The sun., 1912-08-10
HACK WRITER'S NEED
TO LEAGUE TOGETHER
rdilor Of the "BOOkman" Paints
rhcir Pitifnl Plight
.Afrcsh.
TuE\ OlGllT TO RISE Up
ANY Rcpri>al by Them. How.
ever Bloody. Would BE
l:u; Natural.

'n.,-rI 10y the recently proposed
.,,gur q authors, who threatened to
.,oI, aftcf their rights more zealously
N the ft.Irc. A. H. Maurice, editor of
he Rootmor, speaks up in behalf of
ma, other body Of pen wicldcrs-the
hack writer's.
Tho authors who took that momcn.
,ous step n May toward tho formation
O, scrrlcd rhalanx In defence OF Q
prompt and living wage" comments
NJ Maurice. comprised chiefly the
r.ch aud powerful. They have our
GOOD will, hut not our pity. 1t Is i'm
,ossib,o tn regard Winston Churchill,
lack London, George Barr McCutcheon,
George Adc Augustus Thomas. Kate
Douglas WiGgln or any other on that
riustrio,s roll AS among those whose
faces society with It's iron heel Is
er'ndins.
"On tho Other hand. a proposal for a
hsck writer's union or lcxicogra piers
Holy l.cagu" or even for hack writer's
,ehmgcricnt or Black Hand contra
rrnity would have appealed very
strongly 10 our emotions. Nobody who
,nows how encyclopedias are made or
dictionaries happen. no one who has
ever seen a compendium OF the worlds
host literature cxudc, could blame the
tack ritter for any sort Of rcprisal An
irrlsing Of hack writer's however
o,oody. would seem. after all. only
ns'ura,
"Socictys occasional sympathy with
ne rnde- dog has never been extended
- the hack writer. There are types of
i'm In our large cities that would be
eycoedinciy pathetic did we not, all of
g. regulate our feelings with great
precision and blame the under dog for
teirg under.
"And when a hack writer Is in al
her respects blamcless there Is one
'ot on his character that always can
found He has no economic sense
whatever. He will not study how 20
meet demand lie waits for demand
20 como his way. He is content with
,av occasional tangcncy 10 a public
reel
, No IL. therefore. never To- be found
comfortably and permanently on the in
,io Il il. safely helgcd like a conccn-
r'' r.rc,r. ar Ike some thrifty and
WaNti. novelist. whose thoughts arc
swoc'r bounded bv the public appc-
'r lIo is in and out and off and on
Wa becomes Of him in those long
'-'aitals when he is not wanted nc
wan can surely tell. Some say hc
'-i's Ur like "A rotifor. only to come I,
a:lin when "A new reference work
n no wind.
"pI ilehcrs believe that throughout
''oe" uhomployed periods he lives in a
.ocu"H. However that may he. he re-
. lHr'ars after each interval. Il littl"
timer indeed and more lcathcry. hut
.ager and fccund as before. And the
brilliant bargains that can loo made Will
h,rl--h"ttcr and better as the intervals
-'roa,c; for. like the banana h.
hnaperS as he grows moro wiZcncd and
~ ho may hr none the worse inside.
"Now The chief element in these bar
;alns I, that the scholarly hack writer
md that is the type most successfully
'Tested--actually loves his work. This
dives TIN" commercial person chance to
'sv, Verify, in his work then hath h'
= reward; and as in the case of GER
iin country parsons. his salary Is
.raNn mainly from on high. thus leav-
ir tho commercial person n compara-
|"'y small cash balance To remit. Spir-
'Ia'ly subsidized labor may be always
al on easy market terms.
Nevertheless society has an interest
'h"so bargains. The hack writer ha!
ft 'ts- T. snY go
. ~" namel,s.s common jobs of com
alton In our works of reference are
.nn" 10y him. II" has great many OF
: sa' lis mercy and he holds the younG
mind IN tho hollow of his hand. From
D" cradle to the grave thousands
'roHeh"ut the world are believing what
" 'dTs That Is the measure of the
damage he can do His faults and his
ms'"rtuu"s are SO mixed up that it L.
"as!'s' I" assume that he gets what he
'"ser'6s. This, however. Is often un-
Is', and N" hack writer knows 1t.
So once in a while he retaliates or
"''"'} with string of plausible anG
NSli!p 3. Hes 0r by Intentional stupidltie:
u" works If reference about which
movers. When YOU encounter these
h'ngs, II ls not safe always to assume
'at n" writer Knows no better. 1t may
B." that som" downtrodden hack has
lrn'd at last. The most splendid en-.
''cIop"di' protcnsions cannot protect
''n against his wrath when once he
''ai.Ios his wrongs.
u" tai worked on every encyclopa.
ia sI"ec bidcrot's time, and he will &c
n"ofH'np 80 long as there Is a letter II
I'd" aiphaNot. He cannot be killed BY
s' or cold or pestilcnce or hunger
ati"mnt may only nerve him I,
"" ms tmc and avenge himself b!
'''''e"G.hs all mankind, which he ha:
''u,' '' regard as his enemy.
J. lar more dangerous class thar
'o' "i tic'"ssiul novclTsts, and society
nc ''rp'F interest in its living wage.