The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-01-18
~ ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.

out OF cover and amiably utter it to
the ambient atmosphere. and before
he knows it it is seized upon and swal
lowed whole by the hyenas proving
on his intellectual outskirts.
II found that out long ago. said the
newspaper hack.
And me-" said the poet.
Poets shouldn't say and me-
said the hack.
That was poetic license" replied
the poet.
1T is curious, too," went on the
hack, how careless people are. | had
good story the other day-such a
good one, in fact, that the paper fea-
! tured It, Next evening / went out to
Kenwood to see IL there was anything
doing at their Taft protest meeting.
Humbugington, who was to speak
didn't turn up and they relied on the
talent of the moment. The Right Rev.
erend Platitudinal -Flamibus
! drooled along at the rate of forty an
hour and right in the middle woke
up to hear him relating as a personal
experience that story of mine
"Oh, preachers! Why they're the
worst of all. l used to know one" re-
minisced the poet, who handed out
as his own each Sunday lot he found
in an old trunk he bought at auction.
| They were eloquent, too and as my
friend had gift for oratory. he used
these auction prizes with such effec.
that he was called to a church in New
York later"
"What'd he do when he got there"
'Oh-I forget-er-yes, either went
all to pieces or got onto the game SO
he was never found out
But talk about highway robbery"
said the poet after a pause You re-
member my poem, The Prosery,' on
which | won my laurels?"
"How can you ask me-" exclaimed
the hack do | not have a copy Of it
| framed at the foot of my bed where
my eye will seek it's affinity upon
waking"
list possible!" cried the poet i'm
mensely flattered.
The hack looked at him wondering
ly-even pityingly.
us he giving me the merry josh
JOSH" he whispered to himself. ''Or
does he not understand that | was
merely codding him."
Neither will ever know" said the
man on the outside.
GO on about The Prosery,'" said
the hack.
well. sir" began the poet, IF
didn't see it copied into a paper under
the head of Poems of Today" with
the sub.head From our Special Con.
stibutor"
! "Infamy could sink no deeper"
averred the hack.
And when dropped into the Office
next time ! was in Triapolis If they
didn't fish the copy out of green bag
behind the door and flourish it before
my eyes. There 1t was-all type-writ-
ten with pencil corrections. And when
, asked them if it were the fact that
they had never heard of my famous
poem The Prosery' they declared it
wasn't mine that their special con-
tributor was the author"
Yes SIR said the poet, land what's
! more they showed me an affidavit
sworn out and signed stating that this
fend was it's author and they told me
to begone. That they had no time to
trifle away with imposters and actu-
ally showed me the door"
Lord preserve u.s." deplored the
hack. and this in free country.
Worse could not happen in Russia"
POOH" interrupted the literary la.
dy. Il can tell you wilder tales than
that. Once woman came to me and
asked me to write chapter for
story her club was manufacturing
She said she was up against it. That
she couldn't any more write a chap.
ter in a story than she could chart an
airship. She said she would pay me
one dollar II would do 1t for her.
Il refused. said if l charged any
thing l would charge one thousand
dollars and ninety-nine cents But that
my refusal was based on high moral
grounds. l didn't believe in being
I party to such fraud. 1t was impos-
ing on the good nature. to say nothing
OF the credulity, of her club fellows"
She said she didn't care for any
Of that-she couldn't afford to fall
down before her club fellows-that
hers was a desperate case-she i'm.
plored and finally commanded me to
assist her
II reluctantly consented only on the
condition that she should say the
chapter wasn't hers that she should
clearly state that some one else had
written it for her."
What do you take me for says
she. I am honest as you are. Besides
l am President Of the Ladies Aid. I'm
offended"
Cut that out II YOU expect me to
help YOU" | replied, and she at once
descended from her pedestal
Il pat in a good deal of time writing
the thing and to do so intelligently
had to read all that preceding
and-on my word said the literary
lady. Il home never to read any such
nightmarish stuff-it read like the
things you get up and write in a
dream.
However I finally turned it over to
her with her grateful thanks and for,
got 1t.
About a month after l had q call
from another club woman-who be-
hi NvNA IN