The Washington herald., 1910-11-06
Walt Mason. of EmpOria,
Earns $4,000 a Year.
HIS POEMS READ EVERYWHERE
Chubby Little Man Working Beside
William Allen White .Grinds Out"
Editorials and Verse and Edits
Telegraph Copy from Morn TAN
Night on the Gazette.

tered under the slight weight OF poets
almost as FRAT as he, but that was before
the advent Of Walt Mason-the Kansas
poet who has made verse writing pay.
What If he is new god. he is the in
SEPARATION for new genius. and the mod
ern poet and Pegasus are as unique as
any OF bygone times.
In a little room adjoining the editorial
oiice or w. A. White, in the Emporia
Gazette, sits Walt Mason When the
tobacco smoke clears you can see the
best paid poet in America Every day
his prose poems appear IN a total circula-
ton or l0,00O, oSo-the largest circulation
addressed by any American, says the
Kansas City Star.
These poems are syndicated by George
Matthew Adams. and the writer receives
$50 week from the syndicate A prose
sketch In the Chicago News every day
brings him from $50 30 $50 a week. He
writes occasionally for Life, Golfers, and
the American. Is a contributor 20 the
Kansas Magazine. and he has been asked
TO contribute to as many more publica-
tons. He receives a salary as telegraph
Editor and editorial writer on the Ga
zette. The past year he has averaged
500 q month. In September ne received
5000 for his writings.
Round Man TumbIed Dat.
II was the usual hazy autumn Sunday,
that day in September three years ago,
and the cub reporter idled in the Gazette
once, watching the obviously clean pop
ulaee Agoing for its mail to the post-ofice
next door. platform in the front win
dow OF the Office is built up two feet from
the floor forming a sort or table, and the
space between makes a convenient place
for the storing OF Congressional records.
much-used typewriter was on the win
dow ledge and the cub jiggled with the
keys He was wondering TO whom the
strange machine belonged. when a queer
vehicle drew Up in front Of the Office Il
was an odd affair. a topless phaeton,
with one OF the back wheels almost
spekeless, Hitehed TO it was d small bay
horse. he rather rolled out, a big round
man with worried expression, and he
tapped on the door for admittance. IN
the Office he drew a chair 10 the window,
took of his felt hat, barring a head OF
short curly hair, and began % pound the
keys Of the machine. He worked a while,
then ventured a few remarks TO the cub
His name was Walt Mason, he said, and
lie had driven down from Atchison, Kans.
10 work on the Gazette Did they use
that kind OF -fiapdoOdle" on the Gazette?
Where was there a good nveTyman who
would take good care or the hOrse7 And
these important queries answered, he
turned again 10 his mill 10 grind out
some more hapdoodle for the next days
paper.
Sang and State Listened.
He sat there several months at the old
machine with his knees rubbing against
those Congressional records. Then a
place was made for him in room ad-
joining. and he continued TO grind out
the fiapdoodle that not only the Gazette
but the whole State took kindly 10. The
makeup Of the first page OF the Gazette
calls for a star head al the top OF the
sheet, and Uncle Walt" as the Gazette
soon learned to call him, would run a
verse each day In that space. The rhyme
was usually on some local happening. but
the philosophy contained therein was Of
universal application, and the verses we're
copied daily throughout the country.
Oftentimes the poems were stolen and no
credit given. Then Mr. Adams arranged
with Uncle Walt for the copyrighting and
sale OF the daily prose-poem.
You can forgive a poet for being vision
airy and even indolent. for that is their
heritage But here is a poet whose ca
pacity for work equals that Of any man
and surpasses that of many who would
feel that they had accomplished a day 5
work when Uncle Walt is but half begun.
Seven o'clock in the morning sees him
with his collar and coat of, pulling over
the exchanges. There is q clothes basket
under his desk, but ii makes no pretense
to hold the discards Of the exchange
table. and by $50 the floor Is Uttered with
newspapers. AS exchange editor he has
cuiled the best of Kansas paragraphs,
and he turns to his machine to write his
In Other Words" and Speaking Of
Kansas" columns. Then he writes three
columns of editorial, touching on every
thing from the news of the day to the
varieties of whisker culture INDUCED in
by the home merchants. BY this time il
is probably II o'clock. and the editorial
writer walks home 10 his luncheon. At
Z O'Clock he is back in his room. but
now as the telegraph editor. AS the dis
patches comes in ne writes the heads for
the stories and edits the copy. The
thirty" the last Of the telegraph copy,
comes in AT $3.50 O'Clock, and Mr.. Mason
turns to his machine and writes a prose
sketch for the Chicago News Sometimes
that ends the days work. but more often
he remains 10 answer some OF the hun
dreds Of letters he receives weekly from
admirers There doesn't seem 10 be many
vacant spaces in that schedule, but they
a nd al -,
with his inimitable, kindly humor. He
loves joke and he never misses an op-
portunity 10 surprise one of the office
force.
On Way Home TO Dinner.
On his way home from work he stops
in the book stores and scans the list of
--latest arrivals" for a tale of interest
And he can tell you with one glance If
the story has action and plot enough to
merit its perusal The book shelves keep
him until o'clock his dinner time There
is one thing he likes better than books,
and that is baseball. He was the origi-
nator of the intercity league idea in EN-
poria, and during the series that is
played in the summer the first ball pitched
finds him on the "hleaehers" eagerly in
tent on the boys presentation of the ma
uonal sport
He calls It canned" music in some of
his editorials, but in the Mason home a
talking machine holds a very dear place.
II you stop in for a visit after Mr. and
Mrs. Mason have been for a drive about
town with "Billy"-the same horse that
brought the poet from Atchison-the
typewriter win be pushed aside and the
talking machine will be sovereign in
front of the red brick fireplace He likes
all kinds OF music, and the music stores
are watched as closely for the new
records as the book places for the latest
fiction, You can have any kind Of music
and your taste is peculiar If its gratifi-
cation falls not within the repertoire Of