The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-08-25

1t isn't now, as the S. s. S. has gone
out Of business In the town. Let
this be lesson to them pot to de-
pend upon pretty girls in their bus
mess.
The 8. 8. s. or Short Story Syndi-
cate, was started about two years
ago, and lasted for ten months.
Then came the sensational finish
which gives 1t Its present literary
value. AS the last survivor of the
company, the rights to the story are
mine-so here goes.
We thought we were geniuses
when we began; we know better
now. The only genius in the COM
pany was the Prettiest Girl in Rah-
way. Let me begin with the dra.
mats personae.
Adoniram Chase: a chap of Puri-
tan-Pilgrim stock. with four expen-
sive years experience at Harvard.
where he did not graduate He
was nothing less than a human dy-
namo, keen as needle. merry as
q hand-organ, a wiry, springy chap,
with an infectious laugh. He
might be called the brains Of the
conspiracy.
Mark McComus: night drug
clerk In Elizabeth: licensed phar-
macist with u diploma. He was
the kind who knows all about at
mosphere and color and all sort
of things-not the dirty pdper-col-
larry kind exactly, but enough OF u
scarecrow In an amateur way TO be
picturesque.
Me: ! started as civil engineer,
and turned several right angles In
my career. I've done cow-punchins,
architecture of the suburban shin
gled variety and then. through book
cover designing, poster drawing. to
what pleased to call Literature.
And lastly: the Pretties Girl In
Rahway-Clara Foster, u dyed-in-
the-wool blonde. with u complex
ion like an early spring sunrise and
q contralto voice 1T to subdue
cave-man In rage. No, not cage.
She would have been given the
thirty-third degree and no questions
asked by any beauty doctor in the
United States or Europe. She SIM
ply. dazzlei you. AS for men-she
Just lit 'em and threw 'em away like
fire-crackers. How she ever hap
pened to float into Railway. / never
knew; but when she first appears
upon the horizon she Is a type
writer at spool factory at ten dol
lars week. That was the bottom
Of the ladder for her. The last |
heard she was still climbing. You
phecy hides Its shamed head
Well, Adoniram and Mac and mad
come together by chance over Il
chessboard In the Y. NJ. C. A. build
ing. and 1t wasn't long before we
had all discovered consanguinity
of Soul. We were all writing, on
the sly, and we all had vaulting am
billions. Adoniram had had two
stories printed In a Are-cent, maya
zine Zone was illustrated, too), and
McComus had contributed to the
poets corner In an Elizabeth paper.
had been bothering the big
monthlies a good deal, beginning at
the top, as Emerson advises, and
scorned anything but Art, which |
then defined as the sort OF stuff
that won't sell. Oh. yes, was too
good for them, and all that. had 1t
pretty bad.
Naturally, 1t was Adonlram, the
schemer. who first suggested the
Short Story Syndicate. ami as soon
as his plot was elucidated. We came
in strong for 1t. His idea was that
We hire a barn or some other place
where We wouldn't be disturbed,
partition 1t on, and each OF us have
his own room where We could work
undisturbed. and one common room
where we could discuss plots and
style and criticize each others work.
Artists do the same thing ami profit
by the fellowship. 1t worked pretty
well and we got lot OF stimulation
and encouragement out OF each
other.
At first, each man was for him
self. but Adoniram wasn't satisfied
with that, as we found It hard to
pay the rent after the second month,
and SO, under his direction we be-
came frankly commercial and start
ed the Syndicate. We had had a
good bunch Of reflections that week,