Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-06
Receives $4,000 for a Magazine
Story of His Polar
Trip.
SOME OTHER LITERARY PRICES
Milton Received Only s2o for His
Paradise Lost" While Others
Reaped Rewards No Greater.

1t seems probable that many years
Will pass before an author receives
higher price for his literary product
than Commander Robert E. Peary re-
ceives from Hamptons Magazine for
his own story of the discovery OF the
north pole.
This feature cost n clean cool 1000.
No rate per word is specified in tho
contract. but 1t is generally estimated
that Commander Peary is receiving
Sl.lS cash for each word that he writes
for the magazine Benjamin b. Hamp-
ton, editor OF the magazine, makes this
statement:
III you have u desire to estimate the
rate per word that will be earned by
Peary with his north pole story. you
would be safer in placing it at $3.50
per word than $1-20. We have bought
only American and Canadian magazine
rights. and Stokes book rights cover
only these countries. That leaves all
the foreign rights to sell. When they
arc inquired up, the totals should
amount TO 100000 OF even s150.0OO
"Peary Is not good business man.
AS a matter OF fact, he is a poor man
Mrs. Peary has been the business head
OF the family. and the commander
never loses an opportunity to praise
her for the manner in which she has
laDored and borne the brunt of his
quarter OF a century of work in the
arctic, Peary and Mrs. Peary have
sacriiiced their material comfort to
this arctic ideal Every dollar they
could spare from actual living expenses
mas been used to equip expeditions so
that, when Peary returned a few
months ago. there was mighty little
money in the Peary bank account.
RECORD BREAKING LECTURE
OFFERS.
THE revenue from his books and
magazine work could be greatly in
creased by lecturing, if Peary's friends
can persuade him to go on the plat
form He has offers that would net
him 100000 for the first years work.
or more. II he would be willing to stick
TO 1T for several consecutive months
He has received offers from many of
the leading cities OF the country, guar
anteeing him as high as $4,000 for
single lecture.
There can be no reason (at least, so
ms friends asserD why he could not
take advantage of the lecture opportu-
mtles and meet the people, and let them
near his story from his own lips.
UP TO the present time he has not
completed any lecture arrangements,
Suaded to do SO within a few weeks.
The chief difficulty seems to be that
this man, who has been living in the
frozen north is out of the last 23 years.
has a genuine qiflldence about exhibit
ing himself to the public. Peary is a
scientist first, last and all the time.
He values his scientific achievements
as of more Importance than the oppor-
tunity to make money. He viii do
nothing that does not coincide with his
rigid Ideals of scientists dignity
For example. he has declined offers from
moving picture men. who want to show
his polar photographs, and offers from
talking concerns that want a few reels
OF talk TO retail throughout the country.
offers which amount to a tidy for
tune"
RATES PAID OTHER AUTHORS.
Just why Commander Peary received
such an exceptional rate for his story
is explained by the eager competition
for 1t on the part of nearly all the i'm
portant publishing houses In the world,
Realizing the supreme Importance OF
this, the most wonderful and last of
the earth's hero-stories. they engaged
In bidding which made figures rise
mercurially. They knew. of course
that this story had not-like most OF
the world romances-been told before.
1t was the most extraordinary and in
teresting story of fact to be told for
the first. and last time.
1t is interesting to compare the price
paid Commander Peary with the rates
enjoyed by the top-notch writer's of
the world.
EX-president Roosevelt received for
his African hunting stories dollar a
word Rudyard Kipling is supposed
to receive the highest prices paid any
author of fiction. For the English and
American serial rights of Kim he
received $4,000. Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle hit one of the highest marks
when he received so cents a word for
the American serial rights OF his later
Sherlock Holmes" stories. This COM
pares amusingly with the rate OF 81
per thousand words-or one-flfth of
cent a word-received for his first and
generally considered best stories.
High prices for literary work began
practically with the great success of
Sir Walter Scott. The compensation
for his Life OF Bonaparte" averaged
S165 for each day of work spent upon it.
Thackeray was offered $1,000 for
Henry Esmond" and he jumped at
the proposition. Both Dickens and
Hugo made good money but when Eu-
gene Sue drew $4,000 for his Wan
dering Jew''-a novel of probably up
ward of 100000 words-the literary
world gasped. Prices have risen stead
lily. with the increasing success of
publishers and the growth OF maga-
zines. No author. however, in all the
history of literature has ever made so
much money for each actual word In
a literary product as Will Commander
Peary.
MILLIONS REWARDS.
The eagerness of publishers for Com
mander Peary's forthcoming story. and
the exceptional price paid, mark one
thing signaly. This Is q full apprecl-
alton OF this mans work in his own
ago One cannot help comparing the
great price paid for this story with
the small sums for which many of the
worlds masterpieces were sold
DR. johnson, 1t will be remembered.
wrote his immortal "Rasselas" to pay
the funeral expenses of his grandmoth
cr. Milton sold his Paradise Lost",to
a bookseller for s25. Poe's Raven"
brought him the grateful sum of SIS.
II these books were written today
would they bring as high a price as
Commander Pcary's story2 Although
they would unquestionably net their
authors more than they did during their
lifetime. they would hardly bring this
record price. For they were works of
imagination, The work of Commander
Peary. pure literature as It will be, Is
the rarest and most exceptional OF
things written-the romance of actual
adventure written by world-hero HIM
self.
Few of fI,o xvorId'a haroas discover