New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-12-18
The Coming Tower
THE ETHICS OF coNTRIBBINd.

THE ETHICS OF CONTRIBBINd
T. &c unuise it is unfair unehcal regard contributing
rev as an art merely profession or merely as dVer
- unjust unfair and unethica indeed. For while it is
b and all of these something more-t privilege ana
alas for him does recognize this great truth ALI his Vo
EOS coumnward will abound in mysteries and swallows and-he
IN never land Pelfng should this paragraph up to about
zoo words but contribbing-this is enough)
To him who in the pure of literature shoulders his trusy
and HES a quiet nook in the attic H. fortunately
an blessed house there compose of those de-
btf little masterpieces that characterize his avoe column
I'd help to make it is, greengsand word or Two
Won are now enjoy the highest privilege allowed 70 tne
; rt-ycu are about contrib Time and that within
% memory too you recall the Of the candidate for
running with T. r. when contributing was as sordld TASK
u ncing cabbage scrapng green hldeS- was % ana Gus
osi;on from S. to f.-you wrote, you mailed you walted
49, or later YOU got from the god Of the machine to
go Won wished 20 offer your lubricant asking IT,
np 10 change eight of the ten lines Of your poem you
% care 70 accept years subscription the said in pay
~ for said pome used contrib But now
~ borgd is the mannerl Sunday you efuse Monday you
rone later than Saturday you peruse II you nave
d succeeded beng the cat (Ths paragraph Is nothing
- moi opcary and PREDATORY is merely eadup to my first
ethic which now presently
Re brief b. is the of but much more is it the s. Of C.
Re sure YOU know you going to write about before you
start Haphazardng prerogatve that belongs solely 70 the
VOL, good pseud to tack on to triAe after it is writ?
- not quit and go find And find good Half the secret
n successful controlling lies in the choosing Of happy nom DE
hume Don't take punning nameet those that never land DO
~ MT SIGN Yourself SANDY Soyle" Bird" "Esa Fodd
aTotbv Hav"-you will be guilty Of mGupae pta'8anero
t will brand you Choose something nifty and
- like "Jamblicus" or COMMA Galla" or Bombay Duck
or @or"-something like that This is sound advice
Do you the art Of paragraphng Too many para
graphs in contribution make that you are Tor eating up
at you are getting much lne-that are trying out
a bit Of lbre.
True the short paragraph is good
It is very good, but listen: .-..44s<s-
Others want TO get in
As to puncuaton-some contributors born puncuators
e achieve punctuation and have punctuation thrust upon
them If you the you probably are don't pout your
commas are changed hyphens exclamation points to inter
aon marks your periods semicoons And you can get
colon through but the printer Old Ted Robinson
explained THE lnotyper he sad knowing that colon
is twice long pause emcoon obsessed with the dea
that he can make in half the time he needs to make
colon"
bt exe on changes in general contribution, but it is
hardly necessary now Here's the CHIEF thng
remember You give that contribution to the Boss 1t is MS 10
DO what he peases whand he will just do that your baade
yanee rejoice your sestna shrinKS 70 qua
train be glad if your prose poem appears mred monstroy
-heer-you landed, didn't you? Wasn't that your goal?
long, winding, toruous adecve-cursed OBSCURE
and ambiguous that gets anywhere ong and
lingering like legend wandering whhersoever 1t VIII
like won with the ies wearying and burdening, and rkng
nauseatng disgusting the reader causing nm 10 Wonuer
what kind of nut autographed the misery and leaving him. when
through with it, wondering just what the whole thing was about
whether dissertation roast pig or resume oil the ancS Oh
Congress- neither Of which subjects ne cares "hoop o
since he has never read Lamb and being Of nonpoca
nature he never intends the Congressional Record in fact
doesn't know there publication the same beng sold Tor
three dollars year, if my memory not at fault
sesqupedaian force Beoan piece Of operose-
ness the reprehensbty exceedingly difficult to
oyimate Elegance purity concinny euphony
university you expect to obtain as Mr. Roget mas
well observed by resorng the tumd tugescent pedant
pompous ted senentious decamatory, magnoquen John
an manner Of writing No. Avoid big words Use the NICE
short oneshose that pop and ng to Them and you will
kill game
good ehic Don't commit the objectionable sin Of
sending contribution coumnists the In fact
it's dandy.
the Boss telling him who you are and why
For why should he care? big world And those little post
scripts that the unpofessiona will sometimes stick onlf this
good enough publication just throw into the znchey
are hartendng affairs what do you think he will do with
the thing if it isn't per him. fit for pubcaton?-frame it and
hang it in his boudor?
Here's another: Don't call hiunless he wants you TO-
And another: teephone-uness you have TO- 1t is
uabe when YOU contribution that fits tomorrow and
day in the coming year. and may be the Of saving the
nation
And now comes my nexoa ehic 1t is grave, it is heavy
important DON'T PLAGARIZE If the total Of nothing
70 be determined little Of will be found in
agars Day. when all the returns are in and the
aotng begins for Man. the pagarst is going to
have wak-away Little? He's he's snck he's filter,
he's dole he's tinge he's a cast he's jot an oa noecule
III lobp atop1 Tbe