The evening times., 1900-03-30
The Magazines of Today.

Mr. Walter r. Page recently made the
sweeping assertion that the magazines Of
this country are duh and badly written.
As Mr. Page has himself been editor Of
al least two leading magazines, the aver
age reader may feel inclined 10 enquire
whose fault it is that this sad condition
OF things exists. When Mr. Page edited
the Atlantic Monthly he did what he
could TO enliven that staid and respectd-
Bile periodical by publishing, from TINE
to time articles abusing and ridiculing
New England. As this magazine has been
the pet organ Of Boston thought ever
since it was started il is possible that
the proprietors did not like this. and that
the experience has made Mr.. Page nissan
ihropic
1t may be said in general that the
magazines are what the public desires
that they should be. There are so many
OF them al present, and they are CT 50
many different types that one may find
in one or another almost any sort Of
reading he may desire. He can find scien-
tifc articles. dissertations on religion or
current politics. fiction. poetry. illustrated
accounts Of adventure and travellers oXpe-
riences, humorous paragraphs descrip-
tions Of various phases Of modern life, eN-
nressons Of opinions by prominent men OF
al professions. or pictures of actresses with
press agents encomiums to decorate
them. Just as he likes. Some Of this mass
of literature and non-literature is well
written and more of it is not; bat if one
weeds out the periodicals that are all il
Iustrations and rhetoric. and others which
serve as waste-baskets for the rejected
contributions OF big publishing houses,
the best OF the various types Of magazine
afford much profit and delight. 1t VIII
also be found that the great authors Of
today are writing for these publications
with considerable regularity, and future
generations may admit that their work is
worthy of a permanent place in literature.
1t will be noted by students Of literary
history that some of the most famous
poems and stories Of authors now dead
attracted very little attention when they
were first published.
II one compares the magazine Of today
with that Of fifty years ago. either in Eng
land or America the comparison is likely
to result in increased respect for the au-
thors Of our own day and generation. One
may. of course, find here ald there in old
magazines contributions which have now
become classic. but the articles which fill
up the spaces between these gems are apt
10 be far inferior in thought and style TO
those which serve a similar purpose in our
own day Many of them are dull; others
are silly: most are commonplace. The
theory Of the mute inglorious Milton"
vanishes into thin air after such a study
Of old-time literature. II becomes clear
that the law Of the survival of the fittest
holds in the mental as in the physical
world
But then. as now, the magazines were
suited to the needs Of the general public.
There are always some readers so far
above the general level in taste and fas-
tidiousness that what interests others is
to them only wearisOme and inane. To
another class of people transcendental
speculations. fine poems, and the work of
the best novelists will never appeal. What
they want is travel and adventure, light
fiction. or gossip about people who are
well known in their day. The aim of the
editor of the magazine then, is to supply
the demands of his public, and if he is a
man who has a fine and discriminating
taste in literature he viii try 10 cater to
the wants of the most enlightened readers
so far as he can without interfering with
the rights of others. He will also endeav-
or TO have all his poems, essays. stories,
and papers good OF their kind. That many
editors do this successfully few who are
familiar with current literature Will deny.
They cannot all succeed. The magazines
Of the better class secure most Of the ma
terial really worth having, and the small
fry must do the best they can. But if any
one doubts that as much good writing is
done today as in any past age of the world
ne VIII do well to go to library, take
down hle of old magazines, aud spend