Arizona republican., 1900-12-23
STRUGGLING YOUNG AUTHOR.
Not Apparently Augmenting His Bank Account, but Gaining Experience.

l More experiences said the strug gling author. You may remember my telling you of the care l exercised
 to fully prepay the postage on tho
 manuscripts l sent out. l always look ed after the postage very carefully but once l did send a package that, as 1t proved, was not fully prepaid, and iu time l heard from it in a manner that excited my admiration.
 This manuscript was returned; and contained in the envelope there was also clipping from the envelope in which 1t had been originally sent. On that clipping was a postage due stamp and the clipping had been so cut as to take Tn also part of the address writ ten on the envelope by the sender, that being, in this case. in my handwriting So here on this Cne scrap of paper was visible proof of underpayment on a package sent by me, the amount being set forth dn the stamp. And this doc umentary evidence had all been collect- ed at one sweep of the shears in less than quarter of a minute.
 "I forwarded the amount called for promptly, and thought as l did so that the manner in which the shortage had been brought to my notice was modern and up to data in the very last degree. But that only shows how limited my Knowledge of such things really was. No doubt, In its way, that method of dealing with the postage due question was altogether admirable but I have had an envelope since that shows me that, comparatively speaking. it was in reality antiquated and slow. By the old method something less than a quar- ter of minute was required in dispos- ing of the postage due business: by the new method it is disposed of in abso- lutely no time at all.
 l sent out, some weeks go, a manu- script which, in the ordinary course of events I expected to hear from in a week, but which I did not hear from for month. l waited and waited. Of course l hoped (and thoughD that the delay meant consideration: and that all this careful consideration would not De gwen to the manuscript unless the article seemed worth 1t; and so on. that delay reared, of my hopes, a beautiful structure, in which for a month I lived rent free: and then came the tornado.
 "One morning l received, at the hands of the letter carrier a large and imposing looking envelope of tough brown paper, with lot of printing on the outside of it, and addressed in very legible handwriting. The printing said that the envelope was from the post office department, office of the first assistant postmaster general, dead letter office, and finally that it was on official business. What under the can- opy could it mean?
 Well, I opened the tough brown pa per envelope, With all the printing on the outside of it, and looked; and what l saw made me laugh, as it makes me laugh again when I think of it today. Inside was the manuscript thai I had been Waiting for so long and so hope fully, with postage due stamp affixed to the envelope, while stamped upon the envelope itself was the word 'refus- ed And so il had never been taken in at all, but had gone back to the post office and in due time Uncle Sammy, good humored, benoveient, kindly Uncle Sammy. had brought it back to me-
 You say you think that in refusing things in this manner they might now and then shut out an angel? Well, pos sibly So. But I suppose they think that angels are nCt very thick in the unprc- paid contributions of unknown contrib utorS."