The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-04-30
LETTERS FROM CRITICS
writer says He Makes Much More
Money q Lawyer Than
In Writing
Stories.

A W00nOuk0 Gu4lus aIlOAASy duu Uu6l-
ness man, representing the Missis-
sippi River Power Co., who has been
IL the city for several days with Mr.
q. B. Rhodes, Industrial agent Of the
power company, has had more than
the usual experience in his busy life
time, OF the ups and downs Of lite
rary Teller" Mr.. Child is 0sobably
one Of the best known writer's 81 short
stories and special articles OF today.
His products continually appear in
the Saturday Evening Post, Golfers
weekly, and other periodicals. Look
In Golfers for May next. and the
reader will md splendid sample OF
Richard Washburn Child's stories.
Mr.. Child Is university graduate.
ana it was while doing some work
FOR his school magazine that he dis
covered he had . talent for writing.
At nrst It was . mere pastirne for him.
Then It became means of paying
certain expenses while he perfected
himself for the profession Of the law.
He was practical business man and
did not dream that he would do any
thing to make himself known far and
wide outside his chosen profession.
But the public refused to accept him
otherwise than as literary man, and
Whenever 1t II mentioned in q new
,ccmmunity that he is lawyer and
1 business man. there Is always look
OF curiosity and doubt In the face of
the one informed, as though there
we're something doubtful or suspicious
about the matter. Yet Mr.. Child has
been frank to confess that his income
from the law il greater by far than
what he received from his literary eff
forts. II love the law business,
said Mr.. Child II am right at home
in It. The solving of its intricacies
are like play to me. But / confess
there Ii real work about writing
story. TO be sure one often gets an
for piece OF literary
work, and then the story nearly writes
itself But take case Of an order
for ten short storiesssuch for instance
as am now struggling with. and one
has q real job laid out for him. No
matter how smoothly the produce
may read In print, it represents ire
mendous amount Of work. When
get through with this special assign
ment have entered upon don't
think I will ever take another. I
would rather write stories that come
to me naturally. than to have to force
them under contract
Mr.. Child has the usual experience
OF story writer. in the number of
letters receives from his interested
readers. Hundreds Of them come TO
him every year, and they vary from
congratulatory ones to ones OF deep
criticism. A writer for the general
public must always use the greatest
care in his statements. II there Is
any suggestion Of incorrectness, num-
erous readers viii call attention to 1t.
Some great plumbers are made by
careless but popular writers. And
they are always pointed out with
great gusto by people who could not
write q story to save their HE. Child
tells OF an incident In one story he
wrote in which mention was made OF
. blilsard. Almost in the same sen
tence he spoke of Great feathery
white flakes. falling silently upon the
earth" Great Scott" howled one
critic from up in North Dakota, DID
you ever see q blizzard?"
Some time Mr.. Child is going to
write 4 sort Of "Guilded Age story,
with q Colonel Sellers character IN
Il, and he Is going to lay his plot on
the basis of story that was told him
nm in Seattle about a man who pro-
posed to cut off sections OF glaciers OF
ALASKA and tow them by sea TO not
climates and sell slabs Of them to the
sweltering inhabitants. The man was
quite sure there would be millions