Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-03
High-C1ass Magazines
Don't Pay in England
Special Correspondence Of The Star.

LONDON, October % 1907.
WI THIN the last few months five of
W. the best and most dignified mag
azlnes in England have gone out
of existence. They all are historic names
-Murray's Monthly Review, the Gentle
mans Magazine, Longmans Magazine.
Temple Bar and MacmilIan's MAGAZINE
And yet at the present moment the mag
azlne trade is flourishing as it never has
Hourished before. 1t is an interesting
sign Of literary tendencies, because IT
shows the extent of the invasion of utera
ture by commercialism, and because IT
illustrates some points of difference be-
tween the English and American reading
publics.
AS everybody knows, a magazine de-
Ponds for its prosperity on its advertise
ments. Naturally enough, the great adj
vertfsers want to reach the largest num-
Der of people, and naturally. therefore.
they patronize the magazines which have
the largest sale.
80 little do the editors of the great
popular short-story magazines depend
upon their subscribers that they could
we'll afford to give their copies away"
said one OF the leading publishers whom
interviewed on the subject The mag
aznes for which the popular demand is
continually growing sell by hundreds of
thousands at sixpence or threepence
maintained more to keep up the stand
Ing of the magazine and to make people
realize that it is worth having than to
Increase the proceeds which are enor-
nous enough from the advertisements
alone. The public has been spoiled by
the cheapness OF the popular magazines
and are unwilling, to pay shilling for a
mitch better article.
The higher class Of magazines which
depend upon style and literary quality
he continued naturally have heavier ex-
penses chan the cheaper magazines, be-
cause they have to pay higher prices for
t!lcir contributions. Style and literary
quality are expensive luXuries, and the
World-famous professors and poets and
Tor their work. At the same time the
demand for this kind Of literature is
very small So the editors of the maya
zines have to pay higher prices than the
cheaper magazines for material which In
turn, goes to far more limited public.
The advertisers desert the less popular
magazines for the more popular ones.
that the literary magazines are dependent
almost entirely on subscriptions for their
revenue. The subscribers in turn de-
sert the expensive magazines for the
cheap ones, and the literary magazines
are left in the lurch.''
K
But how do you account for the fact"
asked him. that simultaneously with
the failure of these old English maya
zines TWO American magazines OF more
or less the same sort-Appleton' and
Putnam's-have been revived?"
"The explanation OF this" he said. us
that in England unlike Am erica. there
is no considerable class~of magazine read
ers who demand fiction Of the better sort
or general articles of a high order Of lit
crarv merit. On tle other hand. political
weekly journals Ike the Spectator flour
ish as they never can il America until
the best Americans become more gen
orally interested in politics. But people
OF literary tastes here read books almost
exclusively, and have never taken to mag
Gzlnes. Popular magazines of the high
quality of Harpers ard the Century
could not exist in England. simply be
cause English lovers Of good fiction never
go to the magazines. This is largely be
cause the short story is a peculiarly
American product. and because the very
best American writer's turn their ltten-
ton to short story writing. while the
good fiction writer's in England almos:
exclusively produce novels The result Is
that the only public in England for the
short story Is composed Of the compare
lively uncultured classes who demand &c
ton of an inferior quality. All the Lon
don editors will tell you that it is simply
impossible to get short stories Of the
quality found in Harper's and the Cen
fury, and that If they did get them there
would be no public to read than