Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-11-14
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
snecIal Corresnondenee.

Special Correspondence.
London, Nov. Al learn privately
that English bird.l who recently
have been doing everything in their
power to stop the slaughter of song
sters that has been going on for so
long at the behest of milliners. are
about to attempt a master-stroke by
asking Rudyard Kipling to write a
poem in support Of their cause Wheth'
err the peoples laureate viii consent
TO do so ia. of course, another matter
il does not strike one as exactly IN
the line Of the author of ''The Absent
Minded Beggar' and THE Islanders "
But at least Mr.. Kipling Is not likely
to refuse off-hand, for the members Of
the society which has the well-being Of
the birds at heart includes many dis
tnguished folk notably the Duchess Of
Bedford and the sister Of Lewis Carroll
and. n one mistakes not, Queen Alex
andra Is one Of its patronesses. After
nil. Mr.. Kipling does not lack an Illus
trious example, for was It not with
much the same object that Iongfcllow
wrote "The Birds Of KillmgWorth|'
And this argument, too, should appeal
to Kipling II he does not write a
poem against the slaughter of the I'M
nocents." as It rs called, Alfred Aus
tin is certain to do so.
Al ,,,,..1i,t- a.ay,, 10
be on Mr.. Chamberlain's side In the
so-called fiscal campaign that Is be-
ing waged In this country. Sir Arthur
Conan DOYLE recently came out strong
for protection Sir Gilbert Parker is OF
the same faith, and day before yester-
day Rider Haggard also expressed him
self ms I'm favor OF the new policy
and the author Of ALLAN Quartermain"
even went so far as to advocate tax
ON food
with Richard Whlteing's new story
sermon, "Thc yellow Van" close TO,
IL not at. the top Of the list Of best
selling books" IN London, IT is interest
ing 10 hear the authors view as to the
province of the work Of fiction. This
Mr.. Whltcing expressed at dinner of
the Hun Literary club a night or two
formed a service TO society analogous
to that Of light cavalry II went for
ward, saw everything, did not probe
all. but showed how thing was affect
ing the hearts and minds of simple men
and women, and what they We're think
ing about once that was put before
the people they were on the way TO re-
form"
Ana then the author of mo. 3, John
street" went on 10 say that he doubt
ed much whether the technique In fc-
ton was ever so good as It was to-
day.
In France. novel reading IL on the
wane. Everybody admits Il; the only
question is as 20 the reason. To at-
tempt 20 discover this, "A Partisan news
paper man made a round OF the pub
fishers the other day, with the result
that he elected no less than three ok
plantations for the slump. Most Of the
publishers declared that there were too
many novels and that competing au-
thors cut one another's throats. Others
declared that native works were losing
ground because translatlons Of Ibsen.
and Kipling had become for the
moment more popular than the home
made article. II was affirmed too
that novels suffered because they were
not, as n rule reviewed by the French
which content Themselves
with publishing the sort ~ puffs which.
I'm France are known as "reclames.
oddly enough. 1t Is reported. that the
class Of fiction which Is suffering most
from public neglect at present Is that
which makes a point OF being rlaque.
or the three cxP nations offered by
the French publlshr quoted above for
The slackness Of the novel market the
FIRST seems most likely, and there are