Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-07
Base's Bad Bargain
On Famous Army Book
Special Correspondence of The Star.

LONDON. March q. 1907.
was only q few months ago that
i Lieutenant Bilse was making more
commotlon in the book world than
any one else except. perhaps, the novelist
or the moment-whoever he or she NAV
happen TO have been. He emerged from
onscurity with sudden blaze because of
nus revelations Of the degeneracy of the
German army in his book, Aus Elmer
hleihen Garrison. That little book made
the Whole German army, which had prided
itsei1 on being the most soldier-like army
In the world. sit up. Bilse's publisher de-
| the English rights of the book. and doubt
less aspiring authors envied the Young
German lieutenant for his luck Today we
know what that luck was. The book is
selling In the your choice for a penny conn
partments In the secondhand booksellers
shops In Germany. and it appears that
Biise sold the total rights in his book to a
Vienna publisher for $500 The author
was sent to prison for six months for
writing the book, and has lost all hope of
advancement in the German army The
publisher is declared on good authority to
have cleared over $4,000 from the venture
1t is only fair, however to show the
other side of the picture. An English pub
Usher who Is reckoned as being highly
successful. showed to the writer this week
ten royalty statements which he was just
sending out to as many authors Eight
o. them showed that the authors had
received in advance from the publisher
nearly, twice as much as the book had
earned. In the ninth instance the publish
er had made just about enough profit to
cover the loss on the other eight On the
tenth book, which he had accepted under
protest that he was being asked altogether
too much in advance of royalty by the
author. he was making three times the
profit he had expected. and was working
his printers presses night and day to sup
NJ lar,n y,I for hfN9l l.. t,,%o
esting to know that this tenth book was
not a novel,
Probably no one in our time received as
many interesting letters from as many
famous writers the late Baroness Bur-
dett- Coutts. She had the knack of inspir-
ing real friendship, and of bringing forth
from those who wrote letters to her the
best that was in them. Nearly all of the
generations fell into the habit of comparing
written notes with her. What has become
of all these precious documents? l under
stand that although some of them were
| beoueathed to her eX-Amercan husband.
many of them went elsewhere. Mr.. Bur
dett-Coutts is now engaged in preparing a
| biography of his late wife, but 1t is said
| that he will not have it ready for five or
| six years. In the meantime another life of
| the phanthropic baroness is likely to be
published containing a selection of the ma
| terial that did not come INTO her huspauu
hands
| Mrs Gertrude Atherton. who Is now in
Munich. is expected in London in May She
has made excellent progress on new ana
| important novel which probably will be
! completed this spring.
| The English Society of Authors came
| near splitting into two violently opposing
| sections over the question of the London
| Times cut-rate book war. The executive
! committee supported the publishers In favor
| of keeping up the present prices for novels
| A large minority of the society sided with
| the Times in favor of books at cheaper
| rates. The occasion was promptly seized
| by Bernard Shaw for qualification of the
| advertising instinct. both in the annual
| meeting of the society and in column let
I ter to the Times this week. Mr.. Shaw says
beningnly that the authors who oppose the
Times I'm its onslaught on English publish
ers merely madmen. and that the out
break of ''tempophob!a' Is certain to pass
away in time. Therefore he thinks 1t would
be a mistake for sane authors like himself
/ to break away from the society and start a
new organization. Mr.. Shaw maintains that
| the authors society exists for the purpose
of enabling its members to squeeze as much
money as possible out Of the publishers and
| the public. and that authors like Israel
Zangwill, who try to make out that there
| is something besides money in literature.
are hypocrites. The funny thing about it is
| that Mr.. Shaw is continually refusing all
| sorts of glitteripg offers, and giving away
! from motives either of zeal or good nature
literary material in the form of inter-
views and letters that would otherwise
| command high prices.
G.. K. Chesterton. writing In the new Lon
| don weekly, the Nation. in objection to the
| placing of old folk who have entered into
| their second childhood In asylums. con-
ciudes with a paragraph that deserves re-
| printing: This is what our civilization of
| wealth and knowledge says to the poor
\ tLrot G.roo 7rtv for vUn n
practice all the virtues of a saint; ana then.
when all the days of your passion are &C.
complished. and God IL putting you at last
| one: when you are ready for the simplicity
J; OF heaven. will take you and put you pc
tween a man who thinks he Is q rabbit ana
q man who wants to, bite bis grand-
mother