cars tt does de-au; And down they plunge into the deap, A depth of more than sixty feet. She rolled over just fore and aft, The occupants turning just like a
 shaft,
 Before she reaches this mournful
 place,
 Where each the others soul embraced. A silence fell upon the crew, AS if they knew not what to do, Then came sad and lamenting cries, From wreck of cars as thick as flies.
 The description of the wreck and the painful scenes around it proceeds through several stanzas, and concludes as follows: But they lay on the crimson snow; Their hearts have ceased to ebb and
 flow Quite as cold as 9 frozen chunk, With a lady's heart upon stump. And wonder in the wreck see A man that's pinioned down by tho i
 knee,
 And hear him calmly for to say, ''Cut, oh cut, my leg awayi"
 This is one of the poems which MT. | Elmore expects will live after him. | He does not propose to give up to the | publishers, and he declares that the | world will not have long to wait before | his novel and his poetry will be pub lished. Tn the meantime he IS making | rSaGy for the harvest on his farm Crawfords viile Qnd) Special to the New York Sun.