The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-02-15
ETERNAL IT is.
Says Mss. McCarter, Author.
Speaking of Literature.
Annual Meeting of the Kansas
Authors Club.
SYNDICATES' GRAFT.
Keep Mss. Without Pay, Charges
+. DumOnt Smith.
Newspaper Men Real Kansas
Authors" FaxOn.

IF you wish your STUFF to be nuhIisb
ed While you are living, don't send it to
| of Hutchinson, editor of the Kansas MAJ
azine, published at Wichita 80
| The Kansas newspaper men are the
| real Kansas autbors."-Raiph Faxon,
| Garden City.
.one reason that Hindu poetry has such
| an effect upon the East Indians is that
1t IS sung or chanted. Frank X
Sanders, president Of Washburn college
fear and trembling. No one but myself
can decipher my manuscript. Mrs
Bessie A. Stanley, Lincoln.
II am kept away from many meetings
by my work, even from attending the
local order of the Black Hand ''ewon-
derful Walt Mason, the practical poet of
| Emporia.
IN W tSb n,I, was s,,;a girl used to wake up
the runaway slave of Mark Twain's
| .Huckleberry Finn. wouldn't escape. -
Mrs Louisa Cooke Don Carlos of Law
Books are canned thougtt.'.Rev. S. s.
Estey, pastor of the First Presbyterian
This lead" consists Of samples of
the stuff written by Kansas authors
and turned I'M by them at the annual
banquet at the Commercial club rooms
last night. Walt Mason. vice presi-
dent of the Fourth district, who was
assigned to give a greeting, did not
show up, owing to other more press
ing assignments, but his copy was
read by George P. Morehouse. Ralph
F.axon's copy" was also read by Mr..
| Morehouse.
| All of this was edited-mentalIy-
by over 100 people. They INDUCED in
a social hour and then had lunch
After that they reported for duty and
| covered their runs Mr. Morehouse.
acting as POSTMASTER, gave out the
| assignments" preceding each mans
name with a little literary flourish.
/ f. Dumont Smiths Witty Talk.
| Editor F. Dumont Smiths STORY
gave aspiring authors several ideas of
what to authorize and also some of the
secret history of his magazine His
manuscript, which he read himself. in
part follows:
ct never realized that 1 was an au-
| thor until Mr. Morehouse told me so
when he asked me to speak here. He
also said that 1 was a statesman.
| Statesmen are defined as dead politi-
clans and the Lord knows I have been
politically dead long enough Since 1
have been elected president of this
club, perhaps 1 will have to contribute
| one of the best six sellers every year
to hold my job.
ST am the middIeman between the
producer and the consumer in the lit
erary market. I regret to say that
there is a distinct spirit of CONNER
cialism in literature now. When first
began editing the KinsIey Mercury I
had all kinds of good contributions
from FVeritas,' "A Reader and Pro
| chit of a girl sends in her mss. with
the request that it be published at our
| usual rates. We haven't any usual
rates. We get our stuff as cheap as we
lcan-pay the contributors if they press
us hard enough after we accept their
! mss.
| MY position is not altogether orna-
mental. have to read all Of the poetry
which is sent to the magazine. One
man from Faxon's town sent in some
poetry which was really the rottenest
stuff I ever read. He requested me to
| please insert this in the Kansas Maya
zine. 1 wrote back and asked him
How many times do you want it in
serted p If you think the stuff is rotten
which we accept, you ought to see the
stuff we send back.
when I first took charge of the
magazine 1 thought that No good can
come out of Nazareth and went to
New York for my stuff Then I came
across another middleman-the syndi-
cate which supplies magazines with
stuff. Contributors send it to them
and they keep it in cold storage. /
told them that whatever they sent me
must not contain anything about
drinking. because Kansas was a pro-
hibition state, and nothing about cigar
cites, because Kansas had passed an
anti-cigarette law. and outlined the
kind of stories which would be accept
able under Governor Stubs regime.
Prom these syndicates I began to
get the most preposterous stories of
I adventure-even the children who be-
lieve in Santa Claus wouldn't believe
| them. Some of them were continued
.stories. Now writer's sell their stories
, before they are complete-make out
an outline and ask about a cent word
| upon delivery. (Things have changed
since Homer used to prance up and
down with one garment on and MAX
ing a living with his poetry-)
Some of the stories were at least
Is years old I recognized the name
on a Mss. of one whom l knew had
died in 1868. If you wish your stuff to
| be published while you are living, don
send it to syndicate. I believe that
| syndicates make their money by keep
ing an authors Mss. unpaid for until
he is dead and then selling 1t to maya
zines OF course his heirs, not know
ing about it do not send in the bill.
sAnd many of the syndicate stories
dealt with the Slums of eastern cities,
but what the readers of the Kansas
Magazine want are stories of out of
, | DOORS healthful, racy with the odor
of the soil and out of doors
Mrs. McCarter's Talk.
Il Mrs. Margaret Hill McCarter. re-
spending to the toasts: THE Empire OF
II