The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-04-06
Florence Finch Kelley Has
Won Fame in New York.
Her New Novel Will Be Out
This Fall.
S NOW WRITING A PLAY
Friends Say 1t Is Sure to Be
Success.
Graduate of Il. q. and Did
Newspaper Work in Topeka.

colony of KansanS alone would be al
most large enough to warrant getting
out directory. All of them are not
authors of '-best sellers nor even
regular contributors to the popular
magazines, but between publishers,
magazines and newspapers they all get
a pretty fair share of recognition.
Because she has written some half
a dozen successful novels and is con-
nected with such an important publ
cation as THE Times Review OF
Books" Mrs. Florence Finch Kelley,
sister of Charles E. Finch, editor OF
Lawrence Gazette, may well be rank
ed as a real literary person. And Kan
sas' claim upon her is strong for she
was brought up on a Kansas farm
| was educated at the Kansas State Uni
versity, and got her first start in jour
nalism on a Kansas newspaper-the
Topeka Daily Commonwealth.
Women in a newspaper office were
not so common in the early eighties as
they are today, and she was alternate
| " regarded as a person of Importance
and a freak. Fortunately hers was
not 'woman's page style, but an in
tense interest in politics enabled her
| to write editorials worthy of the in
ner sanctum. AS no feminine touch
betrayed her they were generally
credited to Father" Baker. and he
took a whimsical pleasure in the fact
that other papers could not tell the
4
1 the State University and it was during
her junior vacation that she held the
Commonwealth position.
At present Mrs. Kelly is writing
play. Her friends who have oeen let
| into the secret of its inner workings
say it is sure to be a success, but she
refuses to talk about it for publication
There are too many slips, she
said, land it is embarrassing TO nave
to admit that thing has been fail
ure.
I'm the first place when it is fin
ished I may not like it myself. But II
/ do, then I must submit it to play
broker. Even if it should happen to
meet with her approval she may not
be able to get a manager to read IT,
And if she should and he accepted 1t,
l am told that tWo-thirds of all the
plays submitted are never produced.
| Finally, if it should be produced the
public might not like it-so you see
there are too many chances to be run
| for me to care to talk about IT.
/ New Novel Ready Soon.
Her latest novel, THE Fate of Felix
Brand story dealing with dual per-
sonalitv. will be published in the fall.
This is the first of her books to nave
an eastern setting. With Hoops or
| Steel" and 1.-The Delafield Aftalr'
were both written in New Mexico and
'eRhoda of the Underground" is his
toricaI in character tale of the es-
cape of slaves into Canada.
| She has done almost nothing in the
| way of short stories, but NUMBER
that were written in the earlier days
she has collected and published as a
| book entitled, "Emerson's Wife and
| Other Tales
Mrs. Kelley says she can not re-
member when she did not intend to
write novels As a little girl she used
to act them out in her play. But she
did not confide her plots to her play
mates-they were too sacred Tor that
| A grove near her home was to her en-
chanted ground and there dwelt all
the children of her fancy.
| An extensive newspaper expert
ence and much travel have given her
a splendid opportunity for accumu-
lating material, and with the excep-
ton of three or four days week,
which she spends at the Times office,
all her time is devoted to creative
work. Her typewriter is simply a
piece of hand luggage to her, ana
travels back and forth from nome to
/ office She finds the machine neces-
sary to clear thinking and can not
compose with pen.
After her gra duation from the
Kansas university in 81 she wanted to
try her literary fortunes in the east
with newspaper work as stepping
stone.
Reached Chicago With SO.
81 had only money enough to get
as far as Chicago" said Mrs. Kelly,
who apparently enjoyed talking over
| old times.
| ter of introduction. 1 got position
with the David c. Cook Publishing
| company and saved enough money
that summer to take me to Boston IN
the fall My first rebuff there was
| from a man who asked me why in the
| world [ left the west to come to Bos-
/ ton Don't you know there are too
many women here already? You will
never get married"
| She assured him that was not what
she came for, but in spite of this dire
prophesy she did marry a Boston man
| after she had been on the Globe three
years.
| Just before her marriage she
worked for the Troy On. W Tele-
gram, where her editorials during the
Garfield presidential campaign at
tracted a good deal of attention. A
little later came a journey to the Pa
cific coast and several years were
spent in the mountains OF California
in the hope of benefiting' Mr. kelly's
health. After that came more news
paper work on the San Francisco
/ Examiner and the Los Angeles Times.
Mr.. Kelly has remained N Cali
forylia, where he has a newspaper de-
voted to the irrigation interests of the
Imperial valley. Both of them took
a trip to Australia and New Zealand
| a few years ago to study the eco
| nomica1 experiments being carried on
there. Mr.. Kelley represented the Los
| Angeles Times and Mrs. Kelly did
several articles for the Craftsman
and Golfers Weekly.
But of all the places in which to
live, Mrs. Kelly prefers New York
| City. And it is not just because her
| path lies in pleasant byways.
/ Il love the noise and the dirt and
/ the confusion she says, and her vivid
/ tone and sparkling eyes left no doubt
nc 70 the donfh of her feoIinO Rl1f in