Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-10-05
DEsEREr EVENING NEWS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1901.

Not an the men Ia the publishing
buslneas are LARGE minded ldealists, ana
IL IA lmpossihle to expect that valuables
viii moi be tempered with II they are
left unguarded Copynghting is
cheap and comparatively simple thinB
nowadays, and tbe authors who neSlect
1t have only themselves to blame Tor
the losses attendant upon That neglect
The unlslnd strictures Of other com
munlties regarding the readers VINO
volunteer their distinguished services
to the Boston Public Library nave
called forth some very brilliant de-
lenses Of the system Champions Dy
the score have appeared TO uphold the
ladies who have excluded Mrs. hum
phry Wards latest book from inc
shelves because OF its unaettling erect
upon young girls. and who pondered
long upon that doubtful work, Their
silver Wedding Journey before per
hitting II to sneak In through the back
door. as Il were, In the general liter
ature' department
The chief contention OF these cham-
pions seems TO be that the unpaid
readers for the Boston Public Library
are unpaid. and that therefore their
judgment must be Infinitely better than
that Of the paid reader Of the PUBLISH
ing house and the paid critic OF the re-
view, These latter are made TO appear
yenal creatures. winkng MT bad gram
mar. smiling over bad logic, Indifferent
10 bad morals, provided only that they
recommend book which will have
sale, whereas the volunteer experts OF
Boston are represented as a clear vis-
toned stsrnly conscientious lot, vowed
and dedicated 70 the cause Of pure 1T
erature. reading because they love 90
read and judging out Of the fullness
Of a rich experience in letters.
The simplest answer Is 90 recall the
books upon which these eminent Bos-
touians have set the seal - their dis
approval. The NOR roundabout one Is
10 consider the amateur In all his pur-
suits rs compared with the professions
al. Is the amateur musician better
performer than the PaderewslSis, the
Hofmanns, and their less renowned fol-
lowers? IL the amateur sportsman,
even, a better athlete than the profess
sional-though here the intense delight
In the pursuit, and the publicity Of II.
break down many Of the lines Of de-
narration between the two. Is the
dilettante writer a better writer than
the professional? Mrs Van Rens-
elaer Cruger and the late Queen Vic
toria against Miss wilkins and George
Meredith say no TO that
So with the amateur critic he-or,
more frequently, she-substitutes an
intense personal fastidiousness, far
fetched nicely OF taste. for the rules
and standards OF an established and
intelligent criticism. She prides herself
upon the difficulty with which she IS
pleased, and then she shows herself
pleased with some mere affectation.
The professional reader may have his
faults, and the books that appear and
the books tht are praised show that he
his many Of them. but he has r.t the
preciosity Of the amateur, which Is, Of
all things, the most destructive Of sane
and reasonable judgment.
And the professional reader may al
ways solace himself for the attacks up-
ON him by remembering that George
Meredith Is IN the same line Of busi-
ness.
The Athen@um Of London, which has
achieved new greatness by the recent
admission of Professor Brander Mat
thews into ne membership, has one Of
the most curious regulations known to
the club world. No member may
smoke within its portals, As It IS really
q distinction TO belong TO II and ne the
Brlton Is conservative, tradition re-
speeding person, the rule is not COM
bated. It has been picturesquely evad-
ed, however. by the excavation Of n
part Of the rear Of the garden. IN which
excavation two smoking rooms have
been built
Very few Americans beloNg to the
club. and only those Englishmen who
have won some distinction In art. let
tiers. Diplomacy or The church Profess
sor Matthews was proposed eighteen
years ago by Matthew Arnold The
other day. when his turn for election
came, Austin Dobson took Arnold's
place in standing sponsor for the Amer
lean author.