The San Francisco call., 1904-12-07
HOW WHITEINC
COT HIS START
Author of mo. 5 John
Street" Tells of Early Eff
forts to Gain Recognition
LONDON LITERARY TALK
William Macdonald Putting
Finishing Touches on a
Biography of Franklin

LONDON, Dec. 6.-Richard White
ing has contributed to the pages of a
new London periodical an unusually
Interesting account of how he got his
start as a writer. 1t is known, of
course, that the author of No. John
Street first thought he would like to
be an engraver, but Whiteing has new
er before told just how he proceeded
once he had made up his mind to be-
come a writer instead 1t seems that
he took long chances. He gave UP his
calling, borrowed a ten-pound note.
TOOK a front garret-only as a work
Shop, however, for he still lived at
home-and began to lay siege to the
magazines.
Ny subjects" he says, may best
be described by the title OF the COM
pendium-'All About Everything The
eoltors were in no hurry. 1 assailed
them with great determination, but
my darts were caught in the meshes
OF the wastepaper basket. According
10 my own test, L ought to have
stopped there, and TO have gone back
10 the old calling, which was now
as fksome to me as work in the
mines But, of course, when you are
In the thick of a fight you soon forget
the niceties of its science.
SO, by way of forcing an opening,
l left off saying what l wanted to say.
and artfully offered one of them what
thought he might want to have said.
II was most reprehensible, but 1 was
desperate now. 1 essayed a history of
Clocks and watches for a well-known
local paper published in Clerkenwell.
L worked up the subject from an en-
cyclopedia. Everything was there, in
lnT HnN IL IL L. i
q scrap of flavor in ii. l took ii down
TO the office, and was so fortunate as
TO flnd the person in authority behind
the counter. He weighed the manu-
script-in his hand-and said that he
might publish ii in two or three in
sediments. 1 was happy beyond words,
yet / fingered for a moment. without
having courage to say that 1 should
Ike TO hear something on the question
of remuneration.
You understand he said " that
We don't pay for things of this sort
Certainly l gasped. 1t was not for
me TO betray ignorance of a trade
! secret"
AUTHORS FIRST HIT.
/ Whiteing made his first hit with an
unusually ingenious newspaper ar
1 ucle, suggested by James Greenwood's s
/ Night in Workhouse, BY an Anna
/ teur Casual" which the Pail Mall Ga
/ zette was then publishing by INSTALL
ments.
The. smartest of London evening
papers, says Whiteing was sending
one of its smartest young men to pass
a night with the lowest poor, and to
tell us what il was like. The editor
drove his man down in, a brougham
and dropped him in a careful assort-
ment Of rags and tatters almost at the
workhouse door.
A good idea said a friend, but
il would be a better one still to send
a rough among the swells, and let him
tell his story. We both seemed to see
/ light. and ii was agreed that each
should write his version of such an
article. and that the better one should
! be sent in the next day. ! called on
him in due course with mine done but
his was wanting, for the simple reason
I that he had forgotten all about il. So
mine was dropped in the box. 1t was
copied out in a fair hand, it was even
neatly bound in paper covers, for we
were firmly persuaded that this was
the way things should be done. This
/ time the period of uncertainty was
short and sharp. The next day the
Evening Star placards seemed to be
but one huge headline-'Night in Bel
grave Square. by a Costermonger.'
ADMIRER OF FRANKLIN.
William Macdonald. who used to be
one Of that brilliant National OBJ
server group known as wv. z. Hen
! ley's young men'-a group that includ-
ed Stevenson, Kipling and Barrie-has
nearly finished an important work on
/ Benjamin Franklin, dealing principally
with that sage as a citizen Of the world
/ and a maker of international history.
! Macdonald has been gathering mate
rial for the work for a long time and
| is of the opinion that Franklin was the
/ greatest statesman Of his day.
The f-rnTEfh and innOrfanca of the