Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-31

failureS-even the one Witteh py the fres-
ident of the United Stats. They weren't
brought out in ttme.to catch ptblic interest
at its height IN the Rough Riders. The first
of the Rough Riders books was dictated by
a newspaper man who was all but shot to
pieces at the beginning Of the San Juan
fight He was brought up to New York on
a hospital ship and placed In a New York
hospital, and here he dictated his story of
the Rough Riders.
It was months after the fight that the
book came out. and by that time the war
had progressed to a peaceful end. The
people had been surcharged with matter in
the newspapers referring to Z the Rough
Riders and so they did not buy the book.
The Presidents book about the organization
was equally tardy. and 1t is said to have
been the least successful of all his books.
Capture of Miss Stone.
Again. the capture and detention in Ar
menia of Miss Stone was an affair in which
the public, and particularly the religious
public. of the United States was interested
for months. Every day the newspapers
contained accounts of the negotiations in
progress looking to her release from the
hands of the bandits and the publishers
who cater to the religious element, under
standing the 'bigness' of the incident win
"uuick handling" sent their emissaries to
the far east for the purpose of getting ma
terial with regard to the detention Of the
missionary and, her companion, some of
them carrying offers to Miss Stone of al
most fabulous sums for any sort of matter
that she would consent to let them have for
immediate publication.
ANY sort of "Stone book published at
the time the public interest in the affair
was glowing would have been what is
known to publishers as tremendous sell
err" But the inevitable delays in reaching
OBTAINING the missionary, coupled with the
lack of foresight which induced Miss Stone's
agents and people to hold out for terms, did
the work.
At length the cable paragraphs in the
newspapers with regard to the status of
the negotiations looking to the release of
Miss Stone wearied the public on account
of their samenesS and monotOny, so that
even when it was definitely and authentical-
ly announced, after many efalse alarms,
that the missionary and her companion had
actually been released and were on their
way to civilization the people who had
been interested in the matter on account of
it's romantic environment, as well as on ac-
count of it's bearing upon the subject of
missionary work, were willing to forget the
entire incident.
Even the publishers of the material which
at length was issued with regard to the
Miss Stone incident do not claim that it
achieved much more than success
d'estime whereas it would have been one
of the winners slang again
of the epoch had the stuff made timely
appearance.
Efforts for Timely "Stuff."
The book-reading public can scarcely
conceive what almost superhuman efforts
are made by publishers nowadays to get
hold of timely matter, and the bidding in
almost unbelievable figures which is done
by such publishers to get what they want.
A few months ago, for example, during
the trial Of a famous New York murder
case the central figure in the trial, highly
educated and accomplished man, who was
acquitted on his second trial. was fairly
mobbed in his cell by publishers who want
ca to get some immediate stuff from him
for quick publication
The interest Of New York in that case
was greater than it's interest in any of the
most famous cases which had preceded it,
and the publishers knew that any sort Of
a book, no matter of how Slight char
acter, from the pen Of the central figure in
the case would have had a phenomenal sale
here as we'll as throughout the whole
eastern section of the country, where the
interest in the trial was singularly great.
But the very amount and extent Of the
bidding spoiled the plan. The man on trial
Is said to have had some material on hand,
but he held out for the biggest figure until
IL was too late. A publisher whose enter
prise in this line is very great at length
got hold of some copy, which was put INTO
neat book form in an almost incredibly short
space of time, and the book has done fairly
well. it is said. But the publisher is cha
grined, nevertheless, over the fact that he
didn't get hold of the matter sooner, and
he doesn't hesitate to admit SO.
AS one Of the publishers put 1t: They
want their tamales good and hot in this
country" and the expression is coming TO
apply to the melodramatic. stage as well as
to the hustle books. They got out Mont
Pelee play on the Bowery, too, with the
most tremendously lurid and horrible set
tings, within a week after the disaster.
The ruins Of the burned hotel Windsor
were still smoking when play built around
that horrifying calamity was staged at
Bowery theater, and thus it goes. The peo-
pie of today have not the time to think very
long on one topic. While their MIND is
bent on a subject they think hard, but
they have the capacity-and who shall say
it is not a desirable capacity, making for
their mental well-being?-to dismiss 1t en-
tirely from their minds, once they take up
sonnet hing else that is promising.
And they are only willing to pay while
they are interested. Z. l.. =.