New-York tribune., 1905-01-01
Gbe Netui2lork gribmotR
ILLUSTRATED SUPPLEMENT-
SUNDAY, JANUARY l, 1905.
RATED SUPPLEMENT.

The CONGRATULATIONS offered in this place last
week to American publishers, on the success
full termination of an active season, are not
il appears, to be passed on to their colleagues
across the sea. According to "The Standard,
of London publishers there have been COM
planning like other men of business" of bad
times and dull trade. "One wonders why, says
the commentator, ''under such circumstances,
they do not like other producers, restrict the
output and wait for a rising market" We have
often expressed the same thought when sea-
sons have been bad in this country. The ex-
PLANTATION of the situation seems to lie In the
prevalence of what we can only describe as
kind of superstition. 1t was the custom, Wnen
not half so many books were being printed In
the course of a year as are now annually put
forth, to bring them out in three clearly defined
seasons, in the spring, in the autumn and
around the holidays. Now, in automatic obedi-
ence to an outworn precedent, the same thing
occurs, although the new publications have so
increased in bulk that they fairly ciamor to be
spread judiciOusly over the whole twelve
months We have already noted that some
books which were to be published in London
this winter have been held over for the spring,
but still too many have been issued
Some years ago, when Mr.. Kipling had just
taken the world by storm we heard prolific
novelist who had never taken anything by
storm, not even the literary club Of a remote
village declaiming against the preposterous alb
surdity of hailing the young man from Indla as
a genius. "All he has DONE" said this generous
soul, has been to write about unfam1llaf
things. We swallow him whole, simply be-
cause he is an exotic. How do we know that
he has truthfully represented IndiaT This
skeptic ought to be pleased if his eye happens
to fall on an article which Hindoo, Mr.. d. s
Rama Chandra RaO, has written for '"The Lon
don Star" This gentleman maintains that the
old Lama in kim is mot a representative OF
the true and complete Buddhistic IDEAL" and
that "Mahbub Ali is quite an artificial concep-
ton" Mr.. Kiplings statement that kissing is
practically unknown among Asiatics" he char
acterizes as absurd. In reply to the assertion |
that nowadays Well-educated natives are of |
opinion that when their women folk travel, it |
is better to take them quickly by rail- in prop
erly screened compartment he says that while |
this may he true of the Punjab and of Bengal, |
there are millions of women in Southern India, |
of all ranks and castles, who travel about as |
freely and openly British women" The |
HindOO critic complains that in dwelling on the |
idea that
East is East and West is West,
And never the twain shall meet,
Mr.. Kipling has emphasized 1.-The jarring ele
ments in international relations" Finally, he |
inspiration from the street scenes of India" and
that true India and the deStinieS of its teeming
millions are an unsOlved mystery to him." All |
this we presume, should make our discOntented |
friend very happy.
With the death OF Norman MacColl, whO
from 1870 to 190O was the Editor of THE Athe-
npum,' Il type not often encountered in the
ranks of literary journalism has disappeared. |
1t is said that he wrote very little for his paper
When he resigned his post and promptly |
honOred with formal banquet, he protested |
against the remark of one of the speakers that
he editor who had never made mis-
take He said that 'he might more fairly claim !
TO be adjudged something of a tactician." In
other words, he devoted himself to keeping up
the character of THE Athen9um" by giving |
the nlinuteSt attention to the adjustment of its |
contents to a central ideal of sound criticisms |
He had his lapses, if we may infer that he was
responsible for the admission, from time to
time, of criticisms too favorable toward certain |