New-York tribune., 1900-12-23
NO MORE "DIME NOVELS" "
INDIANS GONE, JAMES BROTHERS DEAD.
AND DETECTIVE STORIES
NOW POPULAR

From The Chicago Tribune
Twenty-Five years ago the dime novel was credlted
ryi+h ali the shortcomings OF masculine youth Tne
boy who read them was considered booked Ior tne
bad gss Bgs in hesf sRonde4 eay the Sns Of
the dime novel as bogiernan has disappeared
from itf b once hgn Rnd the for this Is that
the dime novel itself is as nearly extinct as tne
IN the light Of trade of the book manufacturer
the d f9F ta tns wsrea Is The James
dead The Youngers are in State prison for nIe, rs
ma1v Of Ghcago's residence streets after dark
Always the book manufacturer mas kspT fI s VS.
standing nearly all the time and when . captain sE I'm
Jack Of the ModoG s.T was hs dms novel WAS in It's
heyday In the massacre of Custer ana MS oand
Of B sne today the dime novel is about
attractive to it's former constqeney as IN the
stone age boy cannot be fired with the amoit 1hs :
o+ 70 of them are now wearing castofr Army over
coats and trading Government rations for forty
deg deFenerafed into the three seat spring wagon
driven by farmer who oasc Ss on ad euSW over Of ron
wheel To hold such vehicle and make e, even T
Tb Vest has lost it's settings for the dime novel,
and having lost the penny penny snd 10 the sums Of
the passing 9t the dime ns nOysI Tsat 5ST nsw
waste. Time was when men who wrote Ior tns
dime nTve thew Msnted them In the minimum Of
time they turned out manuscripts that brought
a man with thrilling blood curdling story Of the
West could not sell II at any price ,,,-,
'"Old Sleuth"-Harand p. Halsey, or BrookIyn,
who died less than year age dn, e6 Iehqa IL
onIv half as much, however, and II deals Largely
with the detective side OF New-Yo life. Piles or
NewYork n1S publishing house and every sixty days
one of his stories is issued averaging close TO seven
ty-fve thousand copies before the plates nnay are
taken OFF the press. These stories Of the old
Sieuth" series deal with men who are marvels OF
detective skill They capable or disguising
themselves until their mothers woulont Know
easy confidence that sends little thrills up and
down the backbone Of the reader. When they are
consulted in a great case they look for cIews meas
ure all the surrounding things with olt OF tape
fell the complainant to keep mum. and the next
thing he knows the villains are all IN CUSTODY
OF the books in paper covers printed 1or tne
convright was secured the publishers In the United
states grabbed every story as soon as ~ came from
ths nress Thousands OF these books are now lying
in vaults IN New-York; ready TO De drawn upon az
title and new covers will make them new books.
These books of two hundred or three hundred
pages can be furnished to the retailer at a little
more than six cents each -, - -
Some OF the old weekly papers wnich ran IRON
three 10 five serial stories ALE the time are gold
mines 10 the bookmakers. They go back tnrough n
the files of these papers. most OF them dead, ana
reprint the old serials that served TO amuse and
entertain another generation Titles are always
etanred and II necessary little editing Is done 10
bring the stories up to date. There Is nothing TO
pay for manuscripts. no royalties. and the excess
over typography and paper is all profit.
The SPANISH made field for some new.
cheap fction but IL has been worked out The sup
preston OF "Sapho" the stage made that book
the copyright law was passed. and one house in
New-York printed and sold one million copies OF IL
while the sensation lasted II Is dead stock to-day.
When Ripling so dangerously I'll, more than a