New-York tribune., 1906-11-11
05e Nran12lork g1ibnoas,
SUNDAY. NOVEMBER II, 1906.

The idea of issuing hook in handsome form.
nj d coed price and bringing it out year or so
later in a cheaper edition, has much to recon-
mend it, Many y book is thus made accessi-
lie to thousands who might otherwise never
turn its pages. But the idea takes Il new turn
IL the scheme just adopted in England by the
publishers of The Burlington Magazine
They issue the months number in the form
which has won this periodical so much apprecia-
;iCn among lovers of art, and they sell il at
nalf crown. \ fortnight later they reprint
the pick of the articles and Illustrations in
thinner less sumptuous form and sell the num-
Der for a shilling. In this way two publicS
reached, to the satisfaction of both. What
a boon it would be if this idea could be ex-
tended. In 'IIarper's' for this month. zone Of
best story tcllerS" is quoted writing, Il
acknowledge, humby, my bCSetting SIN Of TAX
Ing too much room to say Il thing in" As
Captain Cutie was wont to say. The bearings
of this observation lays in the Application ON
it Nine out Of ten of our best story tcllers'
take too much room to say thing in. What
joy if fortnight after the publication of one
of their masterpieces in a plump octave at
81 30, we could buy the cream of the great work
in 4 duodecimo of thirty or forty pages Mt
twenty-five cents. We are sure that there
would be a tremendous demand for these tab
loidS of fiction, the authors returns would roll
up like magic, and every one would be happy.
1t is impossible to avoid rather frequent
reference to the Battle of the Books now going
forward in London. The papers there fairly
overflow with articles and letters. The man
ayers Of the Times Book Club are forever
arguing the point, the publishers fill columns
with their statements, and half the authors in
the United Kingdom have entered the fray.
More points are brought up than could think
OF even summarizing, but some of them ire
sistibly provoke comment For example, there
is the question of 1.-THE reading public" That
inOffensive, but, should imagine, ndSpen-
sable entity, seems TO be getting itself ground
exceeding small between the upper and neither
milstOnes. The article by Mr.. Lang which
we reprinted the other day was typical in its
reflection of large skepticsm as TO the inter
est of the public IT, serious literature. Another
quotation we have made from Mr. f. v Lucas
has disclosed the same doubt. There is Il gen
eral disposition to regard the reading public
as addicted to novels and little else 1t is not
at the masses alone that these criticisms are
directed. In 4 publishers letter we find an
ailuSion TO 'the progressive deterioration in
the taste Of sO-called educated people" We
have noticed that deterioration ourselves But
is il rs far reaching aS the excited contributors
TO this debate would have us believe? That we
take leave to doubt Why all this fuss about
the distribution of books if nobody buys them?
As a matter of fact there is a large public for
good literature, and il is unSportsmanlike fo
say the least TO be pcrI,atually heavin. half
bricks at the innumerabc readers without
whom publishers and authors would be left
high and dry.