The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-01-29
Especial Corresponds Of The Times les

Especial correspondent OF The Times
sS$ Dispatch) 4
@ NEW YORK, Jan. 2s.-Eearly every
morning a tall man y walks brisky down
Twenty fourth Street and steps into the
doorway Of nm Office building S& near
Sixth Avenue, His comma nding figure
rises above tho throng Of busy New
York ers. His shoulders are broad & and
his long arms swing at his side. From
under the X visor OF q yachting cap flash
piercing black eyes ff The face Is smooth
slayen, strong and clear cut and the
mouth Ia determined His long black
fhairGfs streaked with gray. It is q race
that resembles Lincoln;s and 1t IS one
to !. command h attention anywhere. Tie
man IS Thomas Dixon, sJr., the publica
I ton Of whose 4 new 1 novel, ct he Clans
man. has once ore cen tered Interest
upon his rem arkable personality. Sue
fcessively lawyer, minister. lecturer and
author he IS one of the most pic nresque
and interesting figures In contemp orary
American lifesl..A million Ame orleans have
been thrilled BY his impasson elo-
3qlence and hts books have found 4 their
way to as MAJ ny eaders. 5is;
4 Interesting Literary Met hods.
Follow him to his study on the sixth
floor. w This is his New Y ork work s1toI.
IT Is q simply furnished front room, where
the rum BILE OF the elevated trains and
the roar Of the busy streets reach. him.
Mr.. Dixon les to write in the M DIST q
the hurry burly Of life. It is acteris-
tic OF the man.. u In this room lie began
stThe Clansman,' and It was here I taIk-
Z ed with him about his work and his }um-
B 10 talk with Mr. Dixon is to feel the
spell Of a singularly magnetic personality
He talks as he writes--energet ically,s
dramatically. but earnestly. He Is fra nix,
almost naive in his candor.s Like mos.
successful authors he has his own me- a
DDS OF work and his luea Of story Is
embodied in ono OF his rapid fire sem
fences: Get a big theme and exhaust;
every resource He blocks out q. seem
ario as ifS he were writing q play. Since
most Of his books are historical novels.
he e becomes saturated with data. lie
makes his characters live and act before
him. al When he 4 has the Whole moving
drama before him, he begins to write
s. Instead OF sitting at a desk, he sits n
a Morris chairwitll a cutting board lu !! !
ally used for sewing In his lap. his he
can shift about at will and the first draft
OF his story Is done with pencil. AS q
chapter is finished 1t Is copied by Mrs. 4
Dixon on the typewriter. Mrs. Dixon Is
my best critic" he says The type
written copy is then revised and cut up
How The Clansman' Was
Written.
s''The Cansman', is a striking example
OF this. It Is tho second ola triloGy
Of Southern novels dealing with tho race
problem OF which 1.-THE Leopard's Spots,
was tho first. Mr. Dixon began work on
this book over two years ago Heswroto
l"The One Woman while he was engaged
on 1t, The large. canvas OF 4''.Tlle Clans
man" made It necessary forghlm to make
a profound study. al
Fit was difficult to got at the facts con-
corning the true Thaddcus Stevens, who.
figures so prominently in the story under
tho name OF StOneman and VIII ose cons
flscation act brought on the sIeconstruc-
3tions reign OF terror. Mr.. Dixon bought
$4,000 worth OF books on this sub ect
alone. a single paragraph about the
Iiu Klux Khan cost $500. It Involved q
trip to Nashville and an exhaustive re-
search there,
q Having determined to make THE
iClansman" interpret the true spirit and
purpose OF the XII I<lnX Khan, he spared
no effort to reveal tho working OF this
extraord mary organization, Tile Invis-
5lble Empire as 1t was called, thnt.
brought law and order out OF the terror
OF bla ck rule IN the conquered SoutH. ti'S
uncle, Colonel Leroy AIcAfee Ito whom,
1.-THE Clansmnn''' Is dedlcated> was Grand
Titan, OF the ISu Klux Klan. 8
A member of mn old North Carolina
family. Mr. Dixon had heard from his
own people the story Of thealr Wrongs, 10
NIL this he added careful study OF thei
subject. Tie had access to the secret
ritual and ho talked witli{ members OF
the Khan. Hut the matter Of the ku
,Klux Filan is another story, Sufficient
to say ono has but to read "The Clans
man. to realize that Mr.. Dixon has en-
tered himself into the spirit or the Or
DER
7"po you write rapidly asked Mr.,
Dixon.
6stiyVell, that depends herepdled, Some
days IIwrlte 500 words, some days 8 900
The One Woman was written IN thirty
days, The actual writing OF the first
draft OF The Clansman was ffty-nine
days, Emotional chapters are q great
strait on me. I use myself pp % 5,the
limit
oDo you revise mueh2Y asked "
II cut twenty thousand words ous Of
The Glanslman, he said, Az ,f5.
!aS asked Mr., Dixon what. In his opinion,
xUa {, Ia nvcl at "a frat uulIflcNt Ion and