The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-08-04
ELMORE TO READ HERE
POET OF ALAMO ENGAGED BY A
LITERARY CLUB.
At n Trial To-Morrow He VIII Give
Testimony i'm Verse-An Inter
esting Talk with Him.

An officer Of one Of the city's literary
clubs went to Charlottesville yesterday and
engaged James 3. Elmore, the poet OF
Alamo 10 give a reading here early IN
September. The date and place Of the
reading viii be announced later. 1t is ex-
pected that literary and quasi-literary
clubs of the city will take great interest in
the first public appearance in this city OF
this poet of the soil"
The Indianapolis man had made an en-
gagement with the poet by mail, and met
him yesterday at the Crawford House. The
poet had ridden twelve miles from his farm
and, though tired and dusty from his long
drive, he was ready to talk of his work.
his personal affairs and the benefit he
might derive from a public reading in In
dianapolis. His visitor presented him with
a copy of the New York Sun containing
an editorial based on a recent story in the
Journal about the poet and the suit
brought against him by his brother on the
charge that the poet had tapped his sugar
trees on Sunday.
I've got a farm of 800 acres. all under
cultivation, one of the finest farms in
Montgomery county," said the poet, land
not long ago one of my cows got covered
and died in the field. There lisa law against
allowing d dead animal 10 lie out in the
open field more than twenty-four hours. l
didn't know the cow had died, and my
brother had me arrested under the law.
Rather than so through a long suit l ac-
knowledged judgment and paid the fine
and costs. II cost me about $50. And now
the other day my brother filed an afi-
daVit against me for tapping my sugar
trees on Sunday. / venued the case 10
Crawfordsville and then l venued IT again
TO NaNnRfOVXn The case will he tried on
Monday.
"Of course. they'll ask me in court what
my occupation Is, and III say IN a FARMER,
an author and a poet. Just to prove that
l am a poet, I'm going 10 give evidence in
verse. I've talked to the lawyers on the
other side about il and they've agreed that
my testimony in verse shall be accepted as
such, in evidence.
HIS PROFITS IN LITERATURE.
When asked to tell something of his lit
erary work, the poet said: well, Love
Under the Mistletoe and Poems has been
printed in two editions of 500 each and
nearly all of the books have been sold.
The Bowen-Merrill Company, down at In
dianapolis, sold twenty-five copies of the
book, but they haven't been pushing it
lately, and l guess they must be scared
of me. OF course, l never allow literature
10 interfere with my farming; I'm always
sure OF a living out OF my farm, and l am
not out of literature. My books cost me
90 cents apiece and l sell them Tor 81, so
you see I've made some money out Of them.
I'm a good salesman, but the worst thing
l have TO contend with is these fellows
that make fun of my work. That kind OF
people usually is folks that sit around
and read yellow-backs. 1 call them down,
but of course always in a nice, mild way.
I've had some trouble with some of these
editors around here, and last night as l
was driving nome | stopped the team right
In the middle of the road and wrote out
the following. OF course. l couldn 40 1t
anxious and l had TO hold the lines with
one hand"
his pocket and read the following verses:
Even in old quaint Ladoga
Lives a recent writer fOgy,
Fixing up a sort of hash,
Critics call it balderdash.
His soul is full of lovely chimes,
No time for prose nor modern rhymes
And yet he fills his empty hull
With silly, gilly, gllly gull.
NEW BOOK BASED ON FACTS.
II have been in town yesterday and to-
day taking orders for my new book" con-
tinued the poet. 1T will be out next
Christmas, and the name of 1t is Love in
Cuba and Poems 1 have forty-five names
here, and against l go to Indianapolis and
over to Terre Haute 1 will have two hun
dred, which will make me sure of its sue
cess. 1t starts out with a long prose love
story, with a sprinkling here and there OF
verse. You see, all my works are based
on facts. AT the opening OF the Spanish
American war there was one of the Col
orado regiments going through Terre
Haute. 1t was about noon and all the fac
tory girls were idle. One of them handed
up her handkerchief and photograph
through the car window to one of the boys,
who happened TO like the looks of her. He
passed down his ring and agreed TO write
10 her.
He carried the photograph down with
him to Cuba and through the battle OF I'll
Caney. He was wounded and bled all over
the photograph. Well, he kept up a CORE
spondence with the girl all the time, and
most all her letters, you see, are In verse.
The facts are, one or two or them are In
verse entirely. Right there 1t gives me a
fine chance to philosophize on the subject
OF love and lovers affinity for one another,
and how nature provides for 1t.
Q course. the hero keeps worrying over
the girl, whether he is going 10 get her or
not, and finally he comes back to Terre
Haute and it's their intention to have d
quiet wedding in the hotel parlors. But he
has on his uniform, and, of course, Is a
hero, and a crowd gathers outside OF the
hotel and serenades them with a band,
and they agree TO be married on the bal
cony of the hotel so the multitude can see
them. The story ends with a quotation
from Robert Burns that "A Virtuous woman
IS the noblest work of God. All my stories
have the climax at the right place-at the
end. If the climax is in the middle it's just
like walking up the front stairs or a house
and walking down the back stairs.
WORK LIKED BY GEN. WALLACE.
81 met some folks from Terre Haute at
the Shades of Death the other day and
they agreed TO show me around. I'm going
down TO Terre Haute and get a photograph
o. the balcony of the hotel. One of the fell
lows met at the Shades is the proprietor
Of the opera house at Terre Haute, and he
agreed to pose for me on the balcony in
soldiers uniform. OF course, / suppose |
can get some girl TO pose with him. There
is one trouble-he's not such a very good
looking fellow and l don't know exactly
how to manage it,"
Mr.. Gilmore was asked IL he and Lew
Wallace were friends. "Oh, yes he re-
piled, The always buys my books and
thinks they are good stuff. You know my
poem, 'Ben-Hur in Drama goes this way:
" .Halloo, Benjamin Hur, where goest thou?
Like a divorced wife, TO the stage just
now.
What is to be done. that you are so ar
rayed?
The show has just begun in dress pa
rade.'
'I traded books with AlonZo Leora Rice
the other day said Mr.. ElmOre. Il sent
him one of my books and then did not hear
anything from ii. / wrote 10 him and hnal-
~ he sent me one of his. / kind OF got the
worst OF il, for there were los pages in my
book. Under the Misteltow and Poems,
and there are only thirty-seven pages in
his book.
do you know. l never sold but one book
70 a college DrOfpSSOr They don't saw much