The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-04-13
MEN WHO WRITE
|N01'WE 4 TRAINED
Nr. Walter II. Page Discusses
Subject Of Writing as a
Professions.
ALTITUDE or The COLLEGES
This tie Theme Of .ro-nigllt's
Observation-Disclosures Charmed
With tic Speaker.

Thc I'Tl,oinns.slectu.c course ut Rich-
n,ond Cal,yottb brought in former years
many distinguished lcctcurcrs TO this
city but clearly none has more Interested
his audience than Mr. Walter H. Page
in his first lecture OH that foundation
last evening. His subject, writing as
Il Profession, and stHG Need Of Training
for IT, was one that appealed to cvcry
ore, ana the plain, practical way In
vhiclisothe lecturer handled It held his
erHItt1loughout.aa I'hcrc is smooth
li,,3ss iii ,hls tSienput directness, 50 that
not q word failed lta mark.
Mr.. Page was introduced by President
Boatwligl,t. VINO spoke of tic pleasure
he felt In introducing as the Thomas
lecturer a. Southern. mai, born and bred
amid Southern Inspirations, and yet ono
who had como to know many places and
man, and had the wisdom that comes of
lnrsc experience
Comes Asa Craftsman
SyMratPngeas,ld4in part: II am come to
talk about training men to do good
writing; Yeti do not talk as a professor
OF liteuatu nor as a literary man.
but only wrlter-a writer about things
that are now happening. ! como out Of n
workshop and as "a craftsman of trade.
Ittukc up the subject 81 writing as q
journeyman, and ! ask you to let your
minds come to tile subject In this plain,
straightforward way, as YOU would let
your minds come to the subject of build
Ing houses. For good writing and good
building aretvery similar crafts
THE craft.tof writers. he declared, an
important trade because they write near.
Is everything we .rend our advertise
me1lts. our newspapers, magazines, nov
histories. " s2S
Practically everything read by man
after college days IS written by men now
iving-person who write for II living
most of 1t written a. year, even within
twenty-four hours before ltais read
Fool ourselves as we may about our
intellectual life being FED by the great
dead writer's ut is really fed chiefly by
writer's off6ur' own time, by back-wrters
whom we affect to despisc.
1.-THE writer's profession, lie declared.
has now become u very large one, law
yers and teachers alone. probably out
ranking 1t nEnumbers-though possibly
there are more physicistns. Moreover, It
is a fairly we'll paid one, exceeding the
pay of the teacher IF not cquallng that
OF the lawyer or physician. Besides the
earnings of its mem ersE have increased
perhaps, faster than any other, class, is
the pay of some newspaprr editors. &ro-
gulties #on booksEtfortunes OF Textbook
writer's and storNtGriters, show:
5- rs Wide Rams eSih Qhality. sya
There is the widest range Unequal
Eity Of their work,Smuchs newspaper work
eat Hi I5y,onc S,r
very poorly done:&and 1T is poorly done
because both writer's and readers have
Inadequate training. There are no better
men In any profession. You often find
loyalty among them ito duty and q
hcroism that is hard to match in any
profession. i
"Tie profession Is so6new that there
has not been time to train men and 20
set up high standards.
Theresis the same range Of excellence
and Indifference in magazine writing.
The American magazine Is Finding its
power it has an advantage over a news
paper in that 1t may reach every part
OF. our country and even the world, while
the newspaper soon enters the territory
of another paper and cannot live longer
than a day.
The magazine has thus both a CONNER
clal and intellectual advantage-an 1t Is
as yet in It's infancy. Yet the demand
for writer's Of the highest qualities is
not nearly supplied. Tor this reason the
magazines If interesting. Is untrust-
worthy If ,,.trustworthy is dull. This Is
not the EDITORS fault; he gives them
because lie cannot get better articles.
This the public doesn't understand. A
senator who promised an article on
certain subject Of great Importance sent
an opinion on the subject in legal words.
a lawyers brief. He knew nothing about
writing.
The next lecture, to be delivered this
evening, will deal with tho attitude Of
the colleges. their liberation OF bar
writing and the separation OF college
work and literary production."
THE lecture will begin at S:l5 o'clock.
I Mr.. Page will take luncheon to- morrow
With Mr.. James Branch Cabell. and will
be given an informal reception at the
Woman's Club tomorrow afternoon at
s o'clock. si 4