The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-07-27
Alden on the Defensive.

BY ALFRED SETON.

The old French adage. Qui s'exeuse s'aecuse-he who excuses himself. accuses himself-probably antedates the era of the wise and witty Montaigne; indeed, very likely is an observation almost as old as any educed of human experience and, like the established habitudes of the general mind, receives fresh illustrations every day.
 But 1t is rather rare and curious when sapient, veteran editor gives himself dead away" to adopt for the nonce a picturesque bit of slang, by defending himself through implication against the attacks on his judgment that have never been directly. or, at least, openly made. Yet this Is what MT. Henry Alden has re- gently amazed us all by doing in liar per's Magazine. devoting much valuable space to the defense of his tribe-the old fashioned magazine edtors-against the charge that they never discover orig inality in new writer and have "a spe- cial spleen against genius"
 "Considering the kind of criticism pass ed by certain writers upon contemporary magazine stories,' says Mr. Alden with sanctum solemnity we are compelled to think these critic never read the stories. At least they have no adequate concep- ton of the development of the short story during the last twenty years. It is easy without any real knowledge or the subject to picture the magazine edi- tor as kind of Cerberus to frighten away the literary aspirant and as having a special spleen against genius. The kind of originality which he excludes is not of the order which could be attributed to ge- nius. The great writers of our time are not, as Is often supposed. first repelled by the magazine editor and after courted by him when they have wrested success from fate in spite of his antagonism On the contrary, our best writers received their first encouragement from magazine editors, and not a single instance can be adduced of a writer who has won last ing place in literature and who in the beginning encountered editorial disfayor.' U
 These statements by gentleman of MT. Alden's character and calibre are impor- tant, if correct, and are highly interest ing, anyway for more than one reason. But, as a plain newspaper critic perti- nently remarks thereon: From the view point of the locker on in the Vienna of magazine literature. the greatest fault about the short story is that 1t has had no development Most of those printed in the current magazines are ancient sit- uations put into new dress that does not conceal the old bones" That this verdict concerning the short story is true in the main must be ruefully admitted, though the Century. Scribners and the Black Cat, which make a speciality of original short stories. present from month to month quite fair number of notable and shining exceptions to this regretta- ble rule of the sanctun
 When, however, MT. Alden proceeds with his amusing defense and induges in the last four assertions concerning the hospi- tality of magazine editors-himsef, of course, included-towards new men of tal- ent or genius. he shows himself afflicted with strange paralysis of memory. Much as we dislike the moral tone of MT. Kip ling. who now appears to have burnt him self out, but who may blaze up again, and profoundly convinced as we are that much of Mir. Kiplings art Is crude and bad, the hodge-podge of being 'half devil and half child,v we cannot deny that MT. Kipling has won a place in lit- erature that has the potentiality of per- manence to very considerable extent. We Fancy that MT. Kipling's best stories will be read with keen appreciation for many, many years after MT. Alden's anil able incursions Into the field of book making are completely, we will not say deservedly, forgotten. And we would in- cidentally remind MT. Alden that 1t has been often asserted and never denied that NIT. kipling knocked in vain at his edi- toriai gates. The same has been asserted