The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-01-07


than Commander Robert E. Peary re-
ceives from Hampton's Magazine for
his own story of the discovery of the
north pole.
This feature cost Hampton's a clean,
cool $4,000. No rate per word is
specified in the contract, but it is gen.
orally estimated that Commander
Peary is receiving Sl.lS cash for each
word that he writes for Hampton's
Magazine. Benz b. Hampton, editor of
the magazine, makes this statement
IF you have 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 $l.20. We have bought
only American and Canadian magazine
only these countries. That leaves all
foreign rights to sell. When they are
figured up, the totals should amount to
100000 or even SlJ0,000.
"Peary is not good business man.
As 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
labored and borne the brunt of his
quarter of a century of work in the
trctic Peary and Mrs. Peary have
sacrificed their material comfort to
this arctic ideal. Every dollar they
could spare from actual living expenses
has been used to equip expeditions, so
that, when Peary returned 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 had offers that would
net him one hundred thousand dollars
for the first years work, or more, if
he would be willing to stick to it for
several consecutive months. He has re-
ccived offers from many of the lead
ing cities of the country, guaranteeing
him as high as $1,000 for single lee
ture.
There can be no reason lat least,
so his friends assert) why he could
not take advantage of the lecture OPP
portunities and meet the people; and
let them hear his story from his own
lips.
! ''Up to the present time he has
not completed any lecture arrange
ments, but it is believed that he may
be persuaded to 40 so within few
weeks. The chief difficulty seem to
be that this man, who has been iiv
ing in the frozen north eighteen out OF
the last twenty three years, has gen.
uine diffidence about exhibiting him
self to the public Peary is scien-
fist first, last and all the time. He
values his scientific achievements as OF
more Importance than the opportunity
to make money. He will do NOTHING
that does not coincide with his rigid
ideals of scientists dignity. For
example, he has declined offers from
piSiulC VIM Ncht W BAN"
his polar photographs, and offers from
talking concerns that want a few reels
of talk &c retail throughout the coun
try. offers which amount to Il 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 it on part of nearly all the i'm
portant publishing houses in the world
Realizing the supreme Importance OF
this, the most wonderful and last oil
the earths hero-stories, they engaged
in bidding which made hgures rise
mercurially. They knew, of course, that
this story had not--like most of the
iworld romanccs-been told before. Ii
was the most extraordinary and inter
esting 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 anl
American serial rights of kim" h
received $4,000 Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle hit one of the highest mark
when he received sixty cents wore
for the American serial rights of hi
; later Sherlock Holmes" stories. Thu
compares amusingly with the rate o
50 per thousand words-or one-fifti
of cent word-received for his frs
and generally considered best stories.
High prices for literary work be
gan practically with the great success
of Sir Walter Scott. The compensa
ton for his Life of Bonaparte" aver
aged $lG5 for each day of work spen
, upon IT,
, Thackeray was offered $1,000 TO
| Henry Esmond'' and he jumped at tn
, proposition. Both Dickens and Hug
, made good money, but when Eugen
, Sue drew $4,000 for his ''Wanderin
) Jew"a novel of probably upward o
, 100000 words-the literary worl
r gasped Prices have risen steadily
; with the increasing success of pub
/. fishers and the growth of magazines